Ground ?'s for driving a rolling chassis

Barber31

Barber31

Well-known member
Everything is pretty much ready to fire up on my rolling chassis. I need to drive it out of the garage so I can get the body painted. My question is does the terminal box need to be grounded? Right now the ignition coil, terminal box and instrument panel are mounted to a block of wood. I'm thinking the instruments and box should be grounded but I'm not sure where I should put the ground.
 
Nope the terminal box was originally made from hard rubber, nothing to ground.

wiring-diagramcolor2sm.jpg
 
So I could prably get away with putting the jumper on the coil bracket? I have the oe coil bracket mounted to the wood and since its grasping the coil it should be ok ,right? I just didn't want to take any chances burning something up.
 
why would the coil case need to be grounded?? If anything inside the coil is touching the case its a bad coil.. Alot of replacements are plastic anyways.
just make sure the generator has a good ground back to the pos post and all the connections are clean and tight. Should be good to go.
having the fuse and a battery disconnect are ideal too but main one that every garage should have is a fire extinguisher.
 
Not Model A specific, but I tend to be obsessive about grounds, and add ground wires between bodying frame,body and engine, frame and motor, generator and body, on and on.A lot of electrical quirks and failures are due to something not being properly grounded, even though it would appear to be naturally grounded just by its installation. Paint is often a culprit in causing a grounding failure, and just adding a wire will solve the problem. As an example, when recently wiring my A tail lights I added an extra wire from the tail light housing to a bare metal spot on the body. I know it is not original, but it is more reliable, at least in my opinion.
 
I don't see how the coil could work if internals are grounded to the case? How would a plastic cased coil work, does it have another terminal to go to ground that i have not seen?

CoilConstruction.png
 
The circuit is completed by the points being closed. (Grounded). (Charged). Then when opened, it causes the secondary to collapse and ground out as it jumps the spark gap. Ect ect. The case has nothing to do with operational ground. The inside wiring of the coil is called free floating or isolated.
 
the coil dose not need grounded I drove mine like this for four years
kevin
1930 tudor
 

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Russ B said:
Not Model A specific, but I tend to be obsessive about grounds, and add ground wires between bodying frame,body and engine, frame and motor, generator and body, on and on.A lot of electrical quirks and failures are due to something not being properly grounded, even though it would appear to be naturally grounded just by its installation. Paint is often a culprit in causing a grounding failure, and just adding a wire will solve the problem. As an example, when recently wiring my A tail lights I added an extra wire from the tail light housing to a bare metal spot on the body. I know it is not original, but it is more reliable, at least in my opinion.
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yea one can never have too many grounds and yes paint makes an excelent insulator! to me the engine doesnt have a great ground at all unless you add one - popular and hideable spot is between the frame rail and one of the trans to engine bolts. cant be seen unless your under the car.
 
J Franklin said:
Needing to start your car to get it out of the garage conjures up a very large garage in my imagination.
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Haha. On the contrary I'm in a small garage. On top of that my driveway has a steep incline. Anything rolling out of my garage not under its own power would mean more manpower to get back in. I prefer its own power.

the coil dose not need grounded I drove mine like this for four years
kevin
1930 tudor

That's exactly how I'm trying to run it. Minus the fenders and such. Those are the items I'm needing to paint as well.
 
kwisor said:
the coil dose not need grounded I drove mine like this for four years
kevin
1930 tudor
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Kevin, did you get any TICKETS? I have a cop buddy down the street, but he runs the helicopter @ night, when I'm sleeping. I used to have to watch out fer him, whin he wuz a K-9 guy, on DAY shift, but I BRIBED his BIG Dog with TREATS:rolleyes:---I also tole the Dog I would squeal on him, for sleeping with a CAT, named, "CAT":D
Bill Rascal
 
Got it started and running. So far so good. I'll prably try to pull it out of the garage later today. Thanks for the help fellas.
 
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