I agree, both with the increased wire length and the 30 years. However it
has always amazed me that whilst heavier gauge wires were provided to carry
the 12v supply *to* big current things like the headlights, only standard
gauge wire was used for the ground return. This was despite the fact that
the ground often carried other loads as well. The same goes for the twin
electric fans in my factory V8, which unbelievably share the ground return
wire with the headlights! Or did so until I provided a local ground for
each fan in parallel with the existing ground and in doing so improved the
headlight ground as well. If the custom harness uses the heavier gauge wire
for the ground return for things like headlights and electric fans then
there may be an overall improvement. But since it is the alternator that
should be supplying all loads when the engine is running, then the ground
return for all the electrical loads should really be taken to the engine,
not the battery, which is what the body grounds do via (normally) a very low
impedance path indeed. Taking *all* electrical loads back to the battery on
a cable, only for them then to go into the body and forward again to the
engine/transmission ground strap, would need a much heavier gauge again.
PaulH.
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Nazarian" <jhn3@uakron.edu>
To: "MG Mail" <mgs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2004 7:26 AM
Subject: Re: ground connections
> Of course, you will need to take into account that you are vastly
increasing
> the lengths of some of these circuits.
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