finally putting my harness back together and in the process of replacing the terminal lugs that go on the grounding studs, i saw that the copper wire conductor seems to be "oxidized", or corroded. so, (1) is this OK, and (2) is it normal? most wiring i've worked with appears "clean" and given the problems i've encountered with these grounds, i don't want to put it all back together and end up back at square one. i've cut back a few inches and stripped it again, but it's still the same, and i'm concerned that it's gonna have bad conductivity, hence, a bad ground.

 

A little oxidation on the individual stands is no big deal. If it's full blown corrosion that is starting to eat the wire and is working down into the terminal, replace it. If it's bad but not that bad, replace it any way. New wires aren't that expensive so it's cheap insurance. Ground wires can go bad.

 

yea, it's just a little oxidation... no big deal, i guess. terminals are getting replaced anyways. thanks for the response - just wanted other opinions cuz these grounds have been plagueing me for too long...

 

copper oxidation of wire is VERY serious. You must clean any connection surgically for it to last over the long haul. It means tinning the conductor before attaching connectors. heat schrink and proper handling of the wire will last longer.

 

Acid core solder is great for cleaning up and securing partially oxidized connections. Once they are soldered, there will be no more oxidation. Just make sure you remove all the residual flux so there is no acid corrosion.

 

If you're going to be replacing just the terminals and not the whole thing, listen to what was posted above about soldering. Also, anther trick to help the long term is add a little silicone under the heat shrink tubing. Just smear some around the wire before you slide the tubing down. This will keep moisture out so it can't wick up under the insulation. If I had a digi-cam I'd post picks of some of the wires on my truck (bought it used) were the wire was completely gone several inches up the insulation. Had to go back like 5 inches to get to useable copper on 18 gage wire.

 

I just replaced the ground strap on my TA, that thing is quite tiny. I also noticed about 60% of it was covered in oxidation, so I got a new heavy duty ground strap from CAP for $5. Well worth the piece of mind in the future, and looks alot better too. Soldering the connections is a great idea as well. If I were in there personally I'd just replace anything that I was unsure of, why have to do the same thing all over again because of poor quality wire?