Fender ground?

J

jaredking733

New member
So, my battery terminal connections had seen better days, so I decided to replace them. The positive side wouldn't really tighten up on the post and was easily moved by hand and the ground was corroded and cracked.

Anyways, I got everything replaced fairly easily, but after getting everything reassembled, I realized I forgot to reattach the short little wire that grounds to the drivers side fender. I started the truck fine, and even drove it around for a while and everything seems totally fine. Is that little wire really necessary? I can't see how it really accomplishes anything, but figured I'd ask here.

What do you guys think?
 
Register to hide this ad
There is a ground going into the engine and then you'll see another wire from the engine to the fire wall area. This is the second body.

I'd say get that wire fixed.
 
jaredking733 said:
True, but if there's no discernable difference between whether it's there or not, what reason would it be?
Click to expand...


Just reconnect it just to be safe? It can't possibly be hard. It may be a secondary ground or something, but driving around for 1 day can't possibly determine if there is a difference. I could drive around for 1 day with my axle only hooked on by 1 A arm and it'd be fine, but that doesn't mean it will be later. (Ask me how I know lol)
 
JeepKiller said:
Just reconnect it just to be safe? It can't possibly be hard. It may be a secondary ground or something, but driving around for 1 day can't possibly determine if there is a difference. I could drive around for 1 day with my axle only hooked on by 1 A arm and it'd be fine, but that doesn't mean it will be later. (Ask me how I know lol)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess I'll have to get creative with some O ring crimp connectors and find a way to reconnect it.

What would be the effect of improper grounding? Just no power to the vehicle? Or is it possible to partially ground a battery?
 
Well whatever it's grounding could possibly become electrified until someone discharges it by touching it... Which could hurt... Or you could die ... No biggie
 
Lack of grounds can lead to one circuit backfeeding another.

You can never have too many grounds either.
 
poor grounds and hots is not uncommon in the 4 runner, that's why there is a mod called the big 3, which I have done, but you can look it up
 
I was also wondering what that ground wire from the negative post to the fender was for on my 1998. Wasn't there on my 2001. I'll check to see if there is a ground wire from the engine to the firewall. If so, will remove the one to the fender. Looks jury rigged to me.
 
JJ300K said:
I was also wondering what that ground wire from the negative post to the fender was for on my 1998. Wasn't there on my 2001. I'll check to see if there is a ground wire from the engine to the firewall. If so, will remove the one to the fender. Looks jury rigged to me.
Click to expand...

See, I'm with you. I mean if the consensus is that it's necessary, I'm not opposed to putting it back, but it was just kind of taped into the large negative cable and crudely bolted to the fender.

Just seemed kind of pointless to me, especially after driving it with no apparent issue.
 
Grounds are equally as important as positive wires. The whole body on our trucks is used as a ground and all the switches and lights in the interior use it. The reason you can't tell the difference is that there are multiple pathways for the body ground to reach the negative terminal. Most likely the ground is running through the firewall to the ground on the back of the engine and then through the main engine ground. Fix it. Buy a lead marine terminal if you have to and solder new ends on the wire. Your 4runner will start fine because the main engine ground is good but you will start having issues if you have lights on when you start up
 
St Runner said:
Grounds are equally as important as positive wires. The whole body on our trucks is used as a ground and all the switches and lights in the interior use it. The reason you can't tell the difference is that there are multiple pathways for the body ground to reach the negative terminal. Most likely the ground is running through the firewall to the ground on the back of the engine and then through the main engine ground. Fix it. Buy a lead marine terminal if you have to and solder new ends on the wire. Your 4runner will start fine because the main engine ground is good but you will start having issues if you have lights on when you start up
Click to expand...

Makes sense. Hadn't really considered the soldering option. Good call.
 
My tacoma The middle wire is a #6 wire that runs to the frame and then directly to the main engine ground so there are two pathways for starting. It cut my starting time in half
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0171.jpg
    IMG_0171.jpg
    131.4 KB · Views: 2,167
jaredking733 said:
True, but if there's no discernable difference between whether it's there or not, what reason would it be?
Click to expand...

No discernable difference to you, in a couple minutes of driving. Could be a big difference to your highly sensitive ECU the next time something starts shorting out or signals start interfering with eachother.

Highly skilled electrical engineers put that ground strap there for a reason. Unless you're a highly skilled electrical engineer who knows exactly why it's there and can positively determine that it isn't necessary, I'd put it back.
 
KidVermicious said:
No discernable difference to you, in a couple minutes of driving. Could be a big difference to your highly sensitive ECU the next time something starts shorting out or signals start interfering with eachother.

Highly skilled electrical engineers put that ground strap there for a reason. Unless you're a highly skilled electrical engineer who knows exactly why it's there and can positively determine that it isn't necessary, I'd put it back.
Click to expand...

I was also curious whether or not it was something that was installed by Toyota or if it was installed by a previous owner for some reason. It was just barely held on by electrical tape and looked like an after thought.

Seems like you all have it as well. As a previous poster mentioned, soldering will be my easiest option.
 
jaredking733 said:
I was also curious whether or not it was something that was installed by Toyota or if it was installed by a previous owner for some reason. It was just barely held on by electrical tape and looked like an after thought.
Click to expand...

I haven't looked at my '99, I couldn't tell you if I have that or not. It's not uncommon for factory harnesses to use lots of electrical tape and wire crimps though, your harness is riddled with them. If you have the time and skillset to take that ground apart and put it back together with a proper solder job, do it for sure. Even if it isn't factory, it can't hurt. It's pretty hard to have too much ground potential.
 
It is factory Most of the switches,lights, ecu are all grounded to the metal of the body. The body itself acts like a wire and that wire on the fender ties the body to the negative terminal. As I said before there are other pathways for the ground to run but you are forcing those other pathways to work harder than they were designed for. If that was a positive wire you would fix it in a heartbeat without thinking twice. The ground is equally important and should be fixed just as quick
 
St Runner said:
It is factory Most of the switches,lights, ecu are all grounded to the metal of the body. The body itself acts like a wire and that wire on the fender ties the body to the negative terminal. As I said before there are other pathways for the ground to run but you are forcing those other pathways to work harder than they were designed for. If that was a positive wire you would fix it in a heartbeat without thinking twice. The ground is equally important and should be fixed just as quick
Click to expand...

Valid point.

I'm going to solder it when I get home from work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 385 (members: 5, guests: 380)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,305
Messages
3,554,041
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top