Bonnet earth straps

[mr calais 5.0]

Hey gang i noticed yesterdaY that the earth strap on the calais bonnet hindge is broken and got a new strap and was wondering if i can just undo the broken strap and swap to the new or do i need to disconnect the battery? Also on my calais there is a small wire running from the strap to under the wiper plastics cover thingy and idea what that earths out?

[PUSHIN]

i'm actually slightly curious on these earth straps for the bonnet myself, as i've noticed them on my car, and i'm building another vn so i'm assuming i'll need to fit one to that, buy yeah, i dont really know what its for, nor do i know of the reason for the other wire you spoke of.. i'd also like to know!!

But to try and atleast answer one of your questions, to be safe i'd disconnect my battery whenever changing any earths, or electric cables and whatnot. (of course, at times i've forgotten, or just disconnect the posotive, then accidently lean on the posotive part of the battery, lean my left arm on the body of the car somewhere and start trying to figure out what the little tingle i'm feeling is LOL) but yeah.. i'm pretty anal about alot of things, and i guess if you wanna be certain of everything, disconnect it completely and whatnot.

[Krisp]

the small wire going under the plastic trim would probably have something to do with the wiper motor. somes vn's had that earth strap on the hinges, but my 1990 vn doesnt

[mr calais 5.0]

I got it changed no prob.. The car ran fine with the broken off strap and when I put the new strap in it ran the same.. The other wire is the same as the earth wire but smaller about half the size..

[Andrew426]

You dont need to disconnect your battery to change it.

The strap is there to keep the (electrical) charge at the bonnett the same as the rest of the body.

I dont know the exact reason that holden thought it nessecary, but more than likely its stopping it from building up a static charge, or stopping it rusting prematurely because it is electrically charged differently, or having it interfering with the radio reception by amplifying ignition noise.

[Circlotron]

My car hasn't got one, but if its just a wire that runs from the bonnet to the bodywork then it is probably to make sure the bonnet itself is properly earthed so it works more effectively as a radio static shield. The grease on the hinges makes iffy contact so earthing just by the hinges is a bit hit and miss.

My car doesn't have a working radio either, BTW