Pro tip: check the ground strap before chasing electrical gremlins

Spent three hours last Tuesday trying to figure out why a 2014 Chevy Silverado had intermittent dash lights and a rough idle. Turned out the ground strap from the engine block to the frame was corroded clean through. Whole fix took maybe 15 minutes with a $12 part from O'Reilly in Waco. Anyone else ever waste a whole afternoon on something that simple?

3 comments

3 Comments

emerym3622d ago

Did a buddy of mine chase ghost codes on his Ford for two days before finding a chewed ground wire?

patricia_gonzalez22d ago

Read somewhere that Ford ground wires are notoriously bad for that, they corrode in the weirdest spots. Had a similar issue on an old F-150 once, drove me nuts.

milam4821d ago

Had that exact headache on a '14 Focus, spent a whole Saturday chasing codes that made zero sense. Turned out to be a ground wire behind the passenger headlight that had corroded clean through from road salt. Once I cleaned the terminal and put a new ring connector on it, the codes never came back. Did you end up finding any other chewed up wires while you were poking around?