So I had to replace the main ground wire on my '97 Ranger that goes from the battery to the starter. I got the new one in, and it works. While removing the old one, I noticed there's a splice that connects it to the frame. The replacement wire from Autozone has no such thing.

Is it necessary to have it connected there to the frame? It is connected to the body through a small wire from the battery clamp.

 

So long as your battery ground has a solid frame ground, you've fine.

 

It would be good to duplicate the factory frame grounding point. I know my f250 has a small grounding strap for the cab that goes from the frame to the bottom of the cab under the passenger side of the cab. They did it for a reason, so I would do something about it.

You could strip a small section of insulation off your new ground cable, and put the old clamp around it(some grease or something would be appropriate here also to prevent corrosion) or you could go buy another universal cable with eyelets on both ends, bolt one end to the spot on the frame where the old cable bolted, and then bolt the other end to the engine, either under the spot where the new ground cable went, or somewhere else convenient.

The main ground goes to the engine block, because the main power user is the starter, and it's bolted to the engine block also. But the engine, transmission, rearend springs, cab mounts, other body mounts, are all isolated with rubber mounts. That's why there are short grounding straps everywhere on the truck.

 

You can NEVER have too many grounds.