Cleaning ECU ground cable..disconnect battery??

[garlicbreadman]

just read an article about why ground is crucial and it made me want to clean or replace my ground cables

my car: 01 integra has 3 main grounds: engine, transmission and thermostat
the ground cable to the thermostat is from the ECU.

does the battery need to be disconnected before cleaning the grounds?

ESPECIALLY the one ground wire from the ECU? i was planning to use a portable wire wheel to clean up the corrosion and those can create sparks when contact is made and im scared if there is a spark, it might fry/damage the ecu lo(if battery is connected)l. I dont know much about electricity and how it works.

I dont want to disconnect the battery if i dont have to, my radio settings and audio settings are set up to my likings and it took a while to set up.

 

[NHGUY]

Try hooking up a jumper cable from the battery post to an engine ground temporarily...that would be more than enough for memory draws.

 

[JHZR2]

Why not write down the settings if it took that long? Never know when your battery will die and youll loose them anyway. Best to have a backup.

 

[oilboy123]

Use a 9 volt battery to your cig socket to keep the memory. Then disconnect the ground to the battery. I don't think a wire wheel is anything to worry about concerning voltage spikes etc.

 

[ahoier]

Yea, I'd get one of those "memory savers" - I think they are like 9$ at walmart....it's a little "dongle" that plugs into the cigarette lighter/12V socket, while you're working under the hood. I'd recommend disconnecting the battery.....likely states right ontop of the battery to keep sparks/flame away Sulfuric acid is ignitable or something?

 

[ms21043]

Pull ECU fuse?

 

[mechtech2]

Cleaning both ends of all the cables at this point is your best bet.

Know that disconnecting the computer will cause it to have to relearn parameters.
In other words, it may idle and run a bit funny for a few days-week.