HELP broke something

So was unscrewing my ground to add another wire under. As I was unscrewing it. The screw just snapped in half.
So dumb question. What's going to happen since I don't have a ground off my battery? My engine turned on and turned right off after like 2 seconds so much started it back up and made it idle for like 10 seconds, didn't turn off then I just turned it off.

What do I need to do? I never broken a screw didn't know I was that strong

 

Gonna be hard to use an extractor there - probably best to drill out the old bolt and tap new threads.

 

Word.

That sucks. But not that hard of a fix.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought. Am I still good to drive my vehicle?

 

I have not looked at my truck to see where the ground is located, but im assuming in the sheet metal right by the battery? Is it located in a way that you could remove the driver front tire, remove the wheel well skirt, and get a pair of locking pliers on the remaining part of the bolt as it sticks out the other side? If so then just twist it out a few degrees at a time and replace with a new bolt.

 

dont drive it until you attach that ground to another location

 

Ground circuit problems are the plague of electronics. Loss of ground can cause a plethora of different seen and unseen issues.

When the ground circuit termination is loose (cable, connector, etc.) amperage draw becomes excessive on the device that is served by that ground. The result is heat and shortened life. If completely broken the other ground circuits in the system will provide some current flow but then again, heat and shortened life of the device can occur. It doesn't always due to the engineers designing in an over amperage protection. Not every device has this protection.

Loss of function and performance is a direct result of loss of proper grounding. If the devices cannot get the proper flow of electricity (amps, volts, duty cycle, etc.) that device cannot perform at it's peak design.

Ground circuits can and do short to other circuits if not protected in some way. In the same way the power circuit must be protected the ground must be also. Consider if a power and ground circuit shorted (touched) BEFORE the device the result would be a spark. The fuse or breaker SHOULD do it's job but....sometimes burnt wires can be the result and the device can be destroyed as well. If the ground is shorted after the device to anything other than another ground wire, the device's performance is greatly affected. From static in speakers, to a light that will not turn off when intended, to poor performance.

Electrical energy is exactly like water under pressure and it's also completely different. It wants to flow. Hard to compare or explain. And it's really a bad analogy that others will decry. But it is what it is.

Electronics and electricity are very simple. Until of course something is not right and then it's very complicated.

 

Find another bolt and bolt that cable to it. This is one of the body grounds. You will most likely have some odd electrical issues without.

If the truck runs without it, you can limp to the parts store and get a ground extension to bolt o another spot on the chassis.

 

Yeah I think Ima get a self tapping screw and see how that works. Thanks all for the replies

I think I need to stop juicing

 

"Didn't know I was that strong" lmaooo

 

Don't flatter yourself. Its a 10mm bolt, grade shit. LOL

 

that should work just clean the area of any debris and paint to get a nice contact

 

Exactly what I was gonna suggest

 

Yeah Ima get sandpaper and sand it down. I might as well take a tree limb and use that instead cause all of the marks it already left on my outer paint did really well at grinding off paint

 

Easy:

Choice 1.
Leave the broken bolt alone.
Buy a Lynx cable (Lynx Switch-to-Starter Battery Cable)
https://www.pepboys.com/search/?term=lynx+cable Ensure the length of the new cable reach from battery to nearest new 10 mm or 12 mm hole that is available.

Choice 2.
Drill out the broken bolt.
Tap and done.

 

You sure that's big enough? I would use one with a socket type head..1/4"

 

Guess we will find out, I was there 5 mins after closing so I just ran in and out just need it for 12 hours until they reopen

 

Get an extractor bit from lowes or Home Depot. Put drill in reverse after drilling small hole and it grabs the bolt and backs out. 20$

 

Can't use that pan head. You needed a 10 mm or 12 mm hex head bolt to very secure ground wire or else electrical system may not work properly (possible burn the wires due to electrical current reroute to remaining grounding wires or damage electrical components).