EARTH STRAPS / ground wires - Material ?

[Rob Welman]

Can any one tell me what steel is used for the earth starps ( ground leads).

These are the wires that you will find mounted externally on the motor , and will usually be between the

1) grease nipple on the pivot tube and main mounting
2) between TT unit and bottom anode
3) linking the gearbox casing to the pivot tube(at the grease nipple)

I had a look at them and the lugs(terminals/connectors)and they all look like Stainless Steel.

I was advised that they will not be stainless wires , as the reaction between the alu casings and the stainless steel , will actually accelerate corrosion

Yes i know they are cheap to buy , but yamaha does not carry stock
and you have to wait six weeks , so i would rather just make my own

Can any on please advise

Best regards

[boats.net