Location of ground wires (for tightening posts)

[yellow smart]

As mentioned on a seperate thread, several people have said its a good idea to ensure all ground wires are tight to prevent electrical system problems.

This certainly sounds like a good idea.

Does anyone know the location of all posts for the ground wires?

Yellow-Smart

[Old smart]

Yup, it is a short, heavy, brown wire from the battery negative terminal to the frame. The battery is under the passenger footwell.

Oops, this just the primary one, but the one most commonly causing problems.

[brian r]

There are quite a few ground points throughout the car.

I found this to be the case (as with all cars) when I stripped the interior of my fortwo to apply sound insulation and install the stereo. If you look at the photos in my Gallery, you can plainly see a few of them-the brown wires terminating at a nut. The easiest ones to find on your own are on either side of the battery, and behind the access panels in the cargo area. You'll need to remove the seats and carpeting to get to those under/behind the driver's seat and console, and there are a few way up under the dash. If you change your horns/springs/oil/exhaust you can find a bunch more.

They're all secured with the same size nut found on the sides of the battery, and they're on really tight. I wouldn't worry about it unless you disconnect one-be sure to torque it back down.

My experience has been that plug-in connectors have more of a risk of being a problem. My car lost its A/C a mile away from the dealer on the first ride home due to a connector that wasn't locked together properly at the factory. It took the dealer three hours to find it because it looked fine as they looked through the car. They said they had seen a couple of cars where things failed soon after the car was new due to improperly-seated connectors in the harness. They also had to replace an entire wiring harness due to mice chewing on a couple of wires. (Repair sections and individual plug connectors are not available, so the entire harness had to be replaced. So if you disconnect things [like if you're a noobie trying to remove the seats], don't break the connectors!!)

[yellow smart]

This is great info, I'll keep this in mind for all electrical work. I'll look for those easy to see brown wires and check them. Wife hasn't reported anything unusual other then the car beeping at him when she takes the key out. I've asked her to report to me if this happens again.

Yellow-Smart

[jwight]

That beep is normal if the key comes out before the car has time to power down; waiting a couple of seconds after turning the car off usually eliminates it.

[smartHHO]

I had a problem with my car at 74miles. The car would not get past 55mph. After a bit of Trouble shooting, the mechanic found the connector not seating well on the throttle position sensor. I am guessing that the cars are being slapped together and the quality is not 100%.

[paroyboy]

Originally Posted by smartHHO

I had a problem with my car at 74miles. The car would not get past 55mph. After a bit of Trouble shooting, the mechanic found the connector not seating well on the throttle position sensor. I am guessing that the cars are being slapped together and the quality is not 100%.

I wouldnt go quite that far. I worked on the assembly line at Harley and while you might want to put 100% of your attention to your job, there are always distractions. Then there is the part that 'should' fit but doesnt. By the time you change out that part, the bike is down the line in the next zone. Then you get to play catch-up. Thats when things can get missed