Grounding

[gsimpson]

Ok I got my truck back together got it to run once, took the batteries out during the *3 weather when I put them back in it wont start and I have a grounding issue somewhere. The only thing disconnected were the batteries and the glow plugs and various other snap on/off fittings. The grounds appears to be in the fuse box terminal side THAT WAS NEVER UNHOOKED???
I have checked the starter that isn't it?

HELP as I am drowning, just need a starting point don't mind working but am at a loss!

[DmaxMaverick]

What happens (or doesn't) when you turn the key? Do you get power in run, then lose it when turning to start? Any clicking or other noises (where/what)? Lights, instruments, radio, etc?

[gsimpson]

The starter buzzes and nothing has been changed electrical wise since I started it a week ago. When I use an ohm meter on the back of the fuse box it shows I have a grounding issue with the hot wire from the battery. I disconnected the wire from the starter and there is no grounding.

[DmaxMaverick]

The starter "buzz" indicates a poor connection at the terminal lug. This is not uncommon, especially with old(er) cables and/or terminals. You can clean and reinstall, but most often the solution is new cables. If the cables are relatively new, check for corrosion at/in the eyes and crimp. Any corrosion suggests a diminished continuity, which will open the circuit when loaded. Start with a thorough cleaning of the terminal lugs and cable eyes. If it continues, you can increase the clamping ability using bolts/studs and nuts on the battery terminals. Install the bolt/stud into the battery terminal until it bottoms (do NOT overtighten, as this will damage the battery), install the cable eye, then tighten the nut over the eye. This allows you to increase tightening without damaging the battery lug threads. If this is successful, tighten a lock nut and call it good for a while. Stainless steel bolts/studs with cadmium nuts is recommended (minimizes corrosion potential). Do not use hot-dip or zinc hardware, except for short testing periods (they will go away quickly).

[gsimpson]

But nothing had changed from the previous time when I started it. It is the same set of terminals and everything

[Yukon6.2]

Don't get hung up on the nothing has changed.You could end up wasting a lot of time assuming it's all good.
Start at square one and work your way though all the connections from the battery's to the starter.
Last month i helped a fellow out that has electrical issues with a truck he uses to haul water.It gets used once a week and has a drain that kills the battery by the time he needs to use it again.I recommended he install a battery disconnect,but in the meantime to keep from freezing his battery i showed him how to disconnect the ground.
A couple of weeks pass and he gives me a call that there is something wrong with his starter now.He had hooked up the battery and had nothing,put a charger on the battery and still nothing.
He is a science teacher who also has a trap-line that gets him 100's on miles from home.He begged me to fix his truck,my shop is closed so i don't fix other peoples stuff right now.He helped me when i was reconditioning some cast iron rads,so i told him i would look at it.Turns out that someone had loosened the positive on the battery and never tightened it.He swears he never touched it,but it was loose and an easy fix that a fresh pair of eyes found.He spent hours looking for loose connections,crossing the terminals on the starter,ect.
I spent less than 5 min to get the truck running.
So don't get hung up on "nothing has changed" because something has or your truck would be running.

[gsimpson]

The problem is on the other side of the fuse box under the hood and nothing was ever disconnected there. It is somewhere between the fuse box and the wiring from the starter switch I am guessing. I just need help on where to look to eliminate things I disconnected the starter side and the starter wire using the ohm meter is fine.

[JohnC]

If the starter makes a buzzing sound, and the batteries are good, it generally means there's nothing wrong with the solenoid wiring, but there's a problem with the heavy cables connecting the battery to the starter motor or the ground straps between the battery and engine.

[Robyn]

If the cables are not new then any of the connections where the ends are crimped on are suspect.

The side terminal connections are notorious for hiding corrosion in the cable strands where the ends attach.

The grounds are no different and even the eyes where the grounds bolt to the engine can go bad.

The cable that feed the starter itself connects to the RH Battery ++ cable right at the side terminal itself.

Many times these terminal can go bad after being disturbed (Battery removed)


Check out the cables carefully.

The LH battery is hooked to the Alternator and then the cross connect cable transfers the extra amperage to the RH side plus keeps the RH charged.


Don't overlook a bad starter though


Most all of the GM cables are NOT soldered to the cable ends, but rather crimped only.

Corrosion sets up inside the strands of wire to the point that very little amperage gets through and then things stop working, and if the cables are moved or flexed the contact that may have been there goes away.

BEEN THERE DONE THIS GAME

[gsimpson]

OK I have narrowed down the grounding to the glow plug harness even though I do not see any wires on the glow plug touching any metal anywhere I am getting a ground with and ohm meter.

The controller is new and it IS heating the glow plugs but will eventually kill the battery.

Help please!

[JohnC]

How are you determining that there's a ground in the glow plug harness? IF you're measuring it with an ohm meter, the glow plugs are such low resistance that they will be indistinguishable from a short to ground. You need to disconnect all the glow plugs first.

That said, if the glow plugs heat then there's no short in the harness.

Why do you think the glow plug circuit is causing the battery to go dead?

I went back and looked at your original post. The problem was that the starter was buzzing, right? Was that caused by a dead battery? A buzzing starter can be caused by a bad (high resistance) ground. This problem will not lead to a dead battery, though. And, I don't think there's anything in the glow plug circuit that will drain the battery when the key is off.

[gsimpson]

I used an ohm meter at the back of the fuse box, it says there is a short with no key in the ignition and no batteries in the vehicle. When I touch it to the lead that is pluggeed into the glow plugs it also reads there is a short.

So you are saying that the glow plugs always show a grounded state?

[JohnC]

So you are saying that the glow plugs always show a grounded state?

If you measure from the glow plug harness at the relay to ground you will see about 0.1 ohms, hard to distinguish from a short.

If you're using an ohm meter on the fuse box, I hope you have the battery disconnected, or are on the circuit side of the fuse box with the fuses removed.