Ground Buss Corrosion 1992-1999
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Ground Buss Corrosion 1992-1999
Many electrical problems such as rear lights not working, power windows/door locks not working and mis-diagnosed fuel pump issues can be traced down to a corroded ground buss.
Here is a visual and brief description on where to locate the ground buss and how to
pull it a part, and clean it.
Take off the trim holding down your carpet next to the drivers seat (there is one in the same location passenger side)
Pull back the carpet.
You will find a large electrical conduit with a 'ground buss' taped to it on the out side.
Very carefully cut the tape and pull the ground buss from the conduit.
Now with a small flat screw driver pop off the cover of the ground bus.
Pull the metal buss out of the connector.
Inspect for corrosion and clean with fine steel wool.
Apply dielectric grease on both sides to protect it from future corrosion.
Also make sure you clean off any corrosion found in/on the wire connectors.
Example of corrosion on the buss:
Example of corrosion on back of wires:
The reason for this corrosion is because over time our inner door moldings shrink and allow water to splash in the interior and the water seeps down on top of these two ground areas.
Personal note: mine was so bad that I ended up going to a junk yard and finding two near perfect ground buses from a newer Bonneville. I also cut enough wires to replace my ground wires going to them.
Here is a visual and brief description on where to locate the ground buss and how to
pull it a part, and clean it.
Take off the trim holding down your carpet next to the drivers seat (there is one in the same location passenger side)
Pull back the carpet.
You will find a large electrical conduit with a 'ground buss' taped to it on the out side.
Very carefully cut the tape and pull the ground buss from the conduit.
Now with a small flat screw driver pop off the cover of the ground bus.
Pull the metal buss out of the connector.
Inspect for corrosion and clean with fine steel wool.
Apply dielectric grease on both sides to protect it from future corrosion.
Also make sure you clean off any corrosion found in/on the wire connectors.
Example of corrosion on the buss:
Example of corrosion on back of wires:
The reason for this corrosion is because over time our inner door moldings shrink and allow water to splash in the interior and the water seeps down on top of these two ground areas.
Personal note: mine was so bad that I ended up going to a junk yard and finding two near perfect ground buses from a newer Bonneville. I also cut enough wires to replace my ground wires going to them.
I wanted to post this once i got it figured out because i searched and didnt find anything exactly like it.
on my 98 bonneville sse,
Ive been having an issue with the headlight/brake monitor for a while where the headlight monitor will randomly turn on and off and sometimes if you hit the brakes the headlight one will turn off and the brake monitor light will come on. i tried cleaning and checking all the sockets, all the bulbs work. finally i checked out the infamous driver side ground that gets corroded and this is what i found;
the main ground was corroded and heating up the wire, so i soldered them all together. i also cleaned the grounds two behind the pcm and one behind the battery but i think the bus was the issue
on my 98 bonneville sse,
Ive been having an issue with the headlight/brake monitor for a while where the headlight monitor will randomly turn on and off and sometimes if you hit the brakes the headlight one will turn off and the brake monitor light will come on. i tried cleaning and checking all the sockets, all the bulbs work. finally i checked out the infamous driver side ground that gets corroded and this is what i found;
the main ground was corroded and heating up the wire, so i soldered them all together. i also cleaned the grounds two behind the pcm and one behind the battery but i think the bus was the issue
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Retired Administrator
2002 *-10 5.7 V8
2023 Jeep Rubicon Diesel
Retired Administrator
2002 *-10 5.7 V8
2023 Jeep Rubicon Diesel
Last edited by Mike; 07-07-2012 at 07:36 PM. Reason: Fixed images.
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