304 V8 battery ground wire ?

PIPER-68 · 09-21-2009, 10:10 PM

Does anyone know were the battery ground wire is supposed to ground to on the engine ? Mine was cobbled up on a water pump bolt. That seems like a long way to go for a ground . Any ideas or picture's on were it attaches ?

Thanks,

h2ojeep · 09-21-2009, 10:38 PM

On my 304, I think my ground is still mounted in its original stock position and it is in the front of the passenger side head along with my winch ground. I grounded my battery terminal back to the body (10 gauge) and recently per Jeephammer's suggestion, ran a ground from battery to the alternator (also 10 gauge). He will probably see the post and weigh in with all the ends and outs of why and where.

Unless you have a/c or something and have a routing problem, I would think that the head would be a better place to ground than the water pump.

bama78cj5 · 09-21-2009, 10:41 PM

I believe mine attaches to a bracket just above the water pump. It is 3 feet long at least. I will check it tomorrow and re-advise. Mine may be in the wrong place too!

**jfwireless** · 09-22-2009, 07:09 AM

On my 76 CJ7 the factory installed the battery ground cable on a bolt in the passegers side head on the 304 V8. The bolt is on the front of the head just inside the top alternator bolt.

I can post a picture if you need it.

Jim

**BioTex** · 09-22-2009, 08:09 AM

I ground mine to the Starter mounting bolt. Per JHs recommendation, the starter is the highest current draw (if you don't have a winch), so you want a good ground there. I also ground the heads to frame. I ground the distributor to engine, and engine to tub.

**JeepHammer** · 09-22-2009, 08:15 AM

Main Ground to the starter bolt sure solves a lot of problems with starting in a hurry!

Dedicated grounds to the alternator, engine block (heads), dash, front grill and rear lights stop a bunch more problems.

Your vehicle was under warranty for one year when new.
After that first year, if any of your electrical components went 'Bad' or didn't work, then you were money in the bank for the dealership.

Consider doing what the government did when they ordered vehicles,
Add dedicated grounds to everything.

You will be amazed how much better your windshield wipers work, charging system works, lights work, ect. once they all get a good ground.

Andy5150 · 09-22-2009, 08:46 AM

I had my ground hooked to the right side motor mount bracket. It was on the frame side of the mount, so i guess the rubber mount was killing it. When I moved it to the block, the 360 cranked over much faster. I also ran a seperarate ground from the battery to one of the starter bolts. All starter problems solved.

**jfwireless** · 09-22-2009, 09:34 AM

I recommend dedicated grounds to everything, but I have to admit I have not done that to the engine/starter/alternator as JH recommends. I have built a common point ground for everything else. I do however clean up everything when it is taken apart and always use anti-sieze on every bolt on the CJ, helping to keep the corrosion down and mechanical ground connections in good shape.

I will one day run the dedicated grounds to the starter, alternator, head bolts ect, just have not needed to yet. I do however have a dedicated ground to the intake manifold for my TBI sensors, that is a must for any AMC TBI conversion. You just have to make sure there are no ground loops or ground differential voltages reaching the ECM. Of course my frame, dash, ECM, rear harness, gas tank, front grill/headlights, fender mounted EST, starter relay, TBI fuel pump all have dedicated grounds. With a fiberglass body grounding is a big deal.

Jim

ozelot250 · 04-11-2011, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy5150

I had my ground hooked to the right side motor mount bracket. It was on the frame side of the mount, so i guess the rubber mount was killing it. When I moved it to the block, the 360 cranked over much faster. I also ran a seperarate ground from the battery to one of the starter bolts. All starter problems solved.

I was having some slow start/cranking problems. The engine was turning over very slowly as if the battery was low. So after replacing the battery, starter, and putting in all new battery cables to no avail: I relocated the ground to the block all of a sudden my problems were solved, the rubber mount was also killing my ground connection! I also had a miss when accelerating from stops or slow speeds. That also mysteriously went away when I relocated the ground. Also my engine was feeling a little underpowered and backfired some. Again that also disappeared with the ground relocation. Go figure.