Ground Wire Woes - Need Help!

[Terbro]

I've posted my problem elsewhere, but with the recent discovery, am posting a new thread. A recap first:

Attempted a poor man's ground wire upgrade to my DW301 hotwired fuel pump. 10-gauge wire to the FP ground wire near the tank, grounded to the alternator housing. Go for a WOT run, and something goes wrong; motor runs like poop as boost developed. Also noticed just then that SM volts reading, which are normally 13.6-13.9, jumped to 14.5-15. Eventually discover the reason it's running poorly is that the GEN II Translator isn't getting power. Malfunction codes, 23 & 34 (MAT & MAF). Today, I discovered that the reason the GEN II isn't powering up is it's ground wire isn't doing it's job. I've checked all fuses; all good. Yes, I disconnected the FP ground wiring...no effect. Have reset ECM twice as well.

The ground wire to GEN II connector is coming from the MAF ground wire. So far, I've determined that there's no ground at the stock wiring to the MAF. That wire goes into a larger bundle of the wiring harness, heading back behind the motor.

Not sure what to do next.

 

[TurboBob]

the MAF sensor gets its ground from the back of the passenger side head. There is also a factory splice in that wire, that may have corroded and broken.

So, grounding that wire/circuit is a legit fix. Ground it to the engine if possible.

Bob

 

[Terbro]

the MAF sensor gets its ground from the back of the passenger side head. There is also a factory splice in that wire, that may have corroded and broken.

So, grounding that wire/circuit is a legit fix. Ground it to the engine if possible.

Bob

Ah! Okay...will do. (think...time delay 30 minutes; forgot to post reply) And...did it! And...IT WORKED! GEN II powered on, motor is running smooth, volts returned to normal. It's almost midnight, so I just started it, but...preliminary indications are all good.

I originally still had code 23 (MAT sensor), but reset the ECM and now have no codes. Very happy. I guess I'll just assume the WOT blast caused the old corroded ground wire to stretch and lose good contact. I'll further surmise that it had nothing to do with the fact I had JUST added the poor man's fuel pump ground wire upgrade. For that reason, I've reconnected the 10-gauge ground wire heading toward the fuel pump. Haven't yet reconnected it at the fuel pump's ground wire...tomorrow. Yes, I know...the better way would be to pull the tank and upgrade the entire ground starting at the fuel pump.

Thanks again Bob for your time on the phone on a Sunday evening...and a reply tonight that has me smirkin' as I schnoozle tonight. Before that, I was miffed as to what I would do next.

 

[John Larkin]

Solder the connection in the wire nut as soon as you are able. Shrink wrap it also. And then tuck it into the loom. C'mon man.

 

[626gn]

A bit off topic but do you have an aftermarket tach? Reason I ask is the green connector to the right of the wire nut (which you really should get rid of, as others have said) should not have anything plugged into it IF you don't have a tach.

 

[Terbro]

Solder the connection in the wire nut as soon as you are able. Shrink wrap it also. And then tuck it into the loom. C'mon man.

That's why I posted a pic of my connection job...needed someone to set me straight. I know it's sub-standard. I'm going to at least wrap it with duct tape and call it good. Soldering gun, heat gun...what're those? More seriously, I will eventually. Need to hit Harbor Freight and buy some key tools when the budget allows.

 

[Terbro]

A bit off topic but do you have an aftermarket tach? Reason I ask is the green connector to the right of the wire nut (which you really should get rid of, as others have said) should not have anything plugged into it IF you don't have a tach.

Hmmm. I do not have an aftermarket tach. I'll see what's up with that. Ah...I just looked at the connection reference in the GEN II manual. I haven't verified that that white wire connected to it is heading into the GEN II wiring (which what's in the foreground, where my wire nut is), but I'll bet it is. There's an "RPM Input"...bet whomever wired it did that.

P.S. I've also since tightly wrapped and secured the wire nut and surrounding wire with electrical tape. Not ideal, but at least now it's not subject to getting knocked and pulled apart.

I also reconnected the 10-gauge ground wire to the stock FP ground. I've gone for a few runs, and no problems. But, no improvement with the new 80# injectors...still falling flat at the top of 2nd and 3rd. Adding fuel with the TT chip (up 10%), and got it totally died at the top of 3rd. Boost went to zero in fact...first time it did that. Fuel pressure is 50#. But...I'll start another thread. It's apparent I've got another problem.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Solder the connection in the wire nut as soon as you are able. Shrink wrap it also. And then tuck it into the loom. C'mon man.

Scary, ain't it, John??
Look at the other end, too.

 

[TurboBuRick]

In no way do I agree with using wire nuts BUT I would rather see that then twisted wires wrapped in black tape. A wire nut makes a pretty solid connection.

 

[V6POWER]

Fuel pressure is 50#.

Fuel pressure should be around 43# with hose off.

 

[Terbro]

In no way do I agree with using wire nuts BUT I would rather see that then twisted wires wrapped in black tape. A wire nut makes a pretty solid connection.

Again, I know it's not ideal, but I cut plenty of insulation off the wires, made sure they were twisted well around each other, and majorly cranked the wire nut on to the point where it stopped dead. My confidence level of it being a solid connection is pretty high (on both ends...Chuck!). And if the bottom line is that the most important thing is "a solid connection", well tease all you want, but for now, I'm not worried about them.