I agree that this may not be the cause of the problem, but it is an issue I probably need to address. The problem per se is that, on occassion, the engine seems starved for power. Full thottle is required to accelerate, the motor runs a little roughly and, as RPMs climb to 3K or more, some of the power returns, only to recur when speed drops. I do not see any smoke in the mirror. The engine will idle OK and will rev OK when not in gear. Re-starting seems to eleviate the problem. Over the past 4 months it has happend perhaps 3-4 times.
This prompted a suggstion from our host that perhaps there was a power issue to the ECU. That was when I noticed the crack in the insulation on the ground wire. By the looks of it, most of the hot/cold wiring harness from the battery is not accessible, hence the question of cost, with the asuumption that this is not an isolated stiuation with the wiring.
The engine does crank very slowly sometimes though the battery is fairly new and a new alternator was installed (I'll take it in and have the battery checked. One additional tid bit, sometimes whe have has been sporatic.
Thanks for the input. My apologies for the shallow descriptions, the probems have been sporatic.
Chip