Good day!!!
I am wanting to make up my own ground straps & am looking for a source of a roll of the braided copper flat stuff. Anyone have a recommendation?
Thank You & Regards,
Jon

 

McMaster-Carr sells them (www.mcmaster.com); they are available with a lug on both ends or with a lug on one end and a battery post clamp on the other.

But, if you want to make your own they sell it by the foot up to 25 foot lengths in Gages 4 (1"x 3/32"), 1 (1"x1/8"), and 2/0 (1-1/4"x 3/16"). The 4 gage is $2.38/foot (part number 69925k41)

 

The premade ones are coated with I think lead to keep them from corroding like bare copper would. Any auto part store should stock the ready made ones in dozens of lengths and configurations, hardly worth thr trouble of making your own IMO.

 

The corrosion plating on these straps is tin. I noticed that McMaster-Carr also sells a 1/2" wide grounding braid (6 gage equivalent) for $1.50 per foot. Not heavy enough for grounding your battery, but sufficient for grounding your engine to chassis.

 

Steve, seems like you'd want a bigger ground from the engine to the chassis if your battery is grounded to the chassis as in the stock setup. The starter ground comes from the engine block/bellhousing so I figure you'd need a pretty good ground from the engine block to the frame for the starter.

 

I agree in theory, though I've noticed that in practice the chassis to engine grounds aren't as big as the connection made to ground the battery. Is it because there is typically more than one, or because there are other ground paths through the mounting of the engine and transmission?

 

Most engine/trannys are mounted with rubber vibration insulators hence the need for a separate ground. It would be better to gound the battery to the engine and get the chassis ground by means of the tie strap between the engine and chassis. (Besides, I'd rather clean a spot around a bolt on the engine for the connection than have to scrape finish off the frame.)

 

I buy mine from the New Holland Implement Dealer. There the right ones and are for the old Ford Tractors.

 

Thanks for your responses guys, very helpful.
Regards,
Jon