quote:
Originally posted by crossbow:
On the mazda6 there is an extremely poor ground to the electronic throttlebody. It sits between two pieces of plastic, and its only ground to the engine is a tiny wire in the harness, which travels quite a distance before actually finally being grounded.
Some individuals found that by attaching a small gauge wire directly to the throttlebody, it properly grounded the the TB and in many cases, resulted in better (noticable) throttle response.
With almost every component on a car now controlled through electrical means, and manufacturers looking for any possible way to save money, I could definitely see a case in some cars where some stock grounds are just not sufficent...especially if the car's being upgraded with various aftermarket equipment.
So Brian, and Crossbow...sounds to me like we are all in agreement.
According to the questioners orriginal question, we are not talking about some magical power increase to a vehicle with all good connections.
We are actually agreeing that ground integrity, or actually connection integrity, is a must for all systems to operate properly.
Normally, CLEANING a ground, or whatever is required to Restore it to orriginal, just brings any connection related shortcomings up to normal, rather than finding some "Holy Grail" of power, to add to what the manufacturer designed into the orriginal system.
If adding a ground improves the performance of an engine that is in new condition, which I doubt can happen, then it would be from some assembly problem where a ground was left off accidentally, and I would think that scenario would be one in a million, or so, and not the norm.
I am not a proponent of the "add-on power producing ground kits". I am a proponent of using test results incorporated with a good understanding of the systems and principles of operation to isolate, locate, and repair specific problems, not just throw money away on gimmicks hoping for a miracle.
I just happened to pull a situation out of past history that applied to the orriginal discussion.
So...getting back to the orriginal topic, "Can you cause any damage...etc", I would say if PROPERLY installed, No, it won't cause any damage.
But to continue the question, although I don't remember if he actually asked, even if it was discussed, "Will it give you a magical umpteen horsepower increase from an engine", I say NO, probably not a bit, unless it accidentally corrects a problem like mentioned above. But don't expect it to happen.
