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My 1978 Caprice had a ground strap that came from inside the HVAC box and went in through the heater hoses. The strap has been broken. I'm not familiar with this and I'm not sure where it goes or what it grounded. I'm also not sure if it went to the body or the engine. Since it's inside the box I can't follow it. Would it be possible for me to solder a regular wire on the end of this strap and connect it to a ground? I'm not sure how to fix a broken strap.
It looks like a heater core ground to keep stray voltage in the coolant from arcing to ground causing heater core leaks. You don’t see it to often but it exists. Just crimp an eyelet on the wire and connect it to ground.
That's interesting, I'd never heard of a heater core ground. Crimp an eyelet on it, of course! That seems like the obvious solution but I wouldn't have thought of that on my own. Thanks!!
Auto parts stores sell them complete as well, usually in 12 or 24 inches with eye lids on both ends fyi. Some can be found in the help section as well.
The ground is probably there to equalize electrical potential & to contain corrosion between dissimilar metals/heater core/copper/brass, & steel,as coolant fluid passes through it.
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Old ground strap: What is it? Can I fix it? 
