I was perusing Hervey's web site the other day and I came across his new battery ground cables:
These two cables replace the single original one. The longer cable goes from the battery's negative terminal to a bolt on the transmission. The shorter cables goes from that same bolt to the original grounding spot which is next to the trailing arm bushing. This new set up sounded like a good idea, so I ordered a set of the cables.
When I removed the original ground wire, I inspected it to see if it was bad. If you look at the pictures, you can see why a new ground cable is in order. The frame terminal pulled off very easily, and you can see some stray wires on the battery terminal end.
It doesn't take very long to install the new wires. The tricky part may be removing the original ground cable because you need to remove the bolt which also attaches the trailing arm bushing plate. If you haven't done this before, these bolts are usually double nutted. One of the nuts is welded onto the frame, and the other is a free spinning one. If you don't remove the free spinning nut first, you are liable to snap the bolt off. I recommend doing this on wheel ramps so the weight of the car is on the suspension. The bolt in question will come out and will go back in easier.
When you route the new ground cables, the shorter one will interfere with the passenger air deflector plate (trailing arm cover). To fix this, I cut a new "gap" in the plate to accommodate the cable. It worked out well. Even if you don't get this new upgrade, I suggest you check your ground cable for wear, and at least replace it with a NOS one.
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