Engine ground question....

[jesse977]

My truck would all of a sudden just die on me..like if gas wasnt going to the carb. When I would rev the engine it would just turn off but start right back up. I went to pep boys to buy some carb cleaner and on the way home the truck just turned off and I could not get it to start again. Luckily there was a auto shop right were my truck stalled. To make a long story short the mechanic put a wire from the alternator bracket to the chassis. He said the engine needed to be grounded. Does this seem right?? I didnt have time to pick up the truck so I havent driven it. Is there another location on the engine that could be grounded? I have a 74 gmc w a 350 smallblock

[mhicks]

Grounds...... I was having problems with my torque converter leaking on my'73 and took it to a shop that only works on transmissions. He said it looked like the seal on the pump had gone out. After he got it torn down he found a crack on the pipe that sticks out of the torque converter. He expected it to be the seal. He said that if there is not a REAL good ground from the from the transmission to the block, the block to the frame and the valve cover bolts to the frame that the power for the lock-up torque converter will and can cause an arc between the torque converter and the pump. He said that he had seen this to be a real problem. Electricity always takes the path of least resistance and when the back of the block is painted and the transimission is not getting a great ground that will happen. When I went to pick it up he had put a ground from the transmission to the altenator bracket to the bolt on the bellhousing. He had also put a ground from the bellhousing to the frame. He didn't have any more ground straps the day that he had worked on it but when I picked it up he had some made up and gave me 2 more to put from the firewall to each valve cover. He said that he had fixed a lot of transmission problems that way. He said that when the electricity travels to or from (depending on how you look at current flow, I am in electronics and in college we learned that one theory says from plus to minus and one from minus to plus) that it will cause pitting in the hub that sticks out of the converter and cause the seal to start leaking. He also said that he had fixed a lot of transmission problems by adding ground straps even on newer vehicles. So, you can think what you want but it sounds like he knew what he was talking about.

[jermasaurus]

We had a truck back when i was in school that would die if the headlights or any other accessory was turned on. It was a 91 3/4 ton chevy.

There ended up being a ground strap that got torn off most likely from a branch or somthing.
New ground strap took care of it

[us111]

a ground will certainly do that,,engine to frame,,engine to firewall,,cab to frame should all have a good ground strap..some people also ground the radiator support to frame..,but if your engine wasn't grounded to frame to begin with ,not quiet sure how it was even running to begin with..

[piecesparts]

Most trucks have a ground strap from a bolt on the back of the head on the passsenger side to the body of the truck. The wire ususally goes to the cab by the heater core.

[jesse977]

Any one have pics on differnt locations were the ground wire is installed? Mine is installed on the alternator bracket to the chasis. I just wanna relocate it and keep it away from view to keep the engine clean looking.

[us111]

hi,,,don't have any pic's but it does not matter "where" it is bolted too as long as it is a good tight,clean,secure connection to the engine/frame...can be anywhere,alt,,,p/s,,,bolt underneath,,anywhere long as it is clean and secure.... (side note) and as long as it's steel...

[piecesparts]

I would show you pictures but mine is hidden behind the motor. It is connected to a bolt in the rear of the head and then goes back to the cab and is connected to a grounding bolt there.