TRUCK IS ACTING CRAZY

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

JACK34

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Messages
156
Reaction score
125
Location
Illinois
Right now? Nearly none. The problem is that in ten years there's going to be corrosion in that strap. It also looks goofy having a ground strap a mile long. I'd shoot a little PB Blaster on that strap to give it a fighting chance.


So connect it to the frame then. The engine, body, frame, and battery should all be connected by ground straps.
In 10 years that ground strap will be the least of my worries. It takes literally 10 minutes to replace it. Again as I said before this is not a show truck. I don't care how it looks I just need it to run.
 

JACK34

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Messages
156
Reaction score
125
Location
Illinois
Also, check your battery voltage and have it load-tested (any auto parts store can do it for free). A battery that's 'on the edge' can make a vehicle act funny. Maybe you already replaced it, I don't remember..
I will do that tomorrow battery is a year and a half old. I just checked some readings. Battery was at 12.4 volts, running it was 13.9, with everything turned on lights ac blower everything it was 13.3. I turned everything off shut truck off battery was at 12.8.
 

thinger2

I'm Awesome
Joined
Jul 6, 2019
Messages
1,562
Reaction score
3,936
Location
Tacoma
Thank you for your reply I'm not sure I understand all of it but thank you. On my truck it has 1 braid going from the firewall stud to the frame. The other braid goes from the back of the passengers side head to the firewall stud. I replaced the firewall to frame with pretty heavy 1 inch braid I already had laying around. I got some lighter but much heavier than the factory braid and connected it to the mechanical fuel pump cover back to the firewall stud. If that ground needs to be connected to the head and not the block could you explain why and I will try and find a spot on the head. I don't know why that would matter but there are a lot of things I don't know. I took it out this morning and ran the piss out of it and it ran better than it ever has since I've owned it. Again thank you for you comment.
Basically, grounds need to stay attached the the same "ground plane" as they were originally.
In other words, the same chunk of cast iron in your case.
If you move that ground off of the head to the block.
That ground now has to go through the head gasket.
It wont do that. It will ground to the shortest path.
The only way it can achieve that original grounding is through the head bolts.
It will ground to block instead.
The same thing happens if you move a ground from the intake to the block or the head.
The intake gasket is now in the way.
The problem people run into is that they do a continuaty test on the ground and get a tone out of the voltmeter and think its all good.
Each ground serves a specific set of paths.
When you move a ground to a different plane, you change that"path"
That path will be the shortest most direct.
And it will go through the easiest most conductive material.
Which can end up being the main bearings.
Bad or improper or missing grounds can also eat the bearings out of your transmission.
They are grounded in those planes for a reason.
We see this all the friggen time in the commercial boat world.
70 year old steel hull that is paper thin in 2 years because somebody moved a ground so it was easier to get at.
Knucleheads who paint over the hull zincs on wood boats and next year the bronze through hull valves turn to mush.
The best one was a "Engineer" who managed intermittant short a 480 volt gen pack to the prop shaft.
We just kept going slower and slower per rpm.
Then it shook like hell
Disimiliar metals and errant voltage ate the prop down a little three blade nub.
When that had nothing left to give the 6 inch diameter 22 foot long prop shaft turned into a noodle.
A warped noodle that ripped the cutlass bearing to shreds and broke the twin disk reduction gear and ripped it out of the bottom of the boat.
That problem, that electrolysis took a while to get that bad.
Probably a couple of years in the salt water.
But the all is well to the Mayday was about 45 minutes.
And dont try to chuck all of your coke and weed over the side while you are in a friggen gumby suit.
No thumbs. That **** will blow back on you and now you have to go for a swim before the coast guard shows up.
And fer ***** sake dont use a wood pipe no matter how cool it looks.
Wood floats, brass sinks.
 

