I hope that all of my PFF friends will read this and then go inspect their cars.

We know all about the importance of good grounds but I pretty much forgot about my positives. You know, out of sight, out of mind except for the battery connection. I noticed that my connections were, well uh, not so good to say the least.

I’m so embarrassed to post the picture of my main positive junction harness.

Wow what a mess! See what I mean? My main positive electrical harness was a disaster.

I got to work by first removing the battery, washed it, checked fluids, added some distilled water. Inspected the alternator and starter connections, those were ok.

I had to cut and crimp all my connections with size 12-10 ring terminals, used heat shrink tubing, removed, cleaned the harness and reattached both the C500 wire box and the main positive junction. Used 8-gauge red primary on positive connections and some 10-gauge on my negative battery to frame.

This cost less than $10 bucks for materials and just a little bit of time.

You can see my heat shrink tubing at the main electrical junction harness.

I made everything look neat, in order with some electrical tape and some zip ties.

The lights are brighter now, Fiero runs better and I’m happier.

Our little cars are 20 years old now, this is something that needs to be checked on all of our cars. We have allot of younger members here, this is simple and easy task to perform and it will mean everything to how well your car will run. This is the main charging wire junction for your entire car, this is as important as good grounds.

Ok now, get out there and check your main positive wire junction harness!

Curly Howard,,,,”I’m positive about the negative but I’m a little negative about the positive.”

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jetman
Silver 86 SE 2M6 4-speed, with "check wallet light"

Good job!

The photos you posted illustrate the main reason why I switched to a "Sealed" Battery.

Excellent pics and advice... thanks!

EDIT: you already had a '+' from me - I wish I could give you another one!

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Patrick W. Heinske -- LZeitgeist@aol.com
1988 Red Fiero Formula Convertible
*Desktop Photo Here*

[This message has been edited by LZeitgeist (edited 07-31-2005).]

Jetman,

Good stuff, as always.

I"m going to add one thing.. Those wires (the orange ones) are fusible links attached to the main red wiring. That black cyllinder is just a crimp. If you cut it apart, they main wire is just crimped to the fusable link. If anyone decides to replace the wiring, they have to make sure and use suitable fusible link wire crimped to the end of the main red wiring.. Otherwise, they could have some major problems or a fire.

I just did the ame as you, and replaced all those wires also. It's amazing what 20 years and rust does to things... That positie wire junction block just fell off in my hands!

"ooooooo..............aahhhhhhhhhhh......."

Good job,

And YAY for rust-free Colorado!

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Good work!

Check out any other electrical problems as well. Head light motors are bad about putting a drain on your charging system. I have my motors unplugged at the moment and have noticed my gas mileage has gone up and it runs a lot better. Before I if I left the car in the driveway for more than 4 days without driving it I would have to jump the battery. Now I can leave it for weeks and it will start right up.

Now that you got all the connections good and clean, Spray all of them with WD- 40 and they will stay that way. I spray all my wiring about every two months.
Don

yes, I also have to do my fuseable links also.

I'll answer a couple of questions that came up.

I found the 8-gauge red primary, 10 gauge black primary and the heat shrink tube material at Terminal Supply in Troy Michigan on their "bargain rack". They usually have odd lots and such at discounted prices. Check in your town for an electrical supply company that sells to the public.

I picked up the crimps and the crimping tool at my local Murrays Auto Parts store. The ring terminals were 1/4-inch size in a 10-12 gauge and I used the same gauge butt connectors. It was a tight fit on the 8-gauge primary wire though. I needed a 13MM and an 11MM on the nuts of the main terminal.

I highly recomend that anyone who is having idle difficulties to clean and inspect their main wire terminal. It was easy to do and the car runs better now.

Hmmm.. I'm so ashaimed, I've been putting this off for so long. My positive battery cable is even exposed.

[This message has been edited by Jeremiah (edited 08-02-2005).]

Winter is coming up and we have alot of new folks here on the forum so I thought that I would bump this up.
Fall is always a good time to check your electrical system prior to winter.
Much easier to work in mild temperatures than 5 below zero.

Thanks for the info, and the pics!

Great info, thanks for taking the time to share it.............Paul

Thanks for the info and photos, its a good thing that people share this type of issues so that all can learn.

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: yes, I also have to do my fuseable links also.

and I finally did - last week
my headlights are brighter now
it also solved the rare "power out" when EVERYTHING would shut-off & come back - like a reset

this goes along with good ground - these cars need good reliable power

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1985 Fiero SE - Plain Red V6 Coupe
3.1 Crane272 MSD 4.10-4spd DarthChip Borla
D.A.M.M. - Drunks Against Mad Mothers

quote Originally posted by California Kid: The photos you posted illustrate the main reason why I switched to a "Sealed" Battery.

i fail to see how this would be affected by the battery being sealed or not sealed. this is just plain old rot, after 20 years i would be surprised if the electrical connections weren't rotted.

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technology is great when it works
and one big pain in the ass when it doesnt.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

I agree with the post on Sealed Batterys. My engine cradle directly below the battery is pitted and only in that area. Obviously from a cracked or leaking battery above it. The rest of the cradle looks new. The battery tray was replaced by the previous owner and this damage was from a bad battery. Even if it did'nt leak there are sulfuric acid fumes in the battery area,, an area that does not get ventilated like a front installed battery.
I'm planning on getting a sealed battery soon and replace my cradle which I aquired already.

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quote Originally posted by California Kid: The photos you posted illustrate the main reason why I switched to a "Sealed" Battery.

Probably should use a maintenance free (lead-calcium) battery in all GM cars that came with one as original equipment. The nominal charging voltage of 14.8 Volts is too high for lead-antimony and can cause that type of battery to boil when operated at temperatures found in the Fiero engine compartment.