the chasis ground wire that comes from the negative battery wire gets really hot and starts to smoke when i try to start my car. Does it need to be changed to a bigger guage wire because i swapped from a 2.8 to a carbed 350 with no ecm ? thanx

 

Yep, if the ground wire is getting hot, I'd run a new one of a thicker gauge. I ran a 4 gauge for mine (because I'm gonna be putting in amps for the radio.) If I were you I'd also look into rewiring the starter to a thicker wire, as well as the alternator wire that goes to the + battery.

I also just realized... if the wire from the battery to chassis is getting hot, I'd check for a good connection between the battery and the engine block (ground wire.) It seems that connection is bad, so the current is trying to find its way throug the smaller wire (thus making it hot.) Running a thicker ground to the chassis will solve this problem, but as more of a band-aid than a fix. So I'd also check the ground to the block

[This message has been edited by Chevy83Z28 (edited October 24, 2001).]