Riznitch Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 I had an issue with my last shift cable suddenly freezing up. with the new cable, i'm noticing very small sparks from the cable when it touches another metal object. I dont feel any current when i hold it. Somebody did mention last time about the old cable welding itself together. how can i get the monte a good ground. rubber strap to touch the ground? i dont need this 85 doller cable bitting the big one. any ideas? it's a floor console shifter. th350 trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteAZBB70 Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 One end is attached to the tranny and the other to the shifter, right? I'm guessing the shifter is bolted directly and firmly to the floor. It seems you have unlike charges between the body and the drive train. Do you still have ground straps between the engine and the firewall? If not, you might want to put them back on. Also, make sure the shifter has metal-to-metal contact with the floor. In other words, you might need to make sure you don't have a bunch of undercoating or paint under the tranny tunnel where the bolts go through. Or, at the very least maybe try running a ground wire between the shifter and a seat bolt or something. As you found out, you definitely don't want the shifter cable providing your ground for you! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riznitch Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 where are the ground straps located? anyone have a pic of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 check all your grounds. particulary the body ground to the battery. (small 12ga wire from the neg post to the fender) also make sure the rad support grounds are good. then finally, a ground strap from the body to the block would be a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riznitch Posted October 17, 2007 Author Share Posted October 17, 2007 It really does not matter where you put ground straps. Just remember that everywhere there is a rubber mount there is going to be resistance to ground. ( motor mount, trans mount ) for that matter even a loose connection or rusted washer can cause enough capacitance to remove effective ground or cause a reverse charge. I follow a simple rule. If I don't see a ground between two members that are not bolted solid, I add a braided ground wire. ie, firewall to engine block, battery to fender, I even added one from one of the bell housing bolts to the firewall. Too much is just enough when it comes to ground. Your lights may even get brighter. However if you do in fact have a short somewhere, hence the sparks, once it is grounded properly you may end up with a blown fuse or burnt whire somewhere. Shorts will make sure you find them, one way or the other. took your advise and did some sanding to make sure i was getting a goo ground to the fender and it seem to do the trick. no more spark from the trans cable. thanks for the tip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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