How-To: Clean the Body Grounds on your 92-99

Series I L27 (1992-1994 SE,SLE, SSE) & Series II L36 (1995-1999 SE, SSE, SLE) and common problems for the Series I and II L67 (all supercharged models 92-99) Including Olds 88's, Olds LSS's, Olds 98 91-96, Buick Lesabres and Park Avenue 91-96. Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.
Post Reply
LeSabre in Buffalo
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 3177
Joined: Fri May 23, 2008 1:15 am
Year and Trim: 2012 Eco
Location: Corning, NY

How-To: Clean the Body Grounds on your 92-99

Post by LeSabre in Buffalo »

How to clean the body grounds:

Materials:
PB Blaster or other penetrating oil
10mm ratchet, ratcheting wrench, or wrench
220 grit sandpaper
Wire brush
Dielectric grease

The body grounds are located on both sides of the engine bay. One is located behind the battery, the other two are located behind the PCM.

Passenger-side ground behind the battery:
Image

Driver's side grounds:
Close-up
Image

Far away
Image


Procedure:
Soak the grounding points with Blaster. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Then carefully undo the 10mm nuts. There are two nuts, one on top of the other, on the passenger side mount. For the driver's side grounds, it was necessary to remove the PCM cover for more clearance. There are little tabs you have to pry up on to release it.
Next, tear off a little piece of your sandpaper and sand until you have clean, shiny metal again on the ring ends attached to the wires. I found it easiest to "sandwich" the ring end in between a folded piece of sandpaper. Sand the bottom of the nut where it contacts the ring ends, again until you get clean metal. Wire-brush any loose corrosion off the bolt the grounds attach to.
When re-assembling, coat the ring ends and bolt with dielectric grease. This will help keep out moisture and corrosion from your newly-shiny grounding points.


My experience was that the passenger-side grounds weren't in bad shape. The worst one was the solitary ground on the driver's side. The whole assembly was rusty, and took a bit of work to restore. After, my headlights were brighter, and the power windows were zippier.

If you haven't done so yet, this is an excellent chance to clean your battery cables while your hands are filthy.
Last edited by LeSabre in Buffalo on Sat Aug 01, 2009 7:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
2012 Chevrolet Cruze Eco - Current car
Image Image
1999 Buick LeSabre Custom - Former car

Learn from the mistakes of others, that way when you mess up you can do so in new and interesting ways.
Post Reply