Note fully trough: Sweden used to have the padded dash as well all the way
and last sunday I saw a beautifully restored BGT ('72 or '73) which had a
USA dash from new on the European continent. I also have seen some years ago
a terible coloured '71 BGT at Leiden city 10 miles from where I live for
sale at it's original garage having a USA spec dash too.
Cheers,
Hans
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Johnmowog@aol.com [SMTP:Johnmowog@aol.com]
> Sent: dinsdag 21 december 1999 08:21
> To: mgs@autox.team.net
> Subject: re:grounding 71mgb
>
> paul.hunt1@virgin.net writes:
>
> <<
> > Remember that when it comes to electrics, there are two very distinctly
> > different cars.. Metal dash (generator, positive ground) and plastic
> > dash.(alternator, negative ground, different instrument sizes)
>
> Only in North America. The Rest of the World used metal dash for the
> life
> of the car.
> <<< Forgive my regional bias, I have the bad habit of assuming the list
> is
> populated only by us colonials.(though I did mention the
> alternator/generator
> difference as well..) But anyway, There is no "Rest of the World." In
> fact,
> where I live it is only a rumor that there is any life at all east of
> Denver... :-)
>
> > To answer the question, on the steel dash car the small lugs on the
> harness
> > ground to Each Instrument. Every one of your gauges is mounted to the
> dash
> > via 2 metal clips that slide down threaded studs protruding from the
> rear
> of
> > the instrument and are fastened by knurled nuts and washers. Grounding
> takes
> > place via slipping a ground lug under the the knurled nut and washer
> before
> > installing, one per instrument. (use which ever side of the instrument
> that
> > works best for the wiring harness) This causes the instrument and
> harness
> > both to ground to the dash at that point.
>
> The harness is grounded elsewhere and that is how the instruments (and
> the
> wipers etc) are grounded. Any grounding via the dash is purely
> coincidental. >>
>
> <<< Right you are. To a certain point. Bear in mind, for example, that a
> typical radio installation uses the dash for ground for the radio and the
> fender for ground for the antenna. If your ground strap is missing across
> the
> engine mounts, the dashboard becomes a quite high current ground for the
> starter via the choke cable, and a very effective one indeed... for as
> long
> as the choke cable lasts!
> The ground wires in the B (and other lbcs) harness are not exactly high
> current devices, nor do they have reliable connection structures. .
> Further,
> considering the normal current (pun intended) state of most wiring
> harnesses, and the inevitable future state of the rest of them, grounds
> are
> ground where ever they are found! (ah, poetic besides!) Best take whatever
>
> circumstances give you.
> (I apologize for Conducting myself in such a Resistive manner towards the
> Current discussion. Yes, my flame suit is on...)
> BTW don't use the "stock" location for the harness ground in the trunk,
> which
> is the trunk latch screw. Many a malfuction in this region has been traced
> to
> this little gem of a brainless idea. Best drill your own hole for a ground
>
> bolt, or find something else in the neighborhood that has more substance
> and
> less tendancy to work loose!
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