LT1 swap, almost finished but I keep smoking the -B term to chassis ground when I try to turn over the engine.

I have grounds going from

-B to block
pass head to chassis
driver head to rad support
driver block to strut tower


do I need more ??? why just the one ground getting smoked?

any thoughts would help.

oh and motor does crank and turn over just slowly .... and starter was working 3 months ago before old engine came.

 

Yes you need one more:

Large negative battery cable from battery to block

That's the one that's missing.

 

**** sorry, forgot to put that one on the list ..... ya that one goes to the block I have that.


any other reason why it would only smoke out the B- term to chassis ground? happens cranking 3-4 seconds

 

You are getting a bad connection from the battery to the block. Currents not flowing through it, so it takes the next easiest path which is your chassis ground. Since the chassis ground isnt heavy enough to carry the load you smoke it.

 

Make sure all of the grounds are at least 8 gauge wire. Also make sure the terminals on the wires mate with clean metal...ie. no paint or rust etc... Heres how mine is routed: B- 18 inches long to framerail, from framerail to back of passenger head (about 18 inches long), and a braided factory ground strap from block to drivers framerail. Works good for me. I can get you a pic. if you need one.

 

I have 4 10 gage grounds not including the (4gage?) battery wire.

Im see about getting thicker wire, but for now Ill clean off all my mounting points to see if that helps .... my large batt is going to what looks like a painted section of the block.

 

I have a 2 gauge going directly from my battery to the block, i would have like 0 but couldn't find it here in town. Crappy small northern Idaho towns.

 

well hopefully I can solve this problem, picked up a new 1ga batt wire and a 2 gauge -B term to chassis ground, plus cleaning all the connections

ill post up in the next day or two how it goes.

a pic of my rats nest

 

Don't forget to check each connection with an ohm meter.

You should have "0" (zero) ohms resistance in every connection.

Good luck.