electrical

Old 07-22-2009, 02:49 PM
  #1  
white1970nova
Junior Member
SHOW GUEST
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3
Default electrical

having problem with my 1970 nova. when cranking the engine, the ground wire from firewall to engine gets hot. have tried adding extra ground wires, but problem still exists. anybody have idea? :?:
white1970nova is offline  
Old 07-22-2009, 03:38 PM
  #2  
johnracer
Senior Member
DYNO OPERATOR
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Rifle Colorado
Posts: 585
Default

Make sure the neg batt cable is clean and tight at the block. I'll bet it's loose or not connected to the block. Fenderwell, alt bracket, trunk floor, etc isn't good enough, especially in a unibody car........
johnracer is offline  
Old 07-23-2009, 01:30 AM
  #3  
TS1955
Senior Member
DYNO OPERATOR
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Lost Creek, WV
Posts: 533
Default

Originally Posted by johnracer
Make sure the neg batt cable is clean and tight at the block. I'll bet it's loose or not connected to the block. Fenderwell, alt bracket, trunk floor, etc isn't good enough, especially in a unibody car........
X2...Check all grounds!!!

TS1955
TS1955 is offline  
Old 07-23-2009, 09:17 PM
  #4  
cepx111
Senior Member
RACING JUNKIE
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 2,044
Default

Is your battery trunk mounted or in the engine bay?

Going with a bigger diameter wire is a necessity when using a trunk mounted set-up.

Also on a trunk mounted battery I run a cable from the battery all the way to the engine block.


I'd double all your grounds, make sure the battery clamp itself isnt corroded and causing a bad return to the battery, seen that cause a cable to get hot a time or two as well.
Goodluck, Cp
cepx111 is offline  
Old 07-24-2009, 09:52 AM
  #5  
white1970nova
Junior Member
SHOW GUEST
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3
Default

battery is in trunk. ground from battery to frame. have 2 gauge wire to ford solenoid on inner fender. motor turns over, is getting fuel and spark(have checked both),but will not start. i have msd billet dist. and digital 6box.have done the test for output from box-per msd. did not have this problem until i broke driveshaft at track last summer.
white1970nova is offline  
Old 07-24-2009, 11:14 AM
  #6  
oldandtired
Senior Member
RACING JUNKIE
 
oldandtired's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Sugar Hill, GA
Posts: 1,365
Default

Originally Posted by white1970nova
battery is in trunk. ground from battery to frame. have 2 gauge wire to ford solenoid on inner fender. motor turns over, is getting fuel and spark(have checked both),but will not start. i have msd billet dist. and digital 6box.have done the test for output from box-per msd. did not have this problem until i broke driveshaft at track last summer.
By any chance did the driveshaft smash the hot lead? It may be damaged and only conducting the equivilant of a 14 or 16 gauge wire.
Dave
oldandtired is offline  
Old 07-24-2009, 11:20 AM
  #7  
TheYellaBrick
Senior Member
RACING JUNKIE
 
TheYellaBrick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Emmett, Idaho
Posts: 7,334
Default

Both grnd and hot leads have to be the same gage wire as the juice/volts/amps are the same coming and going.

DO NOT use arc welding cable !! ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops:
ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops:
TheYellaBrick is offline  
Old 07-25-2009, 07:07 AM
  #8  
oldandtired
Senior Member
RACING JUNKIE
 
oldandtired's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Sugar Hill, GA
Posts: 1,365
Default

DO NOT use arc welding cable !! ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: [/b]ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops: ops:[/quote]

From your faces looks like you did it too!! LOL

Dave
oldandtired is offline  
Old 07-27-2009, 10:20 PM
  #9  
cepx111
Senior Member
RACING JUNKIE
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 2,044
Default

You need to run a ground lead to your motor.
Grounding back at one end of the car and having the starter and all your electrical components at the other end is a bad idea.

I had a friend who learned the hard way, his wouldn't start either.
After buying a new module and coil he finally called and asked me to look at it.
It had too much of a volatge drop to fire the ignition.

It would spin over fine, but no fire, we ended up running another ground wire from the battery to the engine block and then one on the intake, it popped right off after that.

Not saying this is your problem but this is something that many people take for granted, you must have a good ground where all your components are, the frame is NOT adequete.
Sooner or later - grounding your battery on the frame near the trunk will bite you in the a$$.


JMO>Cp
cepx111 is offline  
Old 07-31-2009, 04:40 PM
  #10  
white1970nova
Junior Member
SHOW GUEST
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3
Default

thanks for that info. i am in the process of trying that now. i now think the msd box may be fried and the coil. thanks!
white1970nova is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service - Do Not Sell My Personal Information -