Anyone seen this before? Ground wires ripped off my engine block!

[ace_master]

Went out to start the car this morning and the engine bay just gave off an immense ticking sound. I turned off the key and the ticking kept going, doors were locking and unlocking randomly. I had to pull the battery terminal off the post to get it to stop. I reconnected it and the problem persisted. Headlights, corner lights, and interior lights were all on, so I didn't think it was a battery issue.

I hitched a ride to work, and when I got home, I checked the battery.. it read 11.5V... should be enough to start the car. noticed some copper wire shreds on the front of the engine block :S... traced it up and saw 2 ground wires ripped right off the block. I couldn't believe it. I got my hand in and pulled on the cable that had torn off.. there was almost no slack on it. It was taped to a cable runner/holder thingie. The wires must have been pulling so tight since my car was made, and finally just gave out.:bang

Can anyone identify where these 2 ground wires go to?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/18/e2g4.jpg http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/546/3qoh.jpg

[ace_master]

So I fixed the wires today...

Apparently there were 3 ground wires that were broken... two of which seemed to have been broken before the thicker of them pulled loose from the end. I'm really concerned about those 2 smaller wires run to. They seem to have been disconnected for an unknown period of time... meaning something in my engine was not grounded while I was driving it. There's also the possibility that this whole harness broke off mid-drive the day before, and I was running with all 3 un-grounded.

All 3 wires seemed to run up on top of the cylinder head, at which point theres wires going all over the place. I didn't want to go ripping apart all the wiring harnesses to figure it all out. I tried looking over wiring diagrams for the Mazda3, but I'm still unsure.

When I put everything back together, the car made a bit of gurgling sound when it started up, as if the computer was reset or something, but seemed otherwise unscathed.

I should also note that my instrument panel was not functioning while these wires were disconnected... only my interior lights came on.

Can anyone help me identify these ground wires?


THE PROBLEM (red ring is air intake for location reference)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/34/f63e.jpg

SPLIT THEM UP
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/17/aol4.jpg

MADE NEW END
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/62/f7qi.jpg

STRIPPED AND TWISTED GROUND WIRES TOGETHER
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/12/gymd.jpg

NEW END CRIMPED ON - READY FOR TAPE
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/11/n0pl.jpg

NEW END CONNECTED BACK IN PLACE
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/22/jwcc.jpg

[TheMAN]

why did you use butt connectors? they never make reliable connections and they can get ripped off
you should've soldered the wires on

[Noisy Crow]

You should still figure out why they failed. The only reason I can think of is either they were damaged and then stress hardened and the broke, or you have a be engine mount that is letting the engine yank on them.

[ace_master]

You should still figure out why they failed. The only reason I can think of is either they were damaged and then stress hardened and the broke, or you have a be engine mount that is letting the engine yank on them.

They were definitely connected very tight during installation, as the remaining wire ends weren't even able to touch. I added a good 4-5 inches of slack to the new connection. I can't say that there was nothing else wrong with this wire with certainty, as Ive never paid any attention to it, but I've never touched it, nor do I believe anything else had. An engine mount is a possibility.


why did you use butt connectors? they never make reliable connections and they can get ripped off
you should've soldered the wires on
I could have soldered them, but I've never had issues with my supplies. Used an 8awg KnuKoncepts cable to replace 3 thin wires. The wires are butt up against each other in the connector, crimped very good, heat shrinked, and wrapped with Super88 electrical tape to boot.

[TheMAN]

just because you never have issues doesn't mean there won't be issues... it's not a matter of if, but when
an automobile has lots of vibrations and movement, butt connectors are the worst things to use in a car... they get weak and break over time due to flexing and thermal stresses/cycling

[Dave_The_BMXER]

I've heard a lot of people talk down on butt connector but I've actually never seen one fail myself.... not saying I've been around forever though.

Anyway what a weird problem.

[ace_master]

I can't help but assume that majority of issues with butt connectors are from people with either poor quality supplies, poor quality tools, or improper knowledge of the process. My dad is a retired IBEW electrician. I've been using both butt connectors, and solder since before I was a teenager. FWIW: The T&B WT2000 has been my choice of crimper since day one, and nothing I've used has come close to it's performance.

My concern at this point isn't the validity of my choice of connection (though concern is appreciated). I'm concerned about the specific system that each of these three wires grounds without having to dig through the car.

[gabbygenier]

My concern at this point isn't the validity of my choice of connection (though concern is appreciated). I'm concerned about the specific system that each of these three wires grounds without having to dig through the car.

Why are you so worried about where they go? if for whatever reason they were for something that was essential to the car and they broke while you were driving, im willing to bet you wouldn't have made it home. if something electrical or electronic is meant to have a ground, it wont work without it and would have left you on the side of the road. cars have multiple grounds so again, its not something i would worry too much about.

i would be more worried as to why it happened and how. there's no reason that should have happened. id start with motor mounts as mentioned already.

[Nikhil Pali]

I can't help but assume that majority of issues with butt connectors are from people with either poor quality supplies, poor quality tools, or improper knowledge of the process. My dad is a retired IBEW electrician. I've been using both butt connectors, and solder since before I was a teenager. FWIW: The T&B WT2000 has been my choice of crimper since day one, and nothing I've used has come close to it's performance.


+1. We use butt connectors at work on all cars, even on +900hp builds and never had one fail on us. We only use high quality stuff for proper conductivity with shrinkable coating and proper crimper. Few people actually prefer butt connectors on our race cars as they are easy to replace at track in case of electric failure and you need to disconnect it to check somethings. You don't need to find a electric port to run your soldering iron or wait for it to warm up.