Ground to body?

1970 Maverick. Where is the body ground? The only spot that my negative side of the battery goes to is the engine block. But the engine block has rubber mounts. Shouldn't there be a cable directly from the negative side of the battery to the body somewhere? I don't think from battery to front fender is acceptable.

 

Originally the ground cable would have gone from the negative side of the battery to the bolt on the bottom corner of the voltage regulator then a cable from there to the block.

 

You are right! Your negative battery cable runs from the battery to the front of the engine block. There should also be a heavy ground strap that runs from a right side bell housing bolt up to a fairly large bolt on the fire wall just above and to the right of your heater motor. The heater motor should also be grounded to the same bolt. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks I will check that

 

I think they stopped using this ground cable. I never seen it on a Maverick. The ground bolt around the heater ground is actually a sheet metal screw. I'm thinking the only engine to ground is the alternator's ground wire

 

I have never seen an engine to firewall ground strap on a Maverick either.

 

I ran one from the block to the chassis too. I think I might have used a bumper frame bold, but dont remember.

 

Craig,

You are the expert! You have owned enough of the vehicles.

I'm going by what was on my Comet when I purchased it. It had a flat, bare ground strap about 5/8ths inch wide (not fabricated looked original) leading from the bell housing bolt to the fire wall where the heater motor is grounded. I suppose someone could have added it. I replaced it due to the number of engine/transmission R&Rs I've performed. My starting system works fine with this arrangement.

 

It's a uni-body car. There is no "body ground". The negative battery cable connects to the engine block, which is bolted to the frame (uni-body) and grounds the whole car. The rubber on the motor mounts do not insulate from conductivity.

For a really good ground, I recommend a 2-gauge negative battery cable.

 

My 1960 Falcon is a unibody car and came from the factory with a 6-gauge body ground connected to the cylinder head-to-firewall. And yes, I was there when the car was bought new off the showroom floor.

 

Yes, and your Falcon is not a Maverick/Comet, which didn't have those.

 

This is the type of ground cable that was on my 69.5 when I acquired it back in '83. The metal tab attaches at the lower regulator mounting hole.

 

I guess you didn't read post #5