What is a Ground Point (Earth Strap)?
Also called an engine ground wire or earth wire, the earth strap serves a vital function in your vehicle’s electrical system. All circuits need a clean path to ground to function properly.
Without this part, electricity could damage other parts of your car or its occupants. Like any electrical problem, a broken earth strap can be difficult to diagnose, but there are some symptoms you can look out for.
How an Earth Strap Works
The earth strap runs from your vehicle’s wiring harness to the chassis, engine block, or negative battery terminal. . The belt creates a complete circuit for all accessories connected to the engine block.
Grounds are required for all electrical systems in your vehicle, including sensors, alternator, and ignition system. Of the three, the alternator uses the most energy. It needs to be grounded so that it can charge your car battery. Here’s what a ground strap looks like
Before we get into the symptoms, we need to briefly explain what a cable looks like. We’ve been calling it a cable, but that’s not entirely correct. It often looks like a braided bundle of steel wires.
This braid can fray over time due to weather, vibration, or hot oil leaking from the engine. The individual strands start to wear down and eventually snap. This reduces the overall efficiency of the belt. A poor condition ground strap increases the likelihood of electrical problems throughout the vehicle.
Fortunately, replacing a ground strap is very inexpensive. Engine ground straps are one of the least expensive parts you can buy. Expect to spend around $20 to $30 to purchase a quality ground strap. If you want to leave the replacement to a professional mechanic, the process is usually called replacing the battery cable or ground strap. In a best-case scenario, the job will cost around $150. If the ground strap is hard to reach (as is the case with most modern engines), the replacement could take several hours. This can increase the replacement cost of this simple part up to $600.
Can I still drive with a faulty ground cable? This depends on how poor the earth strap is and how important that strap is to the normal operation of the engine. The problem is that electricity can cause damage to various systems in the car.
So while it won’t necessarily stop the car, ignoring it can cause further damage. The more you ignore it, the worse the symptoms will get, and eventually you’ll get in your car and the engine won’t start.
