When it comes to car maintenance, no one should overlook grounding the car battery to the chassis. This is because all electrical devices in a vehicle need a complete circuit to function correctly.

There are several types of wires that make up the ground path, but the most important is the thick cable that connects the negative battery terminal to a bare metal part on the chassis. This is called the ground strap.

A ground strap can be either a braided metal wire or a black cable. The purpose of these is to prevent corrosion on the negative battery terminal and create a good connection for the electricity to flow back to the battery.

The best place to ground a car battery is near the engine block because alternator and starter currents flow here. The ground can also be a direct connection between the battery and batteries close to the engine, or between the chassis and a remote battery.