Dangling wire in trunk?

[TripleTransAm]

Can someone tell me what this wire is supposed to do? It's dangling inside the trunk by the driver's side hinge (see picture). By the shape of the terminal on the end, it's most likely a ground (too large a connector and too small a wire to be a power feed... I think). The wire is greenish with a stripe along it.

Anyone have any hints on what this could be and why it's not connected to anything?

[TripleTransAm]

Some more info... the wire appears to curl around and underneath the carpet as the hinges come through it. I'd have to pull up the carpet around there to determine where that wire leads, and since it's getting dark, I won't have any time to jump inside the trunk and look for a place where it *could* or *should* have been fastened to... especially since I don't know what it does.

Man, I just GOTTA get a factory shop manual!!!

[merc406]

Looks like a ground by the look of that end.

[CRUZTAKER]

Sure does look like a ground.

Let me walk out to the car.....DOH!

Damnit. :alone:

[RF Overlord]

3TA:

Looks like the low-voltage return for the flux capacitor... :lol:

I'll check my trunk tomorrow morning, if it's not still pouring rain, and see if I've got a similar ground wire either hanging or attached somewhere...

[jgc61sr2002]

Sure does look like a ground wire. John

[Menace]

Was there not a thread months ago about an unconnected ground wire for the subwoofer ?

[TAF]

Originally posted by RF Overlord
3TA:

Looks like the low-voltage return for the flux capacitor... :lol:

I'll check my trunk tomorrow morning, if it's not still pouring rain, and see if I've got a similar ground wire either hanging or attached somewhere...

You're going to check tomorrow...to see if you have any loose wires, RF ???

Want me to answer that question for you right now??!! :lol: :lol:

[LincMercLover]

Originally posted by RF Overlord
3TA:

Looks like the low-voltage return for the flux capacitor...

Was this an option I did not know about, or does Dennis supply it? :lol:

Do your subs work 3TA? I'm find someplace to ground it out to and see if you notice anything suddenly working. Possibly the rear window heater?:confused:

[looking97233]

Okay, I'll say it too. Looks like a ground.

[the fat bastid]

i'd say it looks like a ground!

hows that guys?

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by LincMercLover

Do your subs work 3TA? I'm find someplace to ground it out to and see if you notice anything suddenly working. Possibly the rear window heater?:confused:


I believe the sub works fine (there is only one sub, right?). If the sub ISN'T working, well then I believe we MM owners are blessed with the best damned 6x8 speakers out there, if they're able to pump out that much bass on their own!!!!!

Rear window defroster works fine.

[DLoreanMARAUDER]

Originally posted by RF Overlord
3TA:

Looks like the low-voltage return for the flux capacitor... :lol:


Hey, I've got one of those, but not in the Marauder HEHE;)

[TripleTransAm]

If it is a ground, then the next question is where is that mofo supposed to ground TO!?? In the below picture, I propose a *possible* location, but it may be the camera perspective that's misleading me... I can't guarantee the wire would reach that far.

[Murader03]

Again, I just checked my trunk. I don't even see a wire with that type of connector loose or otherwise. So, if it's there, it must have been connected correctly. I pulled the carpet back as far as I could and also checked under the sub as well. No wire visible.

But I concur with the rest of the board, it appears that it would be a ground connection! Connection for what? That would be the question now.

[Paul T. Casey]

Just climbed out of my trunk. I couldn't find any wires like that either. I don't seem to have any wires within 6" (don't know cm's that good yet) of your location. I'd gently pull on it, and try to find where the other end is. Also, nothing seems to connect to the location you proposed. I made two trips , one for each picture, I'm not too bright this A.M.

[Builder]

Hi Iam new here I work at the St. Thomas Plant I will ask the Repair man about that wire when I go to work Monday Afternoon .

[TripleTransAm]

Thanks for all your help, guys. Unfortunately, that green wire is still a mystery. :(

At first I thought maybe it was an errant wire left over from when they used to offer the remote fuel door release, but it was just a guess as I have no idea how that mechanism was implemented. :confused:

The wire looks so clean and factory-installed, I'm dying to know what it is. :help: It's actually nice out today, I will hop in the trunk and try to dig around. However, if it simply leads into a harness, I'll be back to square one. And I WON'T remove every fuse in the fuse box and test for continuity!!!!

[RF Overlord]

Builder:

Welcome! Hopefully you can answer a LOT of questions for us...!

[jgc61sr2002]

Builder Welcome to the site. We will appreciate any help you can offer about the MM. Thanks John:up:

[Slowpoke]

That wire is to connect the flux-capacitor to the infant car seat and ground the seat so that my unborn child will only have positive thoughts.

good karmra from our friends at Mercury.

[TAF]

I looked, as well, today 3TA...no such wire or anything that even resembles your pics.

Maybe one of the boys here who has the CD Manual with the complete electrical schematic can look it up for you....guys?

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by TAF

Maybe one of the boys here who has the CD Manual with the complete electrical schematic can look it up for you....guys?


That would be helpful.

As it is, I took the plunge today and ordered the factory shop manual (3000 pages! Woohoo!) and a separate electrical wiring schematic book (good wallpaper for the garage? :D ).

Depending on what my taxes look like this year, I might go the whole nine yards and order the software and hardware to interface to the PCM via the ALDL connection. So far, I've only got the s/w and h/w for connecting to my GTA (GM pre-OBDII) and my '98 WS6 (GM OBD-II) but nothing for Ford yet. (and for my '98 Civic... well, who cared what the engine was doing as long as it was doing it economically!!!)

