battery puzzle!
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 876
Likes: 0
From: Canastota Ny
battery puzzle!
okay guys heres one for ya. im sure easy for you...
i was looking through my AIM. its shows my battery cables in the diagram. My car has a black cable from positive going straight through the front gromment of the batt box to straight under the car someplace. (most likely starter) never looked.
i have a red cable going out the bottom gromment of the batt box and it snakes down across the frame over to the passenger side. and then straight up front and across over to the starter mounting bolt. (very long bolt) next t othe exhaust and attaches there.
my questions---
1. i found under my car, where the AIM shows the negative cable should attach back under the batt box area is this correct? 1979 (weld nut)
2. Is the black cable supposed to be positive? and red negative?
3. was bubba involved in this? LOL!
any direction is appreciated
i was looking through my AIM. its shows my battery cables in the diagram. My car has a black cable from positive going straight through the front gromment of the batt box to straight under the car someplace. (most likely starter) never looked.
i have a red cable going out the bottom gromment of the batt box and it snakes down across the frame over to the passenger side. and then straight up front and across over to the starter mounting bolt. (very long bolt) next t othe exhaust and attaches there.
my questions---
1. i found under my car, where the AIM shows the negative cable should attach back under the batt box area is this correct? 1979 (weld nut)
2. Is the black cable supposed to be positive? and red negative?
3. was bubba involved in this? LOL!
any direction is appreciated
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,123
Likes: 433
From: Gladstone MO
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
I think GM used cables that were black. THe positive cable had a red grommet or end (side post.) Too costly to use a red cable the whole distance. The short cable that hooks right to the frame under the battery box is Negative. The long cable goes to the starter.
If someone replaced the negaive cable at some point, they may have used an aftermarket cable that was red- probably the only one that was the correct length.
Don't hook them up backwards. THe smoke will leak out of your alternator and it won't work anymore.
If someone replaced the negaive cable at some point, they may have used an aftermarket cable that was red- probably the only one that was the correct length.
Don't hook them up backwards. THe smoke will leak out of your alternator and it won't work anymore.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 2,675
Likes: 13
From: Sudbury MA
On my 68 a long black cable is positive and goes to the starter.
The short black cable comes out of the battery and gets bolted to the frame under the battery box with a star washer. (and a weld nut)
Maybe someone changed your cables and installed the wrong colors because that was all they had or all that was available ( or were color blind and named "Bubba")
Kurt
The short black cable comes out of the battery and gets bolted to the frame under the battery box with a star washer. (and a weld nut)
Maybe someone changed your cables and installed the wrong colors because that was all they had or all that was available ( or were color blind and named "Bubba")
Kurt
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 876
Likes: 0
From: Canastota Ny
okay so the really long red cable i have snaking from the negative side up front to the starter mounting bolt should terminate at the weld nut near the battery box then. and be about 4 feet shorter!
i think ive come to the conclusiion that they replaced the negative cable at some pont and did not know of where it originally mounted so they ran it up to a ground point? starter bolt. just a theory the car starts fined but when i went to disconnect the battery tonight for winter is when i really got thinking about it.
can anyone positively verify
i think ive come to the conclusiion that they replaced the negative cable at some pont and did not know of where it originally mounted so they ran it up to a ground point? starter bolt. just a theory the car starts fined but when i went to disconnect the battery tonight for winter is when i really got thinking about it.
can anyone positively verify
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 8,918
Likes: 27
From: New Hill NC
It will not hurt a thing to be mounted that way, and could even be better to have the ground close the the starter. It is an old trick of us 6 Volt guys to add an extra ground to the end plate of the starter where the brushes are gounded. Does wonders for starting a 6V car.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 876
Likes: 0
From: Canastota Ny
It really looks terrible ziptied under the car all over and i had to wire loom it near the exhaust cause it runs over it. thats an awfull long ground though. i mean from my car audio days you kept your grounds as short as poss. which now if i remember may have been to reduce noise. Also now that i look at it the neg cable has a red termal on it too with two smaller bolts for accessories! YiKES! needless to say...new acdeldo gound cable is on the way!
