Wiring Harness Help! :-/
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 400
Likes: 1
From: California
Wiring Harness Help! :-/
well, i just replaced my ground wire for the Alternator on my 79 to the upper radiator supports, i made sure it had resistance, er continuity so i dont fry something. BTW what would happen if the ground wasnt good on the alternator, what would go up in flames? ok so when i went to cut the wire down near the lower radiator support where its hooked up, i ripped open the wiring loom and found that the ground wasnt only the ground for the alternato, but about 4 other grounds were hooked up with a BUBBA wiring job to the alternator ground as well. would this cause excessive charging of the alternator, cuz my ground wire on the Alt. was fried all the way to each side when i tore the wire loom open. im kinda lost here 
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 4
From: May help you? You can sure as hell try!
Actually, the Bubba wiring of the ground is factory. In the wiring harness there are splices that connect the ground wires together. All of those ground connections are there because of the fiberglass body. Each electrical component needs to have a ground wire running to it if it is mounted to a fiberglass item. The additional ground connections have absolutely no impact on how your alternator will charge.
Forgot to mention one more thing: You will probably notice that some of the ground wires are thicker than others. That is due to the different current demands of each of the components that are connected. If some of the heavier gauge ground connections happen to be open or disconnected, all of the current intended to go to those connections will try to go through the connections that are smaller in wire gauge. This could be a cause for some of the ground connections frying. You're trying to ground too many amps through too small a wire.
Forgot to mention one more thing: You will probably notice that some of the ground wires are thicker than others. That is due to the different current demands of each of the components that are connected. If some of the heavier gauge ground connections happen to be open or disconnected, all of the current intended to go to those connections will try to go through the connections that are smaller in wire gauge. This could be a cause for some of the ground connections frying. You're trying to ground too many amps through too small a wire.
Last edited by LemansBlue68; Mar 31, 2005 at 11:30 AM.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 673
Likes: 0
From: Jackson Ms
hay grim,
looked at my 79 wiring chart. the alt. ground is on the same ground wire as the rest of the front end, lights, horn, so on...so it may not be bubba'ed up to bad.
as long as you have it going to a good ground it will work fine.
as far as the smoked wire, sounds like bubba shorted some'm out at one time.
good post LemansBlue68!
looked at my 79 wiring chart. the alt. ground is on the same ground wire as the rest of the front end, lights, horn, so on...so it may not be bubba'ed up to bad.
as long as you have it going to a good ground it will work fine.
as far as the smoked wire, sounds like bubba shorted some'm out at one time.
good post LemansBlue68!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 400
Likes: 1
From: California
what i am concerned about is being able to tell where each wire is grounded to, does it say in plain english? im really bad with wiring and need some sort of english or picture to figure out where it goes although half the car is fiberglass i still dont think i could find the ground im looking for. lol
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 395
Likes: 0
From: Shoreline WA
The best place to see pictures of where the wires connect is to look at the Assembly Manual. Also if you have the Haynes Repair Manual, it includes wiring schematics.
My 78 AIM shows three ground connections on that harness:
- Alternator
- Radiator Support (Drivers Side)
- Middle of the car, just in front of the hood, by the horn mount
The other ground connections for your front and turn, side marker lights are all suppose to connect within the harness, and supported through the three connections above.
Looked at the 78 and 79 schematics and they appear identical in this area.
My 78 AIM shows three ground connections on that harness:
- Alternator
- Radiator Support (Drivers Side)
- Middle of the car, just in front of the hood, by the horn mount
The other ground connections for your front and turn, side marker lights are all suppose to connect within the harness, and supported through the three connections above.
Looked at the 78 and 79 schematics and they appear identical in this area.
Last edited by SLine78; Apr 1, 2005 at 03:45 AM.
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