There are two cables from the negative terminal and the shorter one on my car broke where it connects to the frame close to the battery. The bolt holding it in is all rusty and I don't want to mess with redrilling this hole until I get home from school this summer. (I am planning on cleaning out all of this rust then) Is this ground really necessary becuase the other cable is connected to the car close to the engine and that cable is fine. Can I drive the car with out the smaller one connected? I am pretty sure the car will start, I just don't want to short anything out.

definitelt replace this cable you could theoretically start a fire under your hood esp dangerous if you have any oil leaks or if your fuel injector seals are suspect


1987 244dl 190k and counting $100 car with no rust

it needs a ground to the body. the braided wire at the back of the head is not big enough to carry the current, should some big current draw occur. the draw is supposed to run thru the sheet metal to the ground point on the frame to the batt. with that 1 broken, it will run accross the braided wire thru the block to that ground point next to the starter and up to the batt. fix it or add something before you smoke something. i know of 1 240 with a broken ground cable that smoked the parking brake cables, searching for a ground. god luck, chuck.

Those pesky little electrons will go anywhere. I agree, fix it as soon as possible. The other critial issue is increased electrolysis which will destroy the heater core and radiator.

Dan

I think (not 100% sure on this though) there are 2 ground points because the Engine doesn't attach to the metal frame anywhere. So one end of the cable grounds the engine for the various electrical components in the engine, and the other end that connects to the chassis provides the grounds for the rest of the car.

You would probably be fine to ground the chassis end of the cable anywhere else on the frame. Just make sure you scrape a bit of paint away.

You might also be able to get away with running a wire from the frame to where the engine block gets it's ground from.

Good luck.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as 'Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!'