Topic: Battery Ground/Powdercoated Frame

[scondon]

Engine is done and going into the frame today. I had the frame powdercoated and have painted the engine black(78 750F). The battery ground anchors between the engine and the rear engine mount bracket. Do I need to scrape the powder coat/ paint down to bare metal to obtain proper ground? Or will I be fine as is.

[TwoTired]

If you don't have conductive paint, its needs to be scraped off where you need electricity to flow.

[scondon]

Thanks Two Tired.

   This is no time for me to be looking for shortcuts(sigh). Out comes the Dremel and razor blade.

[bike54]

hi
  dab of grease around it when its fitted wont come amiss dont give the rust a place to start

bike54

[scondon]

Sounds good. That shiny metal is just begging for rust.

       Are there any other frame grounds that I'm overlooking? Is the front coil mount a ground?

[Paul]

more often than not, any of the bolt holes on the frame are suitable for a ground, as the thread contact is usually metal to metal. same goes for the threaded holes at the coil mount.....you may not need to scrape at all.

[scondon]

Thanks Paul,  That makes sense. The battery ground is pinched between the engine and bracket and doesn't get much, if any, contact with the bolt so I scraped the areas down to metal. But the coils and other metal parts that get bolted to the frame will ground fine if need be. I stared at the wiring diagram for a good long time and could only find one "frame" ground(battery) but it's nice to know that if I overlooked anything I should be alright.

[kghost]

I stared at the wiring diagram for a good long time and could only find one "frame" ground(battery)

Thats cuz the frame IS the ground. 

[scondon]

What I meant is I could find nothing else that is using the frame as a ground

[kghost]

Everything else uses the frame as a ground. Let me explain.

That One wire off the negative side of the battery makes the Frame the ground.

Take it off the battery (or the frame) and nothing else will work because the frame is the return path.

That why there are no other grounds and why Paul made reference to the bolt holes. If the hole in the frame for the front coil mount has powdercoat in it clean it out.

Sounds like you made sure the battery ground is good to the frame.

[scondon]

RETURN PATH! (lightbulb in head turns on). Thanks Kghost. I can clean/reconnect color coded wires with the best of them But I have to admit that my knowledge of electricity and how it works is still in the beginning stages. All the bolt holes are free of powdercoat but I'll double check before going any further.

[Bodi]

The coils get power from the battery and ground through the points, so they don't need any ground to the frame.

[bryanj]

Although the coils are double ended they still need to be grounded. That main ground cable ought to go on the outside of the bracket really if you are a purist not between the engine and the bracket but as long as it makes good contact with both frame and engine who cares

[kghost]

Ha Ha Bodi,

Sorry buddy that incorrect. If you don't believe me disconnect the battery ground to the frame and see if the bike keeps running.

Points are also ground return through the frame.  

[scondon]

That main ground cable ought to go on the outside of the bracket really if you are a purist not between the engine and the bracket but as long as it makes good contact with both frame and engine who cares

       I've been looking at my parts bike for how this cable mounts(the cable was "pinched" between engine and bracket).I thought that the engine had never been removed on this bike. My other bikes have all had the engine out and the cable was mounted on the outside as you suggest. A close inspection of pictures in Honda manual confirms this. Thanks.

[computerpulse]

I powder coated my bike frame and had all kinds of electrical issues.  The main one I ran across was my handlebars and switches.  I really had to tork down the bars so all the lights would work properly.

[kghost]

Probably had powdercoat where the bars clamp right?