[LincMercLover]

OK, I've looked and have it narrowed down to either the driver power lumbar/heat control, fuel door release, hazard flashers, or the air suspension valve. So umm... yah, pick one! LOL! No, go see that all this stuff works I suppose.

[CRUZTAKER]

LML, I didn't know you had telephone repair experience....:up:

[LincMercLover]

I've been around, for a young guy...

(And yes, like that too! :lol: )

[ap2003]

I crawled around in my trunk (Side note: This is not possible for me in many of today's cars :) )... in the wire harness that goes across the back of the rear seat (what the firewall is to the engine compartment)... There is one "black wire with a green stripe" that exits the harness. this wire goes into the back of the back seat... and is attached somewhere beyond where my fingers can reach.

I realize that this is not in the same location where the picture shows... but it is the only place where I have seen a "lone" wire...

Although, I would think that the rest of the list is correct in saying it is a ground... Before connecting it to ground... it might be a good idea to turn on all the accessories... then measure the voltage between this wire and the chasis.... to make sure that there isn't ay voltage on this wire.

[cyclone03]

Although, I would think that the rest of the list is correct in saying it is a ground... Before connecting it to ground... it might be a good idea to turn on all the accessories... then measure the voltage between this wire and the chasis.... to make sure that there isn't ay voltage on this wire.

It is a ground,for what I don't know.Hook it up and see what starts working.

As for the above,if you put a meter on it with everything on, it WILL have voltage.A ground wire that has a load (device of some type;light,motor speaker amp etc) will show a voltage between the wire and the chassie of the car,it's not untill it's (the ground wire) is connected that it will be 0 v.
Although it's rare, that 12vdc will hurt you an open ground can give you a pretty good bite.
Just connect it to the chassie.

[TripleTransAm]

I'll try to continue the investigation tomorrow. I would have had a closer look today but I spent quite a bit more time at work than I was expecting to. (oh well, at least I have a job, gotta be thankful for that!).

I'd like to thank all of you for the ideas and support, it is really appreciated. I hope to be able to repay you all some day with similar help.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by cyclone03
It is a ground,for what I don't know.Hook it up and see what starts working.


LOL. So if it IS left over from the fuel door release days as LML and myself suggested, does it mean if I reconnect the ground, I'll get a functional remote fuel door??? :D


For that matter, if I reconnect the ground, will I suddenly notice a full-sized spare in my trunk? A center-mounted stand-alone clock? Seat-mounted pouches? :lol:

[ap2003]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
As for the above,if you put a meter on it with everything on, it WILL have voltage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~

Not always... but depending on the circuit... sometimes... The assumption would be that the other end of the circuit is connected to, as stated, series load to power.

However, if the wire is connected to the switched (not the coil) end of a relay... (i,e, the coil is used to close the switch to ground)... then there will not be any current flow and zero volts until the switch is closed... Other examples where the wire would meadsure zero volts would include accesories powered (internally) by DC to DC converters. Some audio amplifiers have this in their circuits. (I do not know the workings of the amplifier in the Merc...)

There is a third possibility... some people in the residential/commercial wiring world call this "bonding"... i.e. sometimes it is important to have more than a steel to steel connection to communicate ground between conductors. Admittedly, this I would hope this kind of dilegence is not required in an automobile.

However, assuming that the other end of the wire is somehow series connected to power, .... one could connect a volt meter between this wire and the chasis.. then turn on/off accesories until a voltage is registered/un-registered on the meter.

Either way, measuring votage is a good place to start when looking at an elecytrical circuit where nothing is really known.

Best Regards,
_gus

[Builder]

Yes it is a ground wire .It is for the subwoffers and it is trapped Goes behind the rear seat. Let the dealer fish it out for you and connect it .Hope this helped had to ask alot of guys lol

[RF Overlord]

How many other places can you go and get an answer from one of the guys who BUILT your car???? :D

God, I LOVE this place...

:lol: :rock: :rasta:

[Slowpoke]

speaking of crawling around in the truck......

when i got car, i asked wife to lock me in trunk to make sure the glow-in-the-dark trunk release works. [it did]. although i am not a tall person at 5'8½" i have a wrestler build and a large frame. i found it faily easy to move around in there. Unlike baby 'poke, which at this moment is complately trapped inside Mrs' Pokes small frame for the next two days. Thank goodness pregnant women do not have a glow in the dark latch to let unborn infants flush themselves out.

[cyclone03]

Slowpoke said:

Thank goodness pregnant women do not have a glow in the dark latch to let unborn infants flush themselves out.

You say that now,wait a few days,that lever will get pulled!:D :D

[CRUZTAKER]

Like a swimming pool!!!! :lol:

Builder: Can't thank-you enough for mirroring this site....nice to know you are out there.

[Menace]

Told ya ;) :D

[TripleTransAm]

Just to bring some sort of closure to this thread, I had the dealer look at the wire dangling problem when I was there last week for some stuff.

Having followed the suggestions in the replies and also having received the shop manual and wiring diagrams from Helm, I proposed the supposed proper location for that ground (behind the seats) and the technician verified there was only one wire at that location.

Now, what was it... CD changer or Subwoofer? Both work/worked fine.

However, I did check the radio for trouble codes one afternoon before the dealer visit, and found one stored: 1003, I think. I forget the actual code (the manuals are in the garage downstairs, and everyone's asleep) but it was essentially "lost contact with CD changer". Now, everything works, so I suspect perhaps the car failed a post-build verification and received a separate grounding for the CD changer circuit. That, or it somehow found a way to ground itself through another circuit. I cleared the code and it never came back, even after the wire was returned to its rightful location.

All's well that ends well, I guess....

Once again, thanks for all the assistance.