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Thread: Ground Bus

  1. #1
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    Ground Bus

    This is an overview of my ground buses (identical on both of my cars):
    GroundBusOverview.jpg

    The bus is 4 gauge battery cable from the top of the engine to the radiator bracket:
    GroundBusEngine.jpg GroundBusFrontRadiator.jpg
    then 8 gauge wire to the front of the car (the stainless plate behind the headlights is used as a ground block). Both junctions behind the headlights are tied into the front ground block with 8 gauge wire.

    There are 5 ground junctions in the original harness:
    - One by the bulkhead connectors
    - One in the relay compartment
    - Three under the console
    These are connected to the bus in their original soldered state:
    GroundBusJunctionLug2.jpg

    Wires originally junctioned at the radio bracket have been connected directly to the bus with a bolt. A new wire grounds the radio bracket itself to the bus.

    There is a ground block in the ECU compartment:
    GroundBusEcuBlockAnnotated.jpg

    The relay compartment bracket doubles as a ground block:
    GroundBusRelayBoltAnnotated.jpg

    The bus has its own connection to the battery:
    GroundBusBattery.jpg

    Bill Robertson
    #5939

    I just found another ground junction hiding behind the central A/C duct:
    GroundJunctionBehindACDuct.jpg
    This most likely is the ground junction for the inertia switch and the instrument cluster (two trouble spots).

    6 of the 7 wires on the rear bulkhead bolt have now been accounted for:
    - Junction behind the central A/C duct
    - 3 junctions under the console
    - Junction in the relay compartment
    - Junction by the bulkhead connectors

    I will be tying this newly located junction into the front bolts of my ground buses in the near future with short pieces of battery cable (that is why that bolt is there -- to allow me to add grounds to the bus as necessary).

    Bill Robertson
    #5939

  2. #2
    EFI'd dn010's Avatar
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    My ground bus is coming along nicely. I took out the 8 gauge because I found 4 gauge $13 for ten feet. So now I have 4 gauge and the console grounds tired in-the ECU bracket, relay compartment and the ground cluster near the back bulkhead all connected too. I see you've found a new cluster which I need to connect, then finish up the front of the car, connect the engine ground and lastly the bus to battery connection and I should be set. I ran the cable to the front of the car by cutting a small hole in the rubber that covers the heating/cooling lines that go through the firewall. I think this is a very easy task, the only trouble I've run into is that the ground clusters have very little wire too work with. Should be done tomorrow and running tomorrow, I'm excited!
    Last edited by dn010; 08-23-2011 at 10:52 PM.

  3. #3
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    I left the junction solder connections intact. They are just pressed against the ground cable. The lug wrapped around them both is copper, so it too is conductive.

    Bill Robertson
    #5939

  4. #4
    EFI'd dn010's Avatar
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    I'm using aluminum to connect and didn't have enough room for the whole soldered portion on a few of the clusters, especially the one mid console that has about 7-8 or so wires to it.

  5. #5
    Owner since 2007 Farrar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by content22207 View Post
    These are the lugs I used to attach my junctions to the bus:
    Ah HA! Now it makes sense. I wondered what that square shape was from.

    I will look for these the next time I am at the hardware store...

    Farrar

    Thanks for this thread, Bill! It is most instructive.

    Farrar
    3.0L, automatic, carbureted

  6. #6
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    The proper way to run a ground for the car would be like the way the + side is done. You run a heavy line from the battery to several posts in different spots on the car. One in the rear by the motor, one under the console, one under the dash, and one under the front. From those posts you connect all of the different circuits. I agree grounding was a neglected area but it works till you have bad connections. Then you get back-feeds and all kinds of weird symptoms. The main ground buss should be one continuous wire with no splices and run inside as much as possible. There are actually TWO grounding systems on the car. One is to run all of the electrical systems. The other is to bond all of the metal body panels together.
    David Teitelbaum

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by David T View Post
    The proper way to run a ground for the car would be like the way the + side is done. You run a heavy line from the battery to several posts in different spots on the car. One in the rear by the motor, one under the console, one under the dash, and one under the front. From those posts you connect all of the different circuits....
    Um, David, what do you think we're talking about here:
    GroundBusOverview.jpg

    Is 4 gauge battery cable heavy enough for you?

    I have two pre-planned access points (three if you count the bolt in the relay compartment, but it is 3/8" diameter which does limit its utility somewhat):
    - 1/4" stud in the ECU compartment
    - 1/4" bolt used to join two bus segments together at the front of the console
    Notice I will be tying the ground junction I found yesterday into the bus at the front bolt.

    Bill Robertson
    #5939

  8. #8
    EFI'd dn010's Avatar
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    I made mine one continuous length of wire from the bulkhead to the radiator. From the bulkhead ground point, there [will be] a cable running to the engine, and then another to the battery. I don't think I'll need to access it in the future but in case I do, #1-I attached an extra 10 gauge wire to a few of the attachment points that the ground clusters go to near the front and rear of the console that way I can just tie into that and #2 can always create another point in which to attach more grounds.
    Last edited by dn010; 08-24-2011 at 11:50 AM.

  9. #9
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    When I said a continuous cable what I wanted to say is the buss cable should not be cut and terminated at each grounding post but should have a tee type connector that wraps around the cable with a hole in it that attaches to each binding post. This way if any post along the way has a problem with a bad connection it doesn't affect the other junction posts past the bad connection. The buss should also be attached to the frame at each end and at some points between. The way to NOT do it is to cut the grounding buss into pieces and use terminals at each end to connect it to each post.
    David Teitelbaum

  10. #10
    Senior Member Kenny_Z's Avatar
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    Nice, thank you. I'll be able to go further with the grounding I already started.

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