ditchlewis
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 07:46 PM |
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Bad earth
I have a bad earth.
i think it may be the fact that i hace connected the earth lead from the battery to the metal light guage metal plate used for the passenger footwell
on my MK indy.
is this the wrong location?
Ditch
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ReMan
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 07:55 PM |
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No, it should'nt be , unless you are'nt actually contacting the metal properly.
The light plate on the footwell would still carry about 500 Amps without getting warm.
What makes you say "i've got a bad earth", can you elaborate?
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JoelP
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 08:00 PM |
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provided the panel is welded and you have a good connection to the panel, all should be well. If its riveted you should still be ok, just beware there
might be sealant/adhesive in the mix too. I would try to put the earth onto a main chassis tube. Myself, id weld a bolt on, but thats not ideal if you
have it powder coated already. Use a wire brush to ensure the metal surfaces are clean. Myself, id not use grease before bolting it up (some people
use copper grease etc), id tighten it all up and then brush over with some grease to stop it rusting or seizing.
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Macbeast
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 08:39 PM |
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Don't forget the flexible earth strap between engine and chassis to take starter current.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 06:26 AM |
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Remember you also need to earth to the chassis or battery
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Aboardman
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 06:44 AM |
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and the earth strap from the car to ground, to stop you getting car sick.
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ditchlewis
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 07:09 AM |
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ohh forgot the last one, my fiance always gets sick in the car, could be the way i drive
will move the battery earth strap to a main chassis member....
what about the gearbox earth strap?? is this required to be a perfect no resistance connection?
As for a bad earth, the engine will barely turn over at all even when the battery is fully charged or when connected to another car to jump start
it..
ditch:
[Edited on 28/6/06 by ditchlewis]
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JoelP
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 07:33 AM |
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when using jump leads, connect the black one to the engine rather than -ve terminal. This reduces the distance the charge needs to travel, and would
show up a bad earth. I once had a big lead that was broken inside, it looked just fine but was a really crap earth. I have two earths now just for the
sake of it!
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Hellfire
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 08:29 AM |
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From reading this - you can't overdo earthing...
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ReMan
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 08:29 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ditchlewis
will move the battery earth strap to a main chassis member....
You should'net neet to if its a welded in footwell plate
what about the gearbox earth strap?? is this required to be a perfect no resistance connection?
You should,nt need this as well as an engine strap
As for a bad earth, the engine will barely turn over at all even when the battery is fully charged or when connected to another car to jump start
it..
The engine earth strap should fiw this then, unless its a poor connection in the +ve lead
ditch:
[Edited on 28/6/06 by ditchlewis]
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Hellfire
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 08:29 AM |
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From reading this - you can't overdo earthing...
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britishtrident
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 10:08 AM |
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Most jump leads even those sold as "Heavy Duty" are NBG --- as a rule of thumb if the cost less than 20 quid they won't do the
job.
A simple check for a duff earth lead is connect one of the jump leads between the battery negative terminnal and the engine block.
You need need to do a full set of battery voltage checks --- first charge the battery fully with modern batteries this is to over 13 volts after
battery is taken off charge, older battery chargers simply aren't up to the job. Then do a cranking voltage check and mesure the voltage drop
between the battery negative and the engine block when cranking, the voltage accross the battery when cranking.
[Edited on 28/6/06 by britishtrident]
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ditchlewis
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| posted on 29/6/06 at 07:11 AM |
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many thanks lads will do the voltage checks and check the live side of the circuit.
Ditch
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