Negative battery cable help...

[FieroSpeeder]

Originally Posted by Porcupine

A ground is still a ground. I'll bet the reason it goes to the comptuer is to make sure that computer gets grounded first, then of course the computer will be grounded in turn to the firewall or body component.

the computer doesn't get grounded first because electricity's speed is so fast, that everything happens at the same time.

[Porcupine]

Originally Posted by FieroSpeeder

the computer doesn't get grounded first because electricity's speed is so fast, that everything happens at the same time.

That's not the way the comment was intended. The computer is grounded first "as a priority" prior to the firewall. I'm sure everyone here knows how fast electricity flows

[FieroSpeeder]

Originally Posted by Porcupine

That's not the way the comment was intended. The computer is grounded first "as a priority" prior to the firewall. I'm sure everyone here knows how fast electricity flows

there must be a lot of people that took physics on here.

[justen]

Alot lot of cars/trucks were ground to the battery, because not of speed. But because it's more reliable. If they were to use a chassis ground Sometimes that will stop working over time. So they grounded directly with the battery for that purpose. Alot of cars I see today are grounded from the firewall and sometimes thats not the greatest thing if you live where theres salt and rust. It's just a matter of time it will fail eventually. And the goal is for the computer to be the last thing that fails.

[SeanC]

I bought a replacement clamp at the auto parts store and i'm having trouble getting a tight connection, so I think I have to buy a different kind. I have to connect three ground wires to the terminal....Any suggestions on what type of replacement terminal to get? Also, I connected a jumper cable from the negative battery post to the engine block, and got a bell when the door opens and a few dashboard lights (no clock still). When I attempted to turn on the headlights, the bell and all of the lights turned off. Is there a problem with the battery? I put a battery charger on it all yesterday, so could the battery just be dead? The charger said the battery was at full charge, but for some reason I don't trust it. I'm going to get a hold of a voltmeter to see whats up with the battery. Any suggestions on what I should do?

[justen]

Originally Posted by SeanC

Also, I connected a jumper cable from the negative battery post to the engine block, and got a bell when the door opens and a few dashboard lights (no clock still). When I attempted to turn on the headlights, the bell and all of the lights turned off. Is there a problem with the battery?

I almost bet your ground wire isn't big enough to pull the load. And thats why when you turn your head lights on, everything else goes out. I've had trouble like this before, and I doubled up and twisted 4 10-gauge wires together to make one huge wire. Then it worked fine. If it was your battery, my thought on that is it would loose charge over night.

[SeanC]

I dont think it would be that, because the car ran for like 10 years the same way as it is... I had to replace the ground wire to the engine block, and got one that is slightly larger diameter than the old one. Does anyone know what kind of clamp to buy that is made for three wires? Also, if you dont have any wires connected to the negative battery post, and you ground it with a jumper cable, should the lights work? I'm going to get a hold of a voltmeter so I can see if the battery is dead...Any other suggestions? I really appreciate the help guys!

[dougbfresh]

Got to the auto parts store and buy a NEW end. It comes with a new bolt too. Take the battery w/ you and have them test it and you can get a cable end that fits while you have the battery there.

[SeanC]

I did buy a new end...The problem is that the three wires do not fit tightly even when you bolt it down. I'll go to a different auto parts store and see if they have something a little different.

[FieroSpeeder]

they have extended battery bolts for side post batteries. If this is what your talking about.

[justen]

If you bought one of these for the big cable

It's best to get one of these extensions for the other two small wires


You will need some 1/4 to 5/16 loop terminals for the smaller wires that will fit on the bolt.

[SeanC]

Its a top terminal....sorry if you guys didnt realize that

[dougbfresh]

Even the top mounts have the same 2 bolts as the picture above to attach to the cable end, crimp ends on your other wires and attach them to those bolts.

[justen]

heck if it's top post, for the time being pull one of the tightening end bolts out and put a loop terminal in it and tighten it so it crushes the main big ground wire. You won't find much of anything different, they just make terminal ends for a temporary solution. I do have a couple that you use a big crimper and hammer or solder in, But you wouldn't fit 3 wires in there, I can barely get the single big ground in there.

[SeanC]

I'll try getting a slightly smaller clamp, clamping the engine block ground wire (the biggest one) in the actually clamp, and then crimping loops on the other smaller ones and putting them under the bolts. You dont have to solder the wire in the clamp correct? Just bolt it down?