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,371
Likes: 223
From: Beecher Illinois
The ground cable coming out of the battery box should be a short cable that attaches to the bottom of the frame crossmember right near the driveshaft.
Then another short ground cable like in the pic....
Then another short ground cable like in the pic....
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 12,142
Likes: 54
From: Taylor Michigan
Overlooked Important Ground
.
Caution, Red cables are normally cheaper and made of aluminum as a conductor. The reason for the long cable COULD be because their car has experienced ground issues in the past. Thus run it to the engine. Not saying that is what happened, but that ground on the cross-member needs periodic attention on all Vettes because a bad ground will cause hard starting problems that are incorrectly diagnosed as a bad starter. The result is frequent starter replacements and bad mouthing starters in general. Before replacing a starter, {nasty job anyway} clean the battery's ground on the cross-member. It might just solve those hard starts and save several $$$$$...
Caution, Red cables are normally cheaper and made of aluminum as a conductor. The reason for the long cable COULD be because their car has experienced ground issues in the past. Thus run it to the engine. Not saying that is what happened, but that ground on the cross-member needs periodic attention on all Vettes because a bad ground will cause hard starting problems that are incorrectly diagnosed as a bad starter. The result is frequent starter replacements and bad mouthing starters in general. Before replacing a starter, {nasty job anyway} clean the battery's ground on the cross-member. It might just solve those hard starts and save several $$$$$...
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Advanced
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 52
Likes: 0
I have a 1979, the ground wire from the battery (black) goes through the bottom of the box and attaches to the frame there. (welded nut) The possitive runs up to the starter. There is a ground wire shown in KapsSA that runs from the frame to the engine shown in Kaps Photo.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 14,112
Likes: 28
From: Florida
There are 2 original main gounds.
From the neg bat post to the rear xmember.
From the underneath of pass side engine mount on frame to the top front starter mount on engine block.
Ther are several smaller grounds straps for lites etc at various places, but they all attach to the frame.
From the neg bat post to the rear xmember.
From the underneath of pass side engine mount on frame to the top front starter mount on engine block.
Ther are several smaller grounds straps for lites etc at various places, but they all attach to the frame.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 541
Likes: 1
From: Freeport FL
I think the original and proper arrangement has been covered.
I will add though that I did away with this when I started having starting problems with my `76. To me, the original arrangement of using the frame to cary the ground forward is less than ideal. It adds two more places for bad crimps, loose bolts, and corrosion to interfere with a proper ground path. When I started having problems, I (among other things) fabbed up two big long cables to go directly from the battery to the starter and one of its mounting bolts. I agree that its a bit more unsightly then the stock arrangment since the original positive wire was tucked up by the tranny, but I covered them in split loom and ran them through one of the holes in the frame for the original exhaust pipes (I have side pipes). I left the wire from the engine block to the frame to supply ground to whatever else might be relying on it for return path.
Original? No. Electrically sounder? Yes.
I will add though that I did away with this when I started having starting problems with my `76. To me, the original arrangement of using the frame to cary the ground forward is less than ideal. It adds two more places for bad crimps, loose bolts, and corrosion to interfere with a proper ground path. When I started having problems, I (among other things) fabbed up two big long cables to go directly from the battery to the starter and one of its mounting bolts. I agree that its a bit more unsightly then the stock arrangment since the original positive wire was tucked up by the tranny, but I covered them in split loom and ran them through one of the holes in the frame for the original exhaust pipes (I have side pipes). I left the wire from the engine block to the frame to supply ground to whatever else might be relying on it for return path.
Original? No. Electrically sounder? Yes.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 129
Likes: 7
From: dallas pa
i have a 1980 with aluminum cables and the po had left the clips off above the drive shaft hoping gravity would hold it up in place, i noticed burn marks on the drive shaft so i ended up replacing it (with clips) with 1/0 copper and that was the end of any slow starter problems.