Started having all sorts of issues the other day, and realized this wire had broken loose from the ring connector. I had to drill a new hole for it because the screw was loose. I want to crimp on a new ring, but I’m not sure what size the wire is. I don’t want to just use any ring connector that fits and risk a bad crimp that could cause more issues. There aren’t any markings on the wire. Any suggestions?
What sort of issues did you experience? I’ve got a 1990 with a 5.7, and my dash goes crazy sometimes when I turn on the headlights. Sometimes it idles too high or too low and stalls. I’ve read that this can be a grounding issue.
@Hadden
At first, it was just little things like my gauges going crazy when I used the blinkers. I thought it might be a short in the dash because the windshield had been leaking. But then the other day, the ‘Check Gauges’ light came on while I was in a drive-thru. My fuel gauge, voltage, and temperature were all reading low, and my headlights were dim. The transmission wasn’t shifting right either because of a speed sensor issue due to low voltage. I fixed the ground wire but found out the other body ground straps were corroded, and one was broken. When sensors don’t get the right voltage due to bad grounds, it can cause a lot of problems. This video helped me find the grounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0lK0TZEVCc
@Noor
Sounds similar to mine—voltage jumps with blinkers on, and it shifts late. Sometimes when I turn on the lights, the dash indicators come on and my temp gauge maxes out. I’ll check out the video. Thanks for the link!
If that’s a 10mm ground bolt, the wire looks like it’s probably 10-12 gauge. You can cut a clean edge and measure it with wire strippers. Gauge refers to the thickness of the wire, not including the insulation.
@Koa
It looks bigger than 12 gauge. My guess was 10, but I wasn’t sure if it might be 8. The connectors I have are for 10-12 gauge, but I didn’t want to risk a bad crimp by using the wrong size.
In a 30-year-old truck, this isn’t surprising at all. It’s most likely 10 gauge. Clean up the end and crimp on a new D-ring, one of the yellow ones. You can add heat shrink over the crimp for extra protection. Once it’s bolted down, douse the connection to the fender with fluid film.
There are multiple ground locations to connect the negative side:
- Negative battery to the engine
- Negative battery to the inner fender
- Back of the right cylinder head to the firewall
- Right front cab mount to the frame
All of these grounds are important.
@Hux
Only two wires go directly to the negative terminal: one to the block and one to the fender wall, which I still need to fix. The rest are straps from the body to the frame or frame to the block. I have some new straps ordered to avoid future issues with them.