Important Grounding Points

[Zedrally]

There is no ground for the sender or pump, probably for that matter the tail lights.

All wiring on the zed is 2 wire, with the switch in the return path. ie Negative

There are however chassis connections form the -ve side of the battery which ensure the chassis at 0 voltage. The chassis isn't the return path for any electrical services. It's similar to house wiring in that the negative is grounded to earth.

ie Ground.

[ezzzzzzz]

There is a ground for the rear lights. It is found in the rear righthand side about six inches in from the taillamp near the fuel filler tube. I beleive it is located underneath but could be behind the side fascia cover. I'll look tomorrow. The sender and electric fuel pump circuits rely on a good ground too. It should be the same ground mentioned. There are also grounds in other locations. A good ground from battery to engine block and chassis is the first essential connection. Look at the applicable wiring diagram and you'll see these grounds

[TomoHawk]

Yeah, you can see on the wiring diagram with there are ground leads, but that doesn't mean you can find them on the car, even though I've even found a graphic of the wiring harness in a Mitchell's book. That's where all your experiences can help greately. I'm making a map of the ground points.

Right now, the battery's main ground is through a bolt on the starter. I think I'll try to put in a ground lead for the battery-chassis, then one for the taillights and see what happens.

thx

[TomoHawk]

Is it good enough to add one running ground wire for all the points you want to get to, or do you thing there should be a web of wires? Like all going back to the battery (-) neg post, or at least to one main bus wire to the battery?

BTW, how heavy do you think I should go on ground wires? I have some heavy zip-cord to use for experiments, but I think I would go with 14 or 12 gauge wire for the grounds. All the stores I've been to just have monster cable for speakers. Some guys are using that on their 350Zs.

thx

[ChrisA]

but I think I would go with 14 or 12 gauge wire for the grounds. All the stores I've been to just have monster cable for speakers. Some guys are using that on their 350Zs.

thx

All the parts houses in my neck of the woods stock 10,12 and 14 gauge. My own shop stocks 10 and 14. That's plenty big in my opinion.

FWIW,

Chris A.

[TomoHawk]

We use mostly 12 & 14 ga wire for electric r/c boat racing, and the better stuff I like has 500+ strands, and can handle 60+ amps at 7 or 9 volts.

[ChrisA]

We use mostly 12 & 14 ga wire for electric r/c boat racing, and the better stuff I like has 500+ strands, and can handle 60+ amps at 7 or 9 volts.

Umm...500 strands in a 14 gauge wire on a car is overkill in my opinion.

We use this....never fails. You can order it online.

http://order.waytekwire.com/IMAGES/M37/catalog/218_004.PDF

[=Enigma=]

Just go to your local auto parts store and buy it by the foot in the length you want. As stated, extremely high strand wire like you mentioned is definietly overkill for this purpose. If you're really committed to this, go through all the existing connection and clean them up first. You may not need to do anything more than that.

If after that you still feel the need, go on eBay and buy one of those snakeoil grounding kits and help support a ricer.

[Nota280]

I can possibly add another ground point. My 76 Z was not getting voltage to the ignition circuit. After pulling out the fuse block and tracing the Black wire with a white strip, I found a relay mounted to a bracket. The relay was above the fuze block, had to remove the glove box to even see it. Upon touching this relay, I received a nice shock.

Once I put a solid ground on the relay bracket, it fired right up. So I am guessing relay casings also need a solid ground.

[Bubbleguinea]

firewall!!!

rear section, right behind the license plate frame...

shock tower

engine

alternator

intake manifold

[TomoHawk]

What are you using to run the grounds from point to point?

[Nota280]

What are you using to run the grounds from point to point?

The previous owner had a 16 gauge stranded wire going from the positive battery terminal going to the interior. Since it was not connected to anything, I switched it to the negative terminal, crimped on an eyelet, and them bolted it to the relay's bracket. This is a temporary fix for now.

Just as a note, there is another way other than a multi meter to check for loose or open ground connections. Use a 12 volt light probe. With it connected to a known good battery ground, touch around the bare wires and look for a light. While it cannot not give you an exact ohm reading, at least you can find an obvious open circuit that is supposed to be grounded.

The light came on when I touched it to the relay case I mentioned in a previous post. Once a connection was made, the relay was also grounded and I could here it click.