Hi Everyone,

I am not a car or electrical expert. More inept than an amateur. Please forgive me for using incorrect terminology and for my general lack of knowledge as I attempt to explain my question. I appreciate your patience....

Quick backstory - 2004 Ford F150 truck. Extremely rusty underbody from sitting outside in Northeast United States for years. Truck would not start, no crank, no dash lights, and no radio. The anti theft light was blinking rapidly when the key was in the ON position. Through some luck and googling, I found the problem. An old rusty ground wire on the driver's side cab under floorboard. I grabbed a socket wrench and went to take out the bolt. This happened....



The part of the frame this was attached to was so rusty and deteriorated that the whole bolt assembly pulled right off the frame. I tried to preserve the ring terminal but could not get the bolt off, so I cut the wire and bought a new ring terminal. I've heard that the proper way to fix this issue is to use a metal brush to sand down a new part of the frame and drill a new hole in the frame. I bought a wire brush, dielectric grease, Hillman Pan Phillips self-drilling #10x3/4 inch zinc specialty screws and multiple Kobalt titanium drill bits (3/32, 9/64 and 11/64 inch) to prep a new spot on the frame.

Then I thought perhaps I found an easier fix. There is a factory bolt very close to where this one pulled off, so I attached a new ring terminal to the ground wire and squeezed it over the copper wiring with needle nose pliers. I then attached the ring terminal to the bolt pictured below. This bolt sits on a plastic piece near the hood release. The red circle shows where the original ground wire was bolted to the frame. The red arrow shows where I placed the ground wire and new ring terminal.



The truck now starts fine, however, I am concerned about safety and whether this grounding is appropriate. Here are my questions:

1) Is this ground appropriate and can you explain your thought process on why or why not?
2) Did I buy the proper drill bits and hardware needed if this is not safe, and I need to drill a new hole in the frame?
3) If I need to drill a new hole, do you have any suggestions on how to safely and effectively do so? I'm concerned there is wiring or other parts I could hit while drilling.
4) I'm guessing if I drill a new hole too close to the original rusty hole I will have the same grounding issue because of all the rust?

Thanks in advance.

 

There would not be a safety issue there. The ground path is probably not as good as the original factory ground path but is much much better than what was there while it was rusting away. The path is through the ring terminal to the screw and through the screw to the body through the screw threads. It will probably be fine for years since it's in a dry spot now.

Personally I would use it just like that. It's a small wire so does not need a large contact patch.

 

Thanks, BareBonesXL. Appreciate your feedback.

 

I'm late to this party but I'd also leave it like oyu have it. As thin as the wire is it isn't grounding too much.