Automotive Wiring 101

[Brad in Wisconsin]

Hello all, Where does the body to chassis ground, ( if it's suppose to have on...)  go on a 1933 Chevrolet 1.5 tonner???? also the battery ground  goes to frame now or should it go to transmission?

[Bloo]

17 minutes ago, Brad in Wisconsin said:

also the battery ground  goes to frame now or should it go to transmission?

 

If you run the battery ground cable to the frame, then there also needs to be a another cable just as big and just as good from the frame to the engine/transmission. Some cars were wired this way. Think of the electrical current for the starter (which is huge) running in a circle from the battery to the starter through the positive cable and back to the battery through the ground.

 

As far as I know, Chevrolet didn't do that in the early 30s, they ran the ground cable right to the transmission so the starter current has a direct path. The chassis and body still would need to be grounded, so that lights and accessories attached to them will have a ground, but those would not need to be huge cables.

 

I don't know where the body or chassis grounds were located so I can't answer that part of your question. The people on the VCCA forums would know for sure. http://vccachat.org

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Guest]

In 1930 Pontiac had a laminated metal strap that bypassed the right front motor mount.  Everything worked fine but worked better when the ground strap from the battery was moved to the starter mounting cap screw.