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cbarr300

Member

Jun 6, 2006

746

0

17

goose creek, SC

Jun 29, 2007

#1

• Jun 29, 2007

• #1

If you're having charging problems...remember to check your grounds.

Ever since I've had this car it's charged at 13.1 when cold and once it warmed up it discharged at 12.1 and sometimes as low as 11.5....but it always cranked......just really slow. I've gone through 4 alternators I think......and 2 voltage regulators.

I checked my ground that were on the engine itself and they looked good...apparently they weren't. I hooked up a little jumper wire from the engine to the chassis and it started charging at 13.9.

Even if they look good...extra grounding is always good to have.



now here's a question for you......could a bad ground cause a car to run hotter than normal?

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

15 Year Member

Nov 29, 1999

31,179

33

129

Jun 29, 2007

#2

• Jun 29, 2007

• #2

Clay, yes it can. For the simple fact that your fan isnt running at full tilt (big difference in fan speed at 12.0 volts vs 14.0 volts, for instance).

Electric gauges can be affected as well.

Nice work man!

 

The Green GT

No 13 year olds are safe around me.

10 Year Member

Jan 8, 2006

1,269

19

99

Louisiana

Jun 29, 2007

#3

• Jun 29, 2007

• #3

How close to the sending unit should the ground for a gauge be?

 

Guero

Active Member

Oct 11, 2005

2,148

0

47

Jun 29, 2007

#4

• Jun 29, 2007

• #4

Were is the engine ground?

 

I

igotyofire

Member

Feb 26, 2004

774

1

19

Southern California

Jun 29, 2007

#5

• Jun 29, 2007

• #5

it will be completely cold at night in the winter and my car will still have the temp needle over by the A, with a new radiator too. so maybe its ground or thermastat acting up. eitherway i should look into that , but it kinda fluactes kuz its not always acting like that.

 

C

cbarr300

Member

Jun 6, 2006

746

0

17

goose creek, SC

Jun 29, 2007

#6

• Jun 29, 2007

• #6

Eric, I don't think it matters how far the ground is on the car...I could be very wrong here though.

Guero, IIRC, there's one right by the waterpump/oil filter area on the timing cover. That's the main one I know about......as that was the only one that was on my engine, lol?

I think there's one on the passenger side motor mount and there's a strap that connects to the frame right in front of the radiator...not sure where that one goes though.

JT would be of more help than me here.....since apparently the previous owner of the car butchered the grounds and I never knew they were there.

Also, this thing starts like a champ now....It doesn't matter how hard I run it or how hot it gets....always cranks the same now :thumbsup:

I can also fully see the cobra faceplate at night too...before it'd have darkspots on it and I couldn't see the top numbers. My stereo sounds 1000X better......and best of all....my pump can actually push enough fuel for the AFPR to do it's job with boost (the 1:1 ratio thing)...before it wouldn't get past 40 PSI...now I'm at a good 48 or so at WOT

definitely worth the while to check the grounds

 

C

cbarr300

Member

Jun 6, 2006

746

0

17

goose creek, SC

Jun 29, 2007

#7

• Jun 29, 2007

• #7

Igotyofire:

what got me thinking about the ground was that If I was in first and tapped the pedal (increased rpm by like 300..I don't have pullies btw) the volt gauge would jump up and then fall back down...however, If I was on the highway turning 3500 rpm...it would stay low (close to the "O"). If I tapped the pedal and made the car jerk a bit it would come up and fall down. Also, when I accelerated in first or second, the gauge would go up a bit....but would fall once I backed off the pedal. When I would do this the needle would bounce all over the place.

So I figured I had a bad connection and sure enough.....the ground fixed it.


I think your temp problem could be air in the system. Either that or your thermostat is acting up. Try burping the system by letting the car run with the radiator cap off and also squeeze the top radiator hose to push the air out once the thermostat opens.

Thanks guys

 

Car Nut

Founding Member

Jul 6, 2000

1,176

1

37

Snellville, Georgia (Atlanta area)

Jun 29, 2007

#8

• Jun 29, 2007

• #8

cbarr300:

You beat me to it! Did this upgrade last night and forgot to post the results today.

I just replaced the weak strap ground that goes from the engine to the frame with a 24" 4 guage battery cable. The new cable must have been 3 times thicker and the connecting points are more significant too.

The whole install took maybe 10 minutes. Most of that was putting the car on ramps.

Benefits I saw:

car starts better and quicker
headlights are brighter
interior lights are brighter
battery guage no longer lags
running A/C, stereo, headlights, and fog lights don't cause a drain at all.
overall, the car seemed to fun smoother as if it were years younger.

With all the above said, it should be mentioned that I had already cleaned up all my other grounds a couple weeks ago. Nothing made a more positive effect than replacing/upgrading the engine to chasis ground.

Can't wait to do a longer trip tomorrow and open her up on the interstate in 95 degree Georgia heat.

For all 94/95 owners...........this should be your first mod.

 

Guero

Active Member

Oct 11, 2005

2,148

0

47

Jun 29, 2007

#9

• Jun 29, 2007

• #9

Well If i rememebr right the lowest my voltage got was 13.3. the it would go back up to the high 13.'s and 14 flat. So looks like im k lol!

 

C

cbarr300

Member

Jun 6, 2006

746

0

17

goose creek, SC

Jun 29, 2007

#10

• Jun 29, 2007

• #10

haha, yeah

There were 2 times my car wouldn't start today....worst it's ever been....so I said to hell with it and spent all of 45 mins tracking it down. I got all the same benefits as you...it's amazing what some more power will do.

I always thought it was just because my battery was in the trunk...guess not, haha

 

final5-0

Mustang Master

Apr 6, 2003

6,817

12

79

DFW Texas

Jun 29, 2007

#11

• Jun 29, 2007

• #11

Just a bit of battery voltage info for those who might be interested

A couple of years ago I did some extensive testing working with my
injector offsets

I'll have to use approximate values as its too late to look up the details

At cold startup I would see like 14.5 volts and it would stay at that rate
for about 20 minutes. In the next 10 minutes the voltage would stabilize
and depending upon the amount of accessories working at the time
it held pretty steady.

There is a whole lot more I could say but I'd have to look up the data

The main thing I wanted to share for now was how long it took to
obtain a stable supply of voltage.

btw ... what motivated me to find things along these lines was
I could only get so close with my Closed Loop Tune
and
Suddenly things would go crazy
and
I was no longer close to my desired results

Inj's don't squirt the same at 14.5 and 12.0 volts :Word:

anyway ... just thought some might find that interesting

As for a bad ground ... You Bet ... It could hose up lots of stuff

Grady

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

15 Year Member

Nov 29, 1999

31,179

33

129

Jun 30, 2007

#12

• Jun 30, 2007

• #12

Grady, that's one reason I've always wondered why injectors don't use a step-down (to say 10 volts).

Interesting stuff you posted there professor!