Over the past month or so, the "Charging System" words would appear on my digital display accompanied by not so pleasant "DING!" Then, it would promptly disappear only to reappear at random intervals. Occasionally, the vehicle would refuse to start and jumper cables would be deployed.

The battery seemed strong and the alternator was kicking out the voltage. Finally, the beast left me stranded causing me to lose four hours of work so it was time to figure this out. Fearing a bad starter, I jacked her up and climbed underneath (battery disconnected).

Findings: The block ground bolt was barely finger tight and the positive connection on the starter was tight but shaky. I removed the block ground and wire brushed the connection point and tightened it down hard. Tightened the starter connection as well. I also added an extra group strap from the negative post on the battery to a A/C mounting bolt.

After reinstalling the battery, the beast fired right up and has been problem free all week.

As a side note, I appear to be seeing a significant increase in gas mileage as well. I'm pretty sure that the bad ground messes with the electrical system to the point that it can affect the spark.

Any thoughts?

 

That's why I always preach "grounds,grounds grounds".

 

My van has multiple redundant grounds.

 

One reason all auto makers (and makers of high power electrical devices) use a single point of ground (star topology) is to prevent ground loops. Weird things happen when you engage the starter motor to try to start the car.

When I was working at Ford, we had a run of EEC modules that had a mounting post for the main board that was just off spec enough that it allowed the main processor chip to rub on it. Soon enough, the ground plain in the chip would start contacting the aluminum post, which presented a different path to ground. The next time that the starter motor as run, a current loop flowed through that circuit, and literally blew off the top of the processor (and the engine won't start).

So for most cars, the primary ground path is from the battery to the front of the engine block, and a strap between the back of the block to the body. From there, it fans out to all the lights and other devices from either the body or the block. This is the design that Ford (and other makers) have found to work the most reliably.

If you're running multiple ground straps, make sure none of them come anywhere close to delicate electronics.

 

My ground path goes from the alternator and AC compressor directly to the battery, with the stock strap still in place.

 

Mileage update: First fulltank fillup indicates 21.02 MPG. Previous best was 18. Only change was the grounding issue.

 

Over four fill-ups, averaging 19.4 mpg.