If you want a good, reliable ground (Pos in this case) at the engine, you need a cable direct from a good ground.
The battery + is the Ground. You do not seem to understand the basics.
The best ground is the appropriate battery terminal OR the point on the frame where the cable from the battery connects.
The only ground is the designated battery terminal. The frame is a device to connect the engine to the suspension. Now any conductive metal object can theoretically be used for ground returns, but as a point of fact, the Commando does not use that dynamic. It uses series wired ground circuits.
I have seen many instances where frame grounds were poor grounds at the engine.
There is no such thing as a frame ground, or engine ground. They can only ever be utilised for conductivity, and have no more ground status than the red wire attached to them. The BATTERY is the ground.
Sure, if all the bolts/washers/wire connectors are in excellent shape (no corrosion/rust, etc that adversely affects the current flow), there wouldn't be an issue.
Wrong. There would be an issue as the original designers knew, which is why they used series wired grounds, that lead directly to the battery. On the MK 3, the red wires terminate at the top engine steady, are conducted through the engine, and then via the starter earth lead. The engine has no more status as a ground then the red wire, or earth lead, it is merely a conductor. The BATTERY is the ground.
But a standard "insurance" item when we modified engines for high performance/competition was to add a new ground cable to the engine to ensure there was always an excellent ground path. It was amazing how many weak starter issues as well as ignition problems were resolved by that alone.
This is meaningless. Essentially, all this says is that sometimes motorcycles require re-wiring.
I totally agree that if a Mark 3 has a heavy ground cable to the engine/starter, no additional cabling is necessary.
All MK 3 left the factory that way, and as it would be ridiculous to assume changes by default, any suggestions for "additional wiring" is nonsense.
When I referred to sketchy grounds, I was talking about the fact that over the years, corrosion occurs in the bullet connectors, not that the system itself was sketchy as designed.
No, you were not. You mentioned the connectors earlier and separately.
Sure, new, out of the box, it's fine. 40 plus years old...it will need attention. All the bullet connectors should be disconnected, cleaned with something like De-Oxit, smeared with di-electric grease and remade.
This had nothing at all to do with your "sketchy earth" tale. And for what it is worth, while the MK 3 is not completely free from bullet connectors, it does, for the most part, use later style multi connectors.
Sketchy grounds are one of the major causes of niggling electrical problems in vehicles of all sorts.
The only sketchy part is your sketchy earth theory. Give it up, you clearly do not understand Commando wiring at all.
