Ground Wire Questions

[lpradiohead]

Hello all,
I am scrubbing down all of my ground connections on my 99 SC1 and have several questions. First, on my negative grounds, what should be connected to the ground post? That is, I have my battery cable on my ground near my fusebox AND a small black wire around the ground post. Is this normal? An accessory I do not know about? Second, on my negative ground connected to the engine I have my battery cable AND another cable; is this normal? Third, if these are supposed to be there (which I think they are), what should be the order that they are connected? Should the battery grounds be touching the metal first, followed by the other connections? Does it matter? And, if I may be so bold, my last question: does anyone the best way to get to the ground beneath the air filter? It is nigh impossible. Thanks.

[wolfman]

Is this normal?

YES

Second, on my negative ground connected to the engine I have my battery cable AND another cable; is this normal?

YES

Thickest wire (as clean as you can reasonably get it) on the bottom, thinner wires on top, then the nut. NOTE: Generally any wire that needs to be connected direct to chassis (or engine) GROUND will have an RING (aka: eyelet) connector on the end of it AND be black in color.

[sierrap615]

here is a diagram of all ground locations - http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/sho...hp/photo/17765

Originally Posted by lpradiohead

does anyone the best way to get to the ground beneath the air filter? It is nigh impossible. Thanks.

remove the entire air box and its right there

[Thor4SL2]

While we are on the subject of ground wires, is anyone using the ground kits they sell on eBay and other places? Are they anything more than cosmetic? If so how are they installed, to what points?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...946824814&rd=1

Also is there any advantage to putting dialectic grease between the wire(s) and the ground point?

[eljefino]

The ebay ground kits are junk; if the factory knew the car would run better with more grounding they'd have done it in a heartbeat.

If I had a ground apart and cleaned up, I'd reassemble it dry so the fastener would have less chance of coming loose. Any goop to keep water out I'd apply from the outside.

[sierrap615]

they would work if you had a rusted-thru beater from the 70's. they would connect to the points in my link above.

[geeze]

Dielectric grease is used to keep moisture out and to reduce oxidation of the connection, not increase conductivity. Only apply to connection after it is made and torqued down. Good connections are made by freshly cleaned components. Use either sandpaper or a Scotch-Brite pad (my favorite).

There is a high conductivity grease available. 1/2 ounce costs $40. It is made up of micro-fine (1 micron) 99.9% pure silver. Purchase through McMaster Carr. It is a rare case where this would be needed so diagnose carefully and correct the problem first.

I have had electrical problems source right down to the fuse level where there was excessive oxidation on the fuse which reduced the conductivity to a level where supplied components wer fed low voltage. Good PM to clean alll fuses / relay when you change out a battery. You would be suprised the difference it can make.

[Razorbak]

Originally Posted by geeze

Dielectric grease is used to keep moisture out and to reduce oxidation of the connection, not increase conductivity.

On the contrary, dielectric grease is specifically designed to not conduct electricity. That's why it makes such a good insulator for spark plug boots, because it prevents spark jumping and carbon tracking. Here's the official definition...

"Dielectric"