Hey, guys! I just happened to look under my car today and noticed this wire hanging down near the cat. It almost looks like some type of "shoe-string" wire. It's mounted onto a bolt, like it's a ground wire to something, but it's not connected to anything. I just bought the car a couple of months ago, so I'm just getting a feel about what's on this car, as compared to my '95. Does it connect to a sensor (maybe O2)? I don't have a CEL code. Any thoughts of what this may be? Thanks!

 

no picture

 

i beilieve its the ground for the cat. it should be connected to one of the bolts by the cat.. i may be wrong

 

you are correct. judging by the pic, the ring that sits on the end of the string broke off and thats why its hanging.

 

That is the ground. It looks like yours got ripped off somehow. I had to replace mine because the same thing happened, but I couldn't find one that was the same length, so I had to use a longer one.

 

that wire hangs down so when you are going along you get rid of the static electricity and dont get shock when you get out and touch your car.

 

Thanks for the replies. Should I re-connect it somehow? Will it affect anything if it's not connected? How did you go about repairing it? I would like to repair it myself, or worse come to worse, I'll take it back to the dealer and have them fix it! Thanks!

 

you should not notice a difference without it. several people have had theirs ripped off but no one ever complained of any problems with the car or off being shocked. you can use any grounding strap of similar length. i wouldnt be surprised if you couldnt walk out of the dealer for under 125 bucks for just replacing. if you dont want to do it, you could take it to a local mechanic or exhaust shop. any of them could easily have you out in a few minutes.

 

Thanks, I'll have the dealership look at it anyway since I have an extended warranty on the car.

 

The ground cable costed me about 2 bucks. Took me 10 minutes to change without jacking up the car. Nobody should really pay more than $5-10 at most for this. I got mine at BAP.

 

This is not meant to scare anyone, but without this connected, there is a risk of fire when refilling your fuel tank. I usually ground myself prior to refilling my tank by either touching the framing of the fuel island or even touching the trunk lid of my car. Should definately get this re-connected.

 

ahhh so thats what wire is for, is that it?