JACK34

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Messages
156
Reaction score
125
Location
Illinois
Basically, grounds need to stay attached the the same "ground plane" as they were originally.
In other words, the same chunk of cast iron in your case.
If you move that ground off of the head to the block.
That ground now has to go through the head gasket.
It wont do that. It will ground to the shortest path.
The only way it can achieve that original grounding is through the head bolts.
It will ground to block instead.
The same thing happens if you move a ground from the intake to the block or the head.
The intake gasket is now in the way.
The problem people run into is that they do a continuaty test on the ground and get a tone out of the voltmeter and think its all good.
Each ground serves a specific set of paths.
When you move a ground to a different plane, you change that"path"
That path will be the shortest most direct.
And it will go through the easiest most conductive material.
Which can end up being the main bearings.
Bad or improper or missing grounds can also eat the bearings out of your transmission.
They are grounded in those planes for a reason.
We see this all the friggen time in the commercial boat world.
70 year old steel hull that is paper thin in 2 years because somebody moved a ground so it was easier to get at.
Knucleheads who paint over the hull zincs on wood boats and next year the bronze through hull valves turn to mush.
The best one was a "Engineer" who managed intermittant short a 480 volt gen pack to the prop shaft.
We just kept going slower and slower per rpm.
Then it shook like hell
Disimiliar metals and errant voltage ate the prop down a little three blade nub.
When that had nothing left to give the 6 inch diameter 22 foot long prop shaft turned into a noodle.
A warped noodle that ripped the cutlass bearing to shreds and broke the twin disk reduction gear and ripped it out of the bottom of the boat.
That problem, that electrolysis took a while to get that bad.
Probably a couple of years in the salt water.
But the all is well to the Mayday was about 45 minutes.
And dont try to chuck all of your coke and weed over the side while you are in a friggen gumby suit.
No thumbs. That **** will blow back on you and now you have to go for a swim before the coast guard shows up.
And fer ***** sake dont use a wood pipe no matter how cool it looks.
Wood floats, brass sinks.
Can you say that one more time. That was good. Thank you.
 

Erin

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 30, 2017
Messages
1,273
Reaction score
2,680
Location
Louisiana
My 94 grounds were originally from firewall to frame & firewall to back of head. One is still firewall to frame, but the other is frame to back of head.
 

thinger2

I'm Awesome
Joined
Jul 6, 2019
Messages
1,562
Reaction score
3,936
Location
Tacoma
Sure. All grounds bolted to the head need to stay bolted to that head.
All things grounded to the intake need to stay grounded to the intake.
All things grounded to the block need to stay grounded to the block
All things grounded to the transmission need to stay grounded to the transmission.
All things that may get you charged with a felony while opporating a commercial vessal upon the navigable waters of the United States need to sink.
 

JACK34

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Messages
156
Reaction score
125
Location
Illinois
My 94 grounds were originally from firewall to frame & firewall to back of head. One is still firewall to frame, but the other is frame to back of head.
If you changed the ground from the head from firewall to frame that can cause a ground loop that ultimately will cause a Ground Plane issue and could lead to a fire.
 

JACK34

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Messages
156
Reaction score
125
Location
Illinois
Sure. All grounds bolted to the head need to stay bolted to that head.
All things grounded to the intake need to stay grounded to the intake.
All things grounded to the block need to stay grounded to the block
All things grounded to the transmission need to stay grounded to the transmission.
All things that may get you charged with a felony while opporating a commercial vessal upon the navigable waters of the United States need to sink.
Thank you I will try and find a spot on the head to mount the ground to.
 

thinger2

I'm Awesome
Joined
Jul 6, 2019
Messages
1,562
Reaction score
3,936
Location
Tacoma
Sure. All grounds bolted to the head need to stay bolted to that head.
All things grounded to the intake need to stay grounded to the intake.
All things grounded to the block need to stay grounded to the block
All things grounded to the transmission need to stay grounded to the transmission.
Errant voltage will find its way to the least "noble" metal. and moving grounds can change that path to the mains or the tail shaft bearings or whatever "Tone" continuity doesnt mean much of anything. You can get continuity out of one left over strand from a cable.
 

Erin

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 30, 2017
Messages
1,273
Reaction score
2,680
Location
Louisiana
If you changed the ground from the head from firewall to frame that can cause a ground loop that ultimately will cause a Ground Plane issue and could lead to a fire.
Mechanic I used said it didn’t matter if it’s on the frame, & I’ve had no issues in the year since. Before I put new ground cables, both were broken & gave me no issues for years. When I had my engine replaced the mechanic at the dealer put ground from the block to the frame, but it was a dinky wire that I had replaced with a better one.
 
Top