Have you ever noticed the care and attention we put on electrical connections by making sure they are clean and protected from weather or shorting out? Why don't we spend the same care and attention to the grounds? It's because shorts create sparks and smoke and things that don't work, but often times things don't work because of bad grounds. They are, after all, the other half of any electrical circuit but nobody notices them. When things get rusty, grounds go bad, but they don't show up like green corrosion does. Remember, if the fuse is still good, look at the ground.

 

I'm looking at the ground but only see a puddle of coolant with some oil and a dead fly floating on it. I'm not sure how this helps

 

Then you're not looking in the right place.Smartass! I'd slap you up side your head if it wasn't such a long swim.

The reason for this post is I've been watching South Main Auto Repair LLC on Youtube and this guy is amazing when it comes to diagnosis. He's only about an hour and a half's drive from where I live and we get a lot of rust from road salt here in upstate NY. He's got a pretty wife and 3 great kids and shares all his great amazing talent with everyone. A lot of his jobs turn out to be faulty grounds.

 

Absolutely correct.

 

I wonder how many good OEM sensors have been trashed over the years with people chasing their tails over what was a bad ground. Or how many XJs have been potentially crushed or sold at pennies on the dollar over such a simple but hard to see issue.

 

SMA is one of my favorite go-to channels. Eric is a dying breed. I love his diagnostics and how-tos. Electrical work can be a PITA, but he makes it look easy. And most of it is. Ive known a few that sold thier vehicle because it wouldnt start or it wouldnt stay running, or ran like crap. All because of a loose or dirty connection, a broken wire, green crusties, or a blown fuse.Thats basic stuff right there.

 

boxburn! Oh dark thirty! Flogging. Be there!

 

Hey, if you want to see it done right by newbie, check out this post. Outstanding!

 

Yes! I've learned so much from SMA and Eric O.

 

Note from DJ

Here is a quote from a wise Jeep problem solver Joe Peters. “You have got to have good grounds. Without good grounds your coffee will taste like crap, and your electrical components will report crap”.

 

It's also amazing how much you can learn with just a test light and a vacuum gauge. Oh! and a can of Brake Clean!

 

True.

 

This is too real. I can feel it right now.