Ground wire on heads, e-brake question

[281pony]

i have a basic question about the ground wire that goes from the back of the heads to the firewall. when i got my car it only had the drivers side grounded. im just wondering if both sides are supposed to have grounds? i have always wondered this.

my second question is about disconnecting my e-brake cables. i have done some searches before and tried some of the methods i saw to disconnect them. im trying to disconnect them right off the transmission i guess, where they turn from lines to cables. i tried using pliers to "squeeze" the connector and pull the cable out but nothing happened. i tried using different size wrenches i heard have worked before, but cant get them off.

any other tips/suggestions? is there even a specialty tool i can get? i havent found anything else, or even in my chilton. im going to cut them off with a dye grinder this weekend if i dont find anything else.

thanks

 

[Grn92LX]

There is not a ground on each head. There is one going to the firewall and one small orange wire ground comming from the salt n peper shakers I think.

 

[281pony]

its a braided looking silver wire from the back of the head to the firewall.

when i had my heads machined/decked, i asked about it. he said it was to prevent electrolosis (sp?) that will eat away at aluminum heads. not a big deal either way, im just going to put some attention into my engine bay and cleaning it up. so the question came back to me.

any thoughts on the e-brake cables?

 

[Grn92LX]

Stock heads are iron so the machinist was incorrect.

Not sure about the Ebrake cable, sorry.

 

[281pony]

i have aluminum edelbrock heads, is it correct for aluminum? i think we got mixed up.

anyone running aluminum heads hear similar or never heard of it?

 

[Grn92LX]

I meant your machinist told you that ground is so alum heads don't get eaten up and thats incorrect b/c that wire comes stock on our cars which have iron heads stock.

 

[281pony]

oh i see what your saying. he told me to add a second since i have aluminum heads. supposivly it saves them from the electrolosis. i have never heard of such a thing so i figured i would ask.

sounds like its not that big of a deal then

 

[TheUser]

i think that strap is just to serve as a grounding wire - nothing else as far as I know.

 

[281pony]

i think that strap is just to serve as a grounding wire - nothing else as far as I know.

ok thanks, its one of those things that would bug me forever unless i asked. i wont worry about it.

those damn e-brake cables though

 

[Shakerhood]

ok thanks, its one of those things that would bug me forever unless i asked. i wont worry about it.

those damn e-brake cables though

If you are trying to remove the handbrake cables and are talking about where the little fingers are expanded to hold them to the body, I just put a small hose clamp over those fingers and tightened it down with a screwdriver and pulled them right through. Everything else I tried didnt work either.

 

[281pony]

hose clamp, thats a good idea. ill try that one this weekend. if that fails, dye grinder is coming out still.

thanks for the suggestion

 

[jrichker]

A lot of people think ground wires aren't very important. They are misinformed or lacking electrical knowledge. In almost any car, the ground is the return path for current to get to the battery. No good ground, poor operation of that circuit.

The ground for the back of the head is very important. It supplies ground for the alternator, A/C compressor clutch and other electrical accessories such as the gauges. Any car that has a 3G alternator needs a 4 gauge ground wire running from the block to the chassis ground where the battery pigtail ground connects. It can connect to the head or the intake manifold, but wherever it connects to, it must be a good clean bare metal spot. The same is true of where it connects to the firewall, a good clean bare metal spot.