Pig tail on the negative cable for battery

[Nocnir]

Hey!

Quick question, is the pigtail on the negative battery cable a must have or can I go without it? Just wondering since I've seen other cars without it.

 

510 sedan 1972

 

Thanks.

[Doctor510]

Not 100% necessary, but it helps the electrical system stay healthy if the battery is grounded to the body as well as the motor

[Nocnir]

Alright cool, thanks for the info.

[datzenmike]

It should reach and bolt onto the regulator mounting bolt on the 510.

[DanielC]

I disagree.  The ground wire between the alternator, and battery is very important.  There is also dedicated ground wire from the alternator to the voltage regulator, that also serves as a ground for the body sheet metal.

If these grounds go away, electricity tries to find a way back to the battery by other means.  Sometimes this does no damage, other times is does damage.  In 510 cars, the body tries to ground through the throttle control linkage, on 521 trucks, it grounds through the throttle cable.  This destroys the throttle cable, and does the linkage in a 510 no good.  This false ground also is unreliable, and will cause many other wacky hard to diagnose electrical problems.

 

The voltage regulator, alternator, and battery are tied together by these grounds.  Without them, the voltage regulator loses reference of the alternator and battery voltage.  Then the regulator cannot accurately control the alternator.

 

Trust me, if these grounds were not necessary, Nissan would not have put them there in the first place.

[Nocnir]

I manage to put them all back. I was just wondering, but thanks for letting me know. It's good to know this info.

[J's 620]

So this is a dead thread but....... I'm trying to diagnose a major electrical puzzle. The CHG light stays on when the engine runs. I've replaced the battery,alt,and voltage regulator thinking it was bad. I traced all the grounds and positive wires. Wires look good and so do connections. This never used to happen. ??? The alternator has a slightly different spot for the ground and there is a connection on the alternator that I'm not using. B is battery, the white red-striped wire, the t connector is self explanatory. Does the ground go to the male blade connection that I'm not using or should it ground to the body of the alt. Any help,corrections, or advice would be appreciated

[datzenmike]

Perhaps start your own thread about this so all answers are yours and not mixed up with the original poster http://community.ratsun.net/user/43227-nocnir/