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Ground straps

TJ1978

TJ1978

I have MANY questions
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For my 69’ c10 I bought new copper grounds straps and one lone steel one.
I have frame to cab, and fire wall to valve cover.

i think one goes from frame to bed? But where is best for that?

also up front on the frame to alternator or where? I’ve read people use the core support and battery for another but I’ll wait until fender are on and I have a battery and tray.

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On my truck I have it from the frame to the bed cross rails. One from the battery to block then block to firewall and also have one from core support to frame.
 
The OEM location was to the valve cover on this year of truck. Doesn't really make sense to us nowadays, but that is how I have seen a couple of original trucks. I put them to the heads or the intake manifold.

I would bet that the ground straps were used rather than cable because of cost. Wouldn't the insulation expense add up over a hundred thousand units? Doesn't really need insulation anyway, does it? It's the ground circuit. :dunno::D
I never had a truck with a group strap to the bed until I put bedliner on the bottom of mine. They always grounded through the bolts if there was enough paint scuffed off.
But extra grounds are good IMO.
 
The place I have a ground strap on my square body pick-up truck is from the fuel filler neck saddle tank necks to the bed, in order to keep a static electricity spark from lighting gas on fire while I am filling my 20-gal fuel tanks with gas.
 
Disco Sucks and Black Sabbath rocks.....:saweet:

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Yes the original ground to valve covers. Some heads on those years truck had no bolt holes. hence the old style belt and pully set up, also the ram horns. Pick ups were work trucks in the 60's nobody cared how it got the job done as long as got the job done. I think GM was getting rid of all the old style stuff on the trucks.
use the frame to core support for 1 of the straps.
For your main ground you could use 1 of the 3 head bolt holes or the front pass side intake manifold bolt. I would use a bolt the had a stud. example https://www.ss396.com/chevelle/BPS-...jRPLBP3edGsGKyMcH69I4XD_3hCd-APkaAlQ9EALw_wcB in the intake location
 
My theory is braided ground straps were used because they were cheaper and being a ground,you actually wanted them to ground out,didn't matter if they happened to touch ground anywhere along their length..maybe the braid has more surface area too?..
No sense in insulating a ground wire really,other than to slow corrosion maybe..
 
They’re probably more flexible than a round wire so when going from engine to frame where there’s a lot of vibration it won’t break it as easily.
 
More flexible, less likely to break due to work hardening, more surface for the skin effect, less inductance, and greater heat dissipation in case of heavy currents.
Also, are you sure that one strap is steel? Unless its stainless for corrosion purposes, it should be tinned copper. Which would look silver like steel.
 
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