Big "3" Upgrades

[xtremerevolution]

i got the chassis to engine ground, i got it goin from the shock tower on the driver side to the mount on the engine for the alternator, right by the post alt post
didnt do the batt to acc, i seen that it really didnt matter so i didnt do it, maybe i will since i have a bunch of 0G left
did battery to chassis, same shock tower but different stud
didnt do the alt to batt yet, thats next...i just thought i was doing something wrong because i noticed no difference really , i'll do the alt cable and let you guys know what happens..thanks Extreme

and Garrett, whats the key wire?

Yeah dude, that Alt to battery wire is pretty important. The battery to accessory block isn't as important, but still important.

[Garrett Powered]

uhh, well what car do you have? most W-body cars have a "key" wire and a "loop" charge wire.

Key- the shortest and main block-to-body alternator ground wire that GM undersized and under built making the W-body car a 100K mile car-then shit the bed platform. it is located under the air filter and intake area usually corroded with acid next to the battery tray. It is the key wire to upgrade on the w-body.

loop- the charge wire is again undersized and hidden inside the engine harness, down to the starter and to the battery. I disable that one in favor of a big wire from the alt-to-AUX post. I have never had a problem deleting the starter route because I see no reason to charge the starter. like you say the shorter the better.

for grounds, try to stay under 18" and use thick wire.

[Jprice90]

i did clean up the "key" wire when i first bought the car, when i took the air box out i seen it and i figuered i would clean it up since i was there, i'll go back in a upgrade it, what size wire should i use for that? i did the alt wire, but i stilll get dimming, maybe i should actually ground to the engine block? and not the alt bracket thats on the top of the intake manifold?

[Garrett Powered]

there is a stud and a nut for the ring terminal by the battery tray. make sure and remove those and hit the area with a wire wheel and remove all the paint and rust. and make sure that you get all the threads clean on BOTH sides of that stud before putting it all back. I always use copper antiseize there so moisture can't creep back in and oxidize things up. I use copper antiseize on the alt bracket bolts too since the alt grounds to the block.

you don't want to risk misleading the ECM with false ground loops, so just upgrade that one key wire with some 2 gauge or something. heat shrink the ends and use thick copper lugs with the right size holes. don't use the gold ones IMO. you can solder the lugs, but I never do, I just crimp the ends and hammer the pliers down on my vise real good.

there is about 6 wires you can upgrade before you need to start adding extra ones, so that will keep you busy. then if that is not enough, well maybe its something else.

[Garrett Powered]

also, clean the threads on the transmission bolt!!! since all the grounds are concentrated on that area, the threads tend to corrode from the stress. again use copper antiseize once the oxidation is removed.

ALL the electricity generated by the car is grounded through the threads of that one big bolt as well as the tab of metal by the battery tray, so make the most of it.

[Jprice90]

whats the transmission bolt youre talking about? i cleaned up the ground thats on the engine block also, down by the starter
i might clean the ground by the tray tomorrow again
what other wires can i upgrade?

[AL]

Was the bolt your talking about thats down by the starter, attach the motor to the trans?

[Garrett Powered]

on my tgps, its always a stud/ bolt bolting the trans to the block with a nut on one side I am pretty sure. I used to just clean up the threads on one side, but you really should pull the whole thing out and wire wheel off the threads until its shiny brand new.

kind of like the other side too by the battery tray. I think you use an e-8 socket to remove the stud. youll figure it out.

[Jprice90]

yeah that bolt, i cleaned it up pretty good..it had all kinds of grease/oil and dust, some shit like that all over it..i also cleaned the ground up alot better, where the bolts attach to the body, i cleaned it up alottt better..everything seems pretty good right now, i gotta fix one of the grounds though, i took it off temporary, i have to solder it again

[Garrett Powered]

yeahhh , I bet that shit was dirty! I have a lot of people now around here who have electrical problems and I work on their cars when I got a chance, but they always never finish working on the core problems with their charging system. I just pop the hood and then point directly at the problem within a second, and tell them this is why it will fail. but then they never fix it usually and continue to drive the car into the ground.

its like hello people, you need electricity. good clean power in order to burn fuel in an automobile. and if you are spending all that money on gas, why not a little more on those wires?

good job on identifying the key wire and getting after it.