Trans to body ground strap options

I recently purchased a fiberglass dune buggy on a '63 Beetle frame/motor. One of the things I noticed when I purchased it was that it turned over very slow, and sometimes would not have enough juice to get it to fire. The first night I had it out, the lights were also very dim (almost to the point of not seeing them). So, I looked here on the newsgroup, and found a lot of suggestions saying to check the battery (which is newer and seems fine) and the trans to body ground strap. After snooping around under the buggy, I found the strap, and it was bolted to the trans, but the other end was just hanging free. Maybe the previous owner forgot to put it back on. Its a 6-volt generator system w/ 6-volt battery.

My questions are: without a metal body, where should I attach the other end of the trans to body ground strap? What would the difference be if I attached the strap to the frame? On this buggy the wiring looks pretty much like a stock beetle, with all the lights and all. So the ground strap should definitely be attached correct?

Please give me some suggestions if you had experiences with this. Thanks.

-- Steve G

Reply to
Steve G
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The strap attaches to one of the studs for the front tranny mount. That makes the connection to the tunnel (frame). The battery negative cable also attaches to the frame. That completes the path for the starter motor.

None of this should affect the headlights though. They should be grounded up front to *something* which is part of the frame. Take a look and see what they did with the Brw ground wire from each headlight.

Headlight problems can also be traced to the headlight switch (if the original '63 switch was used).

Speedy Jim

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Reply to
Speedy Jim

It normally attaches to the tranny-mount (horn, or wishbone) about a 4" reach with the stock ground strap. I also have a fiberglass body on one of my platforms and I added a #2 cable from the tranny mount to the front torsion tubes, which in turn is the ground for the battery. It was overkill, but that's the way I am. :)

Reply to
J Stafford

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