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Electrical Issue?


Would I be able to find that brake ground at Autozone? Or should I just plug it in and call it a day? I think about half of the wire strands from that brake ground are gone.

I think I'll also pick up a new terminal. Cheap insurance, right?

EDIT:
* The Batt- to body (secondary ground I think) wire is new and upgraded (I put 4ga there I think).
* I will get a new Batt- to frame wire/terminal.
* I replaced the Batt+ to starter wire about a year ago when I replaced the starter.
* I replaced the Batt+ to fuse block wire a few months ago with an upgraded size.

That leaves the engine to ground wire. Where is it on the engine and where is it grounded to? How long is this wire and what gauge? If I replace this one, too, I think that will round out my main wires.
 
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Would I be able to find that brake ground at Autozone? Or should I just plug it in and call it a day? I think about half of the wire strands from that brake ground are gone.

I think I'll also pick up a new terminal. Cheap insurance, right?

EDIT:
* The Batt- to body (secondary ground I think) wire is new and upgraded (I put 4ga there I think).
* I will get a new Batt- to frame wire/terminal.
* I replaced the Batt+ to starter wire about a year ago when I replaced the starter.
* I replaced the Batt+ to fuse block wire a few months ago with an upgraded size.

That leaves the engine to ground wire. Where is it on the engine and where is it grounded to? How long is this wire and what gauge? If I replace this one, too, I think that will round out my main wires.
As far as the brake ground, nobody is going to have a wire with the matching end to just plug in, but you could cut the plug off and either do some sort of terminal end that you can attach to, or a splice (solder and heat shrink tube).

I recommend the brass "marine" terminals. They're a little more durable than the lead terminals and they're more corrosion resistant.

IIRC, the battery to frame wire usually goes to both the frame and the engine, but sometimes there are separate wires. Usually on a 2.9L from what I've seen, it attaches to a bolt on the passenger side just above the oil pan. When I did it on my choptop, I reached in through the wheel arch to get to it (of course with the lift it was easy to gain access).

Grounds are arguably more important than power wires. If the ground is junk, it doesn't matter how good the supply wire is, juice isn't going to flow. Thus, when in doubt, us a bigger ground wire and make sure the connection is the best. That's why I ran the ground for my amp in my Ranger straight back to the battery. I tried grounding through the body/frame and after frying an amp, decided that I wasn't going to play around anymore.

And ALWAYS use dielectric grease on electrical connections. It DOES prevent corrosion and saves a LOT of headaches later.
 
UPDATE!

Okay, I took the old ground out (Batt- to frame and engine block to frame). This is how it looked:

Rangerbattery047.jpg


Rangerbattery046.jpg


Rangerbattery048.jpg


I replaced the terminal with a 20" battery terminal on 2ga wire. I replaced the engine block to frame with a 19" 4ga wire. Here is where they are now bolted to the frame.

Rangerbattery052.jpg


I spliced the brake ground into a wire coming off the terminal (convenient).

Rangerbattery060.jpg


I also re-routed the plug that was bolted to the frame with the other two grounds to a spot in the front. I'm not sure what this plug was, but it had the same type of plug as the brake ground. Does anybody know what this plug is for? It's the plug below with the red/orange ring on it, coming out of the wiring harness below the solenoid.

Rangerbattery045.jpg


And here's everything all cleaned up:

Rangerbattery058.jpg


It started right up when I got everything back together. Does it seem like this was bad enough to cause the issue I had? I haven't taken it for a test drive yet, but it started up with no problem. Thanks to all for your help!
 
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YES! That DEFINITELY looks bad enough to cause a serious grounding problem!
 
After I had it out, I was able to completely break the wire apart by just pulling (not even very hard).

What about that plug? Any idea what it's for? I assume it's another ground, but I'm not sure for what.
 
After I had it out, I was able to completely break the wire apart by just pulling (not even very hard).

What about that plug? Any idea what it's for? I assume it's another ground, but I'm not sure for what.
As far as the plug goes... I don't remember what it's for. If it wasn't dark (and I have to get up in just a few hours for work), I'd go play with my choptop and see if I could figure it out. Maybe someone else can chime in with an answer....
 
As far as the plug goes... I don't remember what it's for. If it wasn't dark (and I have to get up in just a few hours for work), I'd go play with my choptop and see if I could figure it out. Maybe someone else can chime in with an answer....

if it's the smaller ground wire with the connector shown there, it grounds the computer, usually they run badly (or not at all) with that unhooked.
 
if it's the smaller ground wire with the connector shown there, it grounds the computer, usually they run badly (or not at all) with that unhooked.

That makes sense, then. That wire was bolted by the frame with the other ground, but there was no wire showing. The wire was completely surrounded with insulation when I unbolted it--it seemed like it wasn't getting any connection at all. I stripped the end of the wire and put a round connector with a hole in it at the end and then bolted it to where the secondary ground is.
 
You can always add a ground from the alternator body to the battery just for giggles the less resistence the better especially if you live in a really cold region. good job tho.
 
I drove it today about 10 miles to dinner and about 10 miles back home. Started right up all day. I'll be taking it to work for the first time tomorrow since the fix.
 

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