Ground Point Preparation

Many electrical faults are caused by bad ground points.

To ensure a good bond for ground points on any metal surface in the car, proceed as follows:

1) Clean the area around the bolt hole down to bright, shiny metal. An easy of doing this is to use a pilot bonding end brush in a drill to clean around the hole (see below for where to get these brushes). If a brush is not available, scrape all paint off of the metal around the hole and then use sandpaper to get a perfectly clean surface.

2) Once the surface is cleaned down to bright, shiny metal, coat the surface well with any conductive, anti-corrosion surface compound, such as Kopr-Shield (see below for where to get Kopr-Shield).

Pilot bonding end brushes are available from MSC Industrial Supply Co. (800-645-7270)

1/2” End Brush with 3/16” pilot - P/N 00126722
1/2” End Brush with 1/4” pilot - P/N 00126730

Kopr-Shield – Thomas & Betts P/N 201-31879 is available from The Eastwood Co. It is also available at electrical supply outlets such as CED or Stussers and is probably available at Lowe’s and Home Depot.

Article by Dave DuBois
2007-02-10