The Oldsmobile Connection

[speedy266]

Well theres alotta ground kits for cars that seem to improve the idle, starting, better throttle response and quicker acceleration. Some magizines have dynoed cars before and after a ground kit is installed. Basically wat a grounding kit is, ground various parts of the car and engine and tranny to the negative terminal of the battery. Its suppose to help sensors get better and quicker readings something like that. Well again alot of us have cars that are more than 10 years old, so doing this wouldnt hurt, as the stock grounds are probably not good anymore corrosion and age etc that detrioates wires. I dont believe theres kits for oldsmobiles, thats ok though its very easy to make ur own cut wires just a little time. You can search grounding kits on google couple sites tell you how to install em or make ur own. I suggest everyone do it.

[88 Coupe]

Hi speedy266
If experienciencing a problem, simply clean up the existing ground connections?
Regards, Norm

[88delta88]

maybe better grounds would reduce stereo whine aswell?

[speedy266]

Cleaning existing ground would work for a not so old car. But as the car ages the wires go bad as well. Better grounds would in fact reduce stereo whine, alotta people who put in extra grounds there cars noticed brighter headlights as well.

[88delta88]

well, when you think about it, your headlights are all run from like 16 or 18 or so guage wire... If you've got 80W/100W bulbs in there, thats a lot of current to supply through a small wire like that. Thats my opinion...

[OldsGuy]

My experience shows you might have a ground problem if the device doesn't work at all or sporadically, but if the lights work, I don't think a different ground will make them brighter. Stereo whine is due to spark noise riding on the supply line going to the radio unit, you can buy a radio noise surpressor that will eliminate some of that. Again, if the radio isn't grounded it simply won't work. Cars use what is called a "one wire" circut, which means one wire provides the signal/or voltage, the other end of the device is grounded to the car chassis, or the engine, or the body. If you have a good ground from the battery to the chassis, engine, and body, you should not experience problems. If you do, like 88 coupe said, just repair the existing ground. Seriously, if there is corrossion so bad that the ground is bad the rest of the harness will be too. My Delta is 35 years old and it still has the original wiring harness.

[speedy266]

Well today i cleaned and resurfaced all the exsisting grounds, plus i added some of my own. One from the negative terminal to the Throttle body, from the Throttle body to the intake manifold, Intake manifold to 3 ground screws on the distributor. Than an extra one from one of the light grounds to the fender. It helped alot! i still gotta custom make some wires, need a direct ground close to each spark plug and my firewall. Its alot more responsive, accelerates quicker no hesitation. Also my stereo clock is brighter lol. I reccommend it on any cars with alot of electrical devices and sensors, might not make much of a difference on classics, not many electrical devices.

[vista461]

My guess would be what ever benefit you getting, is coming from cleaning the existing grounds. The extras are just adding weight to your car. If you already have a ground to the block, what good is a ground going near the spark plugs going to do? The block is already grounded.

Well it's your money do what you want.

[88 Coupe]

Hi speedy266, hello All

I guess my above post wasn't clear enough.

OldsGuy and vista461 are correct, but I will elaborate.

Quote: ..... plus i added some of my own.........It helped alot!........Its alot more responsive, accelerates quicker no hesitation So what you are saying, is that the factory didn't put enough ground in the cars and let them go out for delivery with substandard electrical systems? What you did was repair a faulty ground connection and brought your system back to its original state.

Quote: I recommend it on any cars with alot of electrical devices and sensors, might not make much of a difference on classics, not many electrical devices. I don't know anything about "Classics" except they are wired in the same manner as all cars from the present back to the early 1900s.

Over the years some mechanics have not reinstalled the ground from the engine to the firewall and that has caused dim lights, inaccurate gauge readings, etc.

Automotive wire used since the mid fifties still works perfectly today as long as the connections remain clean and tight.

The above applies only to electrical components and generally not to electronics.

Stereo whine has never occurred from the factory and is caused by improper installation. Manufacturers instructions (which might refer to a noise suppressor) should always be followed in aftermarket electronic installations.

Regards, Norm

[speedy266]

http://www.caraudiomag.com/testreports/0401cae_hyper/

I dunno...theres only 1 good original ground. The other 2 are really high gauge wiring and are to the body.

[BigBlockOlds]

speedy266 wrote: http://www.caraudiomag.com/testreports/0401cae_hyper/

Those are probably the same people that sell "electric" turbochargers to the nieve ricer's. LOL

What a crock.

[88 Coupe]

Hi again
speedy266 wrote:
http://www.caraudiomag.com/testreports/0401cae_hyper/

Lots of inconsistancies, but the most obvious is the differences between the data in the text and that in the graph.
You need to ask: what did they do/not do to the car to skew the results in the sellers favor?
My guess is a variation of speedys situation. If before they started the "test" there was a bad ground on the car, guess what would have happened when they installed a new ground.
Quote: I dunno...theres only 1 good original ground. The other 2 are really high gauge wiring and are to the body. The one you are calling "the 1 good original" ground is the only one that grounds the starter and the minimum amperage it carries during a normal start would fry the unit (and wiring) in the above example before the current even got to the starter.
Again if the if the ground system did not do the job as designed the factory would have improved on the design as problems in this area would be very bad for business.
Regards. Norm

[speedy266]

I came across another grounding setup done and dyno tested on a 92 Eagle Talon and it made a considerable difference. 5.3HP and 16.4lb-ft. Pretty crazy i think, seems like 2 much of an increase to be true. Anyone believe it now? Would this magizine company put false numbers to advertist the grounding wire kit company?

[Brando]

speedy266 wrote: I came across another grounding setup done and dyno tested on a 92 Eagle Talon and it made a considerable difference. 5.3HP and 16.4lb-ft. Pretty crazy i think, seems like 2 much of an increase to be true. Anyone believe it now? Would this magizine company put false numbers to advertist the grounding wire kit company?

92? It could have been that the stock grounds were very poor. Probably if they took the grounding kit off, cleaned the stock grounds (Polish any corrosion off) and apply some sealant to prevent further corrosion, it'd have the same results. Just my guess....be interesting to see them perform that test :D

TOC Admin
Brando

[OldsGuy]

In my experience, an electronic device like a computer that controls many functions, as used in todays vehicles, will work or not work depending on the presence of a good ground. If the ground is not solid, ie, loose or corroded, the device will work only sporadically. For a device to function but not function properly or well (as it was designed) there would be some other problem such as a particlar component or circuit within the computer has failed.

To suggest that providing a ground to the computer in addition to the stock wiring would cause the engine to perform better is false. As 88coupe said earlier, why wouldn't the manufacturer design for the best performance possible? If your car is starting sporadically, jumping and jerking, sputtering and running poorly, then it MAY BE a poor ground but then you are not describing an average vehicle performance being improved by the additional ground, you are talking about FIXING A BROKE CAR.

I feel this is probably a scam, like someone else said, in the category of the electric turbo chargers....

BTW, I have worked electronics since 1975.