How-To: Clean the Body Grounds on your 92-99
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:41 pm
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:
Driver's side grounds:
Close-up
Far away
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.
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:
Driver's side grounds:
Close-up
Far away
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.