I need to check all ground connections on my 93 Dakota LE 4WD 5.2L V8...the 95 service manual I downloaded from this site is great. It tells me the main common ground is the right side fender sheet/skirt. Where the hell is this? How do I identify the ground strap visually...what to look for? Anyone pin-pointed the ground locations for our trucks and can tell me where to look?
Need to check grounds cause my gas gauge went flaky after my fuel pump change. Now it is stuck between 3/4 tank and top of the Full mark...reads in that range but not a full sweep. I know the gauge in the dash and the connector at the pump and pump float are right...I put the connector on the pump with the pump out of the tank and moved the float arm...got full movement both ways at the gauge. Oriented the pump exactly how it came off so the float/arm isn't hung up. Something's hinky in this system...somehow the pump sending unit and gauge aren't talking to each other right.

 

There is 2 Main ground wires coming from the battery. But those specific wires don't supply power to anything. Each individual circuit has a ground wire to complete the circuit back to the battery through the chassis or body. There is going to be 10 or so of them all over the truck.The manual has pictures of the wire layouts. I believe it has the ground connectors shown.

 

One of the Neg wires from the battery connects to the side of the engine, the other goes somewhere underneath. All the wiring schematics in the manual do show the grounds, but do not note their location other than vague references...such as right fender skirt. I've found two small grounds on the right (passenger) side of the engine compartment, but they don't look real beefy. Guess I'll clean them up and see. I think I have a ground fault either at the fuel pump connector, or up in the gauge bezel. I did the gauge not working diagnostics listed in the manual and it passes all steps except continuity on the ground pins (fuel pump connector). I'm going to rig in a ground to the fuel pump connector and then check behind the instrument cluster...there's supposed to be a ground there, too. A tip for others: Don't crank the engine when you have the fuel pump connector disconnected...you will blow the fuel pump relay in the PDC under the hood. Don't ask how I know this.

 

That is not the correct ground. Here is a copy and paste from the manual.

FUEL LEVEL SENSOR

The fuel level sensor is a variable resistor. Circuit
G4 connects the fuel level sensor to the fuel gauge in
the instrument cluster. Circuit F14 from fuse 14 in
the fuse block supplies voltage to the fuel gauge. The
fuel level sensor draws voltage from circuit F14
through the fuel gauge on circuit G4.
Circuit G40 connects the fuel level sensor to the
low fuel relay in the instrument cluster. For low fuel
warning lamp operation, refer to group 8E.
Circuit Z1 provides the ground path for the fuel
level sensor. The grounding point for circuit Z1 is instrument

panel left inner fender panel.

 

Thanks. Interesting info about fuse 14...that one is empty in my fuse block, and not just empty...appears to have no fuse terminal in the slot, so a fuse slides in but drops back out. Maybe my fuel sending/level unit has no juice. I will check the ground in the left inner fender panel next...now I have a hazard light prob that I suspect is in the multi-function switch.