Ground Terminal

Gotta love that wiring . . .
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NSFIAT
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Joined: Wed Jul 10, 2013 7:09 pm
Your car is a: 1981 Pininfarina

Ground Terminal

Post by NSFIAT »

Hi everyone - just wondering if there is anyone using a ground terminal / block in place of the stock ground pods that can be found in the engine bay and trunk? I still have mine, but they are fairly corroded and as I'm redoing some of the wiring / end clips I'd like to clean things up a bit. Perhaps there is a better option out there?

I've seen a couple of examples of terminals / blocks in the forums, but haven't been able to follow a link to that specific product. Anything I've found online doesn't seem to be suitable for the car itself. Thanks for any help!
zachmac
Posts: 1278
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:20 am
Your car is a: 1978 Spider [1979 2 ltr engine]
Location: Aiken, SC

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by zachmac »

Lots of the usual suppliers stock the OEM replacements. They work fine, why not just get new ones?
Jeff Klein, Aiken, SC
1980 FI Spider, Veridian with Tan (sold about a year ago), in the market for another project
1989 Spider, sold
2008 Mercedes SL65
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RRoller123
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Your car is a: 1980 FI SPIDER 2000
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Re: Ground Terminal

Post by RRoller123 »

I replaced my 2 engine compartment ground pods with terminal blocks and am very happy with them, no problems going on 3 years now. Bought at an electronics parts supply store "You Do It Electronics" in Needham, MA. These are 60A buss bars, so they will handle any load required. Don't know the brand name but they do need to have their terminals checked for tightness about every 6 months. takes about a minute, no big deal.

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'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab 4WD/STD BED
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NSFIAT
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed Jul 10, 2013 7:09 pm
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Re: Ground Terminal

Post by NSFIAT »

I'd recently come across the ones that VAS offers, but the price seems a bit high. I'm more of less curious to see if others are using a different set-up and if there would be any benefits in doing so (and / or a difference in price!).
wizard124
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Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:27 pm
Your car is a: 1980 124 spider FI
Location: Sheridan, WY exSan Rafael, CA

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by wizard124 »

Search marine electronics online. Commonly used in boats for adding radios, sonar and navigation.
zachmac
Posts: 1278
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:20 am
Your car is a: 1978 Spider [1979 2 ltr engine]
Location: Aiken, SC

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by zachmac »

NSFIAT wrote:I'd recently come across the ones that VAS offers, but the price seems a bit high. I'm more of less curious to see if others are using a different set-up and if there would be any benefits in doing so (and / or a difference in price!).
Wow, I sit corrected. $15 a pop is indeed pretty outrageous. I can see why you'd consider an alternative.
Jeff Klein, Aiken, SC
1980 FI Spider, Veridian with Tan (sold about a year ago), in the market for another project
1989 Spider, sold
2008 Mercedes SL65
2008 S600 Mercedes V12
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81SPIDERMATT
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Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:10 pm
Your car is a: 1981 spider 2000
Location: FORT COLLINS, CO

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by 81SPIDERMATT »

rroller's blocks are cool and look great ... all of my pods looked to be in bad shape ..turns out a slow and steady proper disassembling and cleaning and I have not had a problem with them since .... I could never find anyone that would say the blocks are a better grounding solution ... just that it was done because they did not like the pods or wanted a different option
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4uall
Posts: 4145
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:09 pm
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat Pininfarina Spider 2000 F.I.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by 4uall »

same, originally cleaned then bought replacements zero issues 8)

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Jay

Fiona
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ITZEBTZE

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RRoller123
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Re: Ground Terminal

Post by RRoller123 »

BTW, when we first had this discussion a couple of years ago, there was a fairly heated argument about whether to solder the connections on the crimped terminals or not. So some of you may remember that, as an experiment of sorts, I soldered the Driver's side terminals (as well as crimped), and just crimped the passenger's side (with a 10lb pull test). So far it is a snooze fest, no problems with either approach, coming up on 2+ years so far. I will report back in another 5 years and we will see if there is any noticeable difference in reliability. :wink:
'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab 4WD/STD BED
2002 Edgewater 175CC 80HP 4-Stroke Yamaha
2003 Jaguar XK8
2003 Jaguar XKR
2021 Jayco 22RB
2019 Bianchi Torino Bicycle
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toplessexpat
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Your car is a: 1976 Spider 1800
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by toplessexpat »

RRoller123 wrote:So far it is a snooze fest, no problems with either approach,
Didn't you measure the resistance of each connection immediately upon installation? I would have thought that the relative changes in resistance between the two approaches would have kept us all enthralled here for months.... if not years.... ;)
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RRoller123
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Re: Ground Terminal

Post by RRoller123 »

LOL. It's all good, we get mired in details some times, and then there are the larger topics that really effect us all. For me, it's just all good!
'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab 4WD/STD BED
2002 Edgewater 175CC 80HP 4-Stroke Yamaha
2003 Jaguar XK8
2003 Jaguar XKR
2021 Jayco 22RB
2019 Bianchi Torino Bicycle
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toplessexpat
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Your car is a: 1976 Spider 1800
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by toplessexpat »

... does that mean I can start asking where I can buy 185/70R13 tires?
---
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4uall
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Your car is a: 1980 Fiat Pininfarina Spider 2000 F.I.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by 4uall »

LMFAO :mrgreen:
Jay

Fiona
1980 FI 2000 Spider
ITZEBTZE

https://goo.gl/photos/eNKaX7hrXhBu9fmp6

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brackie1
Posts: 523
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Your car is a: 1978 124 spider
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: Ground Terminal

Post by brackie1 »

Yeah that a good question, wonder where you can buy 185's.
Gene
North Carolina
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