by "RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
Published 03/26/2017 at 11:33
by "RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
Published 03/26/2017 at 11:33
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STARS: 0
I need one apparently. (Excuse the blurry smartphone pics, bought a new-to-me Samsung Galaxy Core LTE and the camera lense is a bit scratched - replacement lense cover is in the mail!).
Car seems to run fine though - what are the issues a broken grounding strap can cause...? Could explain why my MP3 player makes a weird clicking instead of playing music when it’s plugged in to Aux. on my stereo and charging from the 12v USB charger...?
Another pic of what I mean with the stupid undercoating sealant (the yellow brown area should be the gray-blue of my car’s paint...)
Questionable wheels and Tribal-style decals on a Toyota Camry Solara for your time:
Also, the use of salt in winter sucks.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
03/26/2017 at 12:08, STARS: 1
If nothing else, the melty undercoating will get into all the cracks and such and do a very good job of preventing rust!
Odds are whatever that ground strap is grounding has another connection somewhere, but it’s not necessarily a good one. Definitely replace it, but I wouldn’t expect any miracles to come as a result. That one looks like it’s engine-to-frame so the ECU will thank you (if nothing else it’ll probably clean up the sensor inputs a touch).
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
03/26/2017 at 12:19, STARS: 0
Hmmm....that could explain why the car runs fine, but seems to be a bit worse on gas mileage in the winter than I remember it being the last few years. I agree on the engine to frame ground, as it’s coming from the right-side engine mount and bolting to the strut tower area of the body. I’ll see if I can pick up a universal one or oder a replacement online somewhere. There’s a sticker on it with the model number, etc, but it’s so covered in dirt it’s illegible and I can’t clean it off.
As for the meltiness of the undercoating sealant, I think that is the idea - that it melts and runs down into places to help prevent rust. Really annoying to work with though as it’s unpleasant, sticky and gets on everything...
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
03/26/2017 at 12:23, STARS: 0
Autozone has Dorman brand universal ground straps for a few bucks, should work. I have one to replace a broken strap in the crown vic if I ever get around to it.
My chevelle was heavily undercoated from new (and touched up over the years) with thick black goopy rubberized stuff, and while it’s the only thing that kept it from returning to the earth for the 40 years the previous/original owner had it, the 1/8" of black stuff covering everything (including most of the underhood stuff) makes it quite a pain to work on.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
03/26/2017 at 12:29, STARS: 1
Yup....at least this stuff CAN come off really easily, it’s just oh-so-messy. I keep pairs of vinyl gloves in the car because even filling the washer fluid or something that trivial requires my hands to get covered with the stuff. Plus, with grease mixed in, it’s very stain-y.
I’m up here in Nova Scotia, Canada so AutoZone for me, but Canadian Tire or NAPA should have some universal straps...