EVERYONE with a V6 please Read (Page 34/39)
jetman JUL 26, 11:46 PM

quote
Originally posted by loveliesbleeding:
Also what are the main grounds on a 2.8 as the one from the block to the decklid is gone. Thanks so much for any help




quote
Originally posted by jetman

The 4 main ground ties and positive leads.

#1. (-)Braided block to body ground deck lid hinge. The main braided strap is critical.
#2. (-)Trans to body. The trans to body is a backup.
#3. (-)Battery to body. Battery (-)post to tray.
#4. (-)Battery to engine block. The big batt cable (-)post to bolt on engine hoist hook.

Positive leads (+)

#5. (+)Battery to starter
#6. (+)Battery to main terminal below C500.
#7. (+)Alternator feed to main terminal below C500.

NOTE. The Ogre has mentioned that if #7 is bad, you will get large voltage drops under load just like a bad ground. We all know what bad grounds do to a Fiero's electrical systems!

All my life I have been a real stickler about good grounds and connections. It was theogre who taught me about those grounds and also the positive feeds on the Fiero so credit where the credit is due, all I did was to put it on a list for everyone to see.
Spoilt_87fiero JAN 25, 09:16 AM
Bump for good information!
Jim_Martin29 JAN 27, 01:20 PM
This is a great thread. I'm going to check all of my grounds this weekend, and replace what is needed.

I've already changed the main, braided ground strap from the engine to chassis and it helped a bit. But I think there may still be some bad grounds (very slow electric windows and the headlights are not so bright).


This is for the new guys without manuals (and to help me focus on the grounds). It helps to find the stock grounds and confirm that they are in functional and making good contact.

















































I hope this helps people.

------------------
Jim Martin
White '86 GT
California

Kevin87FieroGT JAN 27, 11:49 PM
Nine pages and 7yrs. of great info!

Sure will try this fix.
Dodgerunner JAN 28, 12:16 AM
Read an interesting article the other day related to this.
(sorry if this was talked about in this post but have not read through all the pages.)

A guy kept replacing his CV joints and hub bearings because they would fail after a year or less. Turned out it was due to a bad engine ground. What was happening is in the case of his model of car it had a heavy engine ground as well as body ground.
(unlike the Fiero small body grounds.) Whenever he started the car since the engine ground was faulty the current would flow through the body ground, through the hub bearings and the cv joints and transmission to start the engine. This caused small pit to be burned into the bearing and cv joint contact points causing them to fail often. Replacing the engine ground solved the problem.

The reason I bring this up is related to this post. The standard Fiero body grounds would never be heavy enough to start the engine as they would not carry enough current.
If you add new heavy body grounds without making sure the engine ground is good you could develop this same issue with your car. If you engine is starting well it probably would not happen but in the future if your engine ground failed it could happen.
Of if you have poor starting issues now and think adding the body grounds will help you could have the same issue.
Since the main object of this fix it to add a better ground from the engine to the body it would also likely not occur.

Just food for thought...

[This message has been edited by Dodgerunner (edited 03-06-2011).]

fyrebird68 JAN 28, 08:41 AM

quote
Originally posted by Dodgerunner:

A guy kept replacing his CV joints and hub bearings because they would fail after a year or less. Turned out it was due to a bad engine ground. What was happening is in the case of his model of car it had a heavy engine ground as well as body ground.
(unlike the Fiero small body grounds.) Whenever he started the car since the engine ground was faulty the current would flow through the body ground, through the hub bearings and the cv joints and transmission to start the engine. This caused small pit to be burned into the bearing and cv joint contact points causing them to fail often. Replacing the engine ground solved the problem.




Wow. How did he EVER diagnose that?

BTW, nice markup of the manual, Jim_Martin29. Good research that made the job easier for all. '+' for you.

This thread has serious staying power.

[This message has been edited by fyrebird68 (edited 01-28-2011).]

Jim_Martin29 JAN 28, 12:25 PM
Thanks fyrebird68, I appreciate it.

------------------
Jim Martin
White '86 GT
California

uhlanstan JAN 28, 12:40 PM
..It starts with cleaning all the original cables
wire brush the battery post/connectors,,even a hard toothbrush will help connection,,remember everything starts at the battery
the duke especially needs the ground wire battery to engine CLEAN,bright
always clean the small wire battery to inner fender,brush screw/bolt AND the metal it threads into,use bigger screw if needed
add at least ONE engine block to frame ground ,if you do nothing else. thick braided wire is prefered but even a heavy wire will do the job..if low on rubles
Your other cars benefit from great clean, bright ground connection .
Good grounds save on purchase of electronic parts,helps lengthen there life ,zap, pop arching ,zap

[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 01-28-2011).]

fiero ss 436 FEB 01, 08:52 PM
bump to the top for an awesome thread.

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84 fiero se with 436 sbc 600hp,630 ft lbs tq.sold
85 fiero gt.2.8 all original with 80,000 miles.
swapping in cadillac northstar.

elusivedotone MAR 05, 04:26 AM
Do local auto parts stores like NAPA, Autozone or the like sell decent ground wires? Or is there a site that sells a good ground wire?