Hello guys, I brought a salvaged 85 z turbo. For some reason, someone cut the ground cable 2 inches from the battery terminal. So i rigged it to work temporarily. My rigging is starting to fail and having starting issues so time to just replace the wire. I see there is a choice between the stock length cable and a short top mount cable on rockauto.com. My question is if I were to get a top mount cable will this be ok for the car? i know there is a reason for running the other end down to the bottom of the car but not sure why its way down there. Is a short battery ground cable good for the Z?

 

I think your original '85Z deal was to take the (negative) ground to the engine block. I think my '99 Honda ground just runs to the frame, somewhere nearby and convenient. Sure looks easier. Maybe the need to hit the block has changed since '85. Let's see what the pros on this can input here... Would be a lot easier to use a shorter cable where you can see the frame connection...

 

Yea I think logically I would get better flow since the current has a shorter distance to travel to ground or maybe the Japanese knew better then me lol. Idk I might just get the long cable since I have to jack it up anyway or I could be lazy get the short cable and just secure then hide the old cable

 

I think the big deal here and the way to avoid future probs is to get good terminals. I like these so-called 'marine' jobs. Easy as hell to disconnect and inspect for good contacts all around. If you use them, get your new cables with the washer-loop-type ends for your bolt connections. The other thing is to get a battery that puts out more cold cranking amps (cca rating) than your engine requires. That's just good stuff here in the cold northeast. Also check alternator output (needs to be MORE THAN 14Volts running for a Z31) Zs do not like weak or flaky power supply and start acting weird all over the place. Your electronics go bananas.

 

the original cables on a z31 had a square copper flag crimped to the negative cable about 4-6 inches from the terminal. a M8 bolt was used to secure that to the frame to ensure connectivity. you can see that hole close by where the m6 bolt for the battery clamp down is drilled. the cable then went down and was held with a rubber piece (the positive cable runs right next to it) that bolted to the frame with an m6 just below the battery itself. it then went on to the bell housing to provide ground for the starter. Probably why the moron cut the cable short.