Help: Leather Ground Strap which is used on the Fuel Sending Unit of a 1956 Buick

[Sheldon R. Codd]

Can someone help me with information about a Leather Ground Strap which is used on the Fuel Sending Unit of a 1956 Buick? My Buick has not got one and I have no idea of what it looks like or how it us used. I am having Fuel Gauge problems and wonder if this piece of Leather may be involved with my problems.

[mike6024]

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/266497-1956-buick-fuel-gauge/

[padgett]

Maybe leather made from the hide of an electric eel....

[46 woodie]

Leather that conducts electricity?

[padgett]

See here.

[37_Roadmaster_C]

Leather does NOT conduct electricity, therefore the information about a leather ground strap is wrong!!!  Now with that said, grounding of the gas tank, or lack there of, will cause gauge problems.  What exactly is the problem? With more info we can help a lot more. Also, where did the leather ground info come from?????

[trimacar]

16 hours ago, padgett said:

See here.

OMG.  At first I thought this was a joke, but if it is, it's the most detailed joke I've ever seen.  If it's true, it's the most amount of time I've ever seen spent on such an obscure subject, electric eel skin used as a flexible power source, with words I've never seen before.

 

Reminds me of the Turbo Encabulator.....

 

 

 

[hook]

4 minutes ago, trimacar said:

OMG.  At first I thought this was a joke, but if it is, it's the most detailed joke I've ever seen.  If it's true, it's the most amount of time I've ever seen spent on such an obscure subject, electric eel skin used as a flexible power source, with words I've never seen before.

 

Reminds me of the Turbo Encabulator.....

 

 

 

Now what's wrong with the Turbo Encabulator? hahaha

[Bloo]

A braided copper strap will work, if you don't have one use a wire. Run from a fuel sender mounting screw to the car frame. Clean rust and dirt away for a good connection. A star washer at the frame end would be a good idea to insure a good connection.

[padgett]

If you use a wire, make sure it is stranded. One of the benefits of a braided copper strap is they are very flexible and remain so for a long time.

[Sheldon R. Codd]

Gosh, I'm really sorry for asking a stupid question and expecting an answer from such a prestigious forum. For some reason I mistook this as a place where I could try and find an answer to something I didn't really understand.

Please except my apology.

 

[Frank DuVal]

 As they say, "no such thing as a stupid question".  No apology needed. 

 

Everyone (of 60+ years) remembers those leather JC Whitney grounding straps hanging on cars in the late 50s early 60s. Maybe they worked, maybe they didn't. But that was to dran very high static developed voltage.

 

But, leather is an insulator, when dry. It will not conduct at 6 or 12 volts. There must be some other metallic connection on the sending unit to the chassis of the car. 

 

Down in the "Buick Post War Techncal" section there are several people who are well versed in 1956 Buicks, who may have had a sending unit in theor hand and know what the ground path is. Ask your sending unit question again there.

[hook]

10 hours ago, Sheldon R. Codd said:

Gosh, I'm really sorry for asking a stupid question and expecting an answer from such a prestigious forum. For some reason I mistook this as a place where I could try and find an answer to something I didn't really understand.

Please except my apology.

 

Not stupid at all. The strap in question was probably an anti-static ground strap that happened to be fastened there because of an available screw/bolt. They were sold in leather, rubber, and some other materials. They had woven wire in them. They are still sold today and can be found on Amazon. They're not leather today however. Trucks, especially fuel trucks usually used a short piece of chain that discharged static electricity when it touched the ground during a bounce or bump. They were only used to discharge static electricity, not as a standard ground. They were very popular up to the 70's. Although they are sold on many fronts today, you don't notice them as much. However with all the plastic in cars today gathering up static charges their needed more. Just a safety tip: When you get out of your car at a service station, you should touch grounding metal before grabbing the the pump nozzle.

[John_Mereness]

2 hours ago, hook said:

Just a safety tip: When you get out of your car at a service station, you should touch grounding metal before grabbing the the pump nozzle.

In the huh department, I worked for a short time for a gasoline manufacturer and people really do spontaneously combust at filling station - tends to be when they set up the pump, get inside for a moment, and then touch the pump handle and/or they are smoking and do the same. 

[hook]

5 hours ago, John_Mereness said:

In the huh department, I worked for a short time for a gasoline manufacturer and people really do spontaneously combust at filling station - tends to be when they set up the pump, get inside for a moment, and then touch the pump handle and/or they are smoking and do the same. 

Yes, while their car is filling they sit down on their car seat, then when the pump stops, they get out sliding off the seat creating a charge. Then grabbing the pump, discharge a static spark that ignites the fumes, creating a very bad day!!!! While we're speaking of static discharge, Never ever use a CO2 fire extinguisher to purge a fuel tank of any kind. It will shoot a spark of static electricity 3-4 feet. Your friends and family will talk about your end for years.

Edited May 22, 2021 by hook
left out (see edit history)

[mike6024]

 Seventy-eight percent of the victims have been women, perhaps because they are more likely reach back into their cars to reach their purses, ...

 

“You should never re-enter a vehicle when you’re fueling,” Mr. Wormser said.

 

 

IF you think gas prices are scary, consider a far worse fright that Kelly Shager of Lynchburg, Va., got at a gas pump. Eight months ago, Mrs. Shager drove her 1999 Ford Ranger to a self-service gas station, engaged the nozzle’s hold-open clip to have it fill automatically, then sat in her vehicle.

When the tank was full, she slid out and reached for the nozzle. Touching it, she felt a shock.

“Then fire kind of came out of the tank,” she said.

Mrs. Shager ran into the station’s convenience store for a fire extinguisher, but flames were already leaping over her truck. By the time firefighters controlled the blaze, the pickup was a charred ruin.

According to Greg Wormser, the Lynchburg fire marshal, the fire was ignited by an electrostatic charge that had collected on Mrs. Shager as she sat in the truck. When she reached for the nozzle, the charge grounded, igniting the gas vapors around the pump.