Hey guys was wondering how many ground straps there are for the whole truck. It's a 1956 with a 292
Thanks dan

 

Ground straps? Only one, from the engine block to the firewall. How many grounds? I am not sure but at least one more and that is the cable from the positive terminal to the frame.

 

The more you have the better...there can NEVER be too many. Engine to body to frame...all should be tied to a common ground. Many electrical issues are rooted in poor grounds, this is not a place to scrimp.

 

Ground straps? I would use two, one connects from the negative battery cable connection point on the engine block to the frame, and the the other from the same engine block connection to the firewall. On my truck, I use the strap connected to the firewall as sort of a main grounding point. This is where I connect all of my gauges grounds, electric radiator fan ground, anything that has a separate ground wire connection runs to this point. In my case there are a lot of wires connected there, but it seems to work very well for me.

 

Also, make sure you have good metal to metal contact for your lights and other electrical stuff. I have ground wires going from my taillights to the frame.

 

'56 would be negative ground, just to be clear.

 

Unless you just have to keep it OEM this is where you can make some easy, inexpensive improvements. Ford used the smallest gauge copper cable or strap they thought would work, and also as short as possible. This meant some compromises, electrically. While they did work when new, sort of, a lot of rust, paint, and corrosion over the years really makes things marginal. This causes major issues over time that shouldn't be overlooked.

For example just 0.06 ohms - six hundredths of an ohm, hardly anything at all - will reduce generator or alternator output by 30%! Voltage drop will burn up starters and solenoids, switches and motors, dim headlights, weak batteries. Over the years the negative ground terminal cable has connected in different locations depending on the vehicle and such but a bolt on the starter or bellhousing works well. The idea is to avoid a circuitous path through rusty parts. The starter of course draws more current than anything else.

 

oops, you are correct, Sir! thanks.

 

THanks guys...what is exactly a negative ground. Is the truck grounded thru the negative end of battery..my engine is from a 63 does that make any difference

 

56 was the first year for 12volt negative ground systems in F100s. The older F series were 6Volt positive ground. Yes, negative ground is when a strap or cable runs from the - post of the battery to the frame.
Couple of things to remember use the same size cable to ground that you do to power. So if you have a 00 battery cable going to your solenoid then ground the block with an equivalent strap or cable. Same applies to the Cab there's generally a 10 guage feed to the Cab so like wise you'll want a equivalent sized ground. Many say you'll need three grounds; block, cab and chassis. I would add an additional ground to the bed since the tail lights hang off of the bed (you could run a ground wire to the chassis). Electrically most of your problems will be caused by bad or missing grounds.

 

The (-) battery terminal (ground) cable should go to the engine. The starter is the largest current draw by far, more than 300 amps at times. A direct battery connection is essential there.