1966 corvette grounding problem

================== My first though would be to tell you to take a set of jumper cables and attach one end or the neg cable to the neg post of the battery and the other end to the frame itself..... that will give you a GOOD MAIN GROUND...

If it fires up..

I will bet that the inside of your ground wire off the battery and attached to the frame by the rear wheel is just pain corroded ... Been there done that ...ya got a 40 year old car with a cable that is exposed to the environment ... Cleaning the ends just will sometimes work BUT if the cable is corroded inside as mine was...forget it...

Lots of luck... I guess I may be like you...can turn a wrench but for the life of me chasing electrons around ain"t easy...

Bob

Bob could be correct. Shine up the connector and frame with a metal brush, then use a star washer for a good tight connection.

Unless there's something special on the BB cars, I think the battery negative ground cable goes to one of the starter attachment bolts on C2 cars, so check that connection first.

I don't have my diagrams here with me, but a common cause of the problem you are seeing is a bad connection at the two firewall connectors on the outside side of the firewall from the fusebox (ie, in the engine compartment) where the harnesses are plugged in... one of the wires that connect there is a heavy gauge red wire that supplies power to the vehicle harnesses; some folks hard-wire that red wire, bypassing the connector, but cleaning the connectors should be enough to do the job.

If you use a multimeter or a test light probe, it should be easy to test from various connections to ground, starting at the battery, then the red-wire connector, then the fusebox, etc, until you see that power is absent.

Chuck,

There is no hope for this problem. It will take a long tedious period of troubleshooting, probably approaching 6 years or more.

As such, I will offer you a fully running and ready to drive '79 or a '63 coupe that is in the middle of restoration and take that '66 off your hands.

If you don't think either are acceptable, then you can begin the long and arduous task of fixing it.

When did it occur, before or after you changed the battery? If only after, then you can narrow it to a few things if you have a voltmeter (or VOM).

1. Check voltage at battery.
2. Check voltage at the starter solenoid where the battery lead (place positive lead here) connects and to the starter body (negative lead). If nothing, check various places with the negative lead such as the engine valve cover bolts, any ground straps, the car frame, where the battery negative cable connects to the frame, and finally the battery.
3. Check voltage at alternator. First check positive lead to the red terminal and negative lead to the battery negative. If you have voltage, move the negative lead to the alternator case, the engine, the car frame, and so on.
4. Check voltage at the fuse block inside under the dash. If nothing, place the negative lead on the battery negative, using jumper cables if needed for the distance.

If you consistently get voltage as long as you connect to the battery and not whenever connecting elsewhere with either lead, then the battery cable is probably bad, whichever one you cannot get current on.

If you get voltage to several places, like the alternator but not inside to the fuse block, you could have a blown fusible link. These are designed to protect the car and are located at the starter and the horn relay. They are a short piece of wire connected to the main wire by a splice that looks like a miniature Tootsie Roll in the wire. Check the voltage at the terminal and in the main wire just past the splice.

Good luck.

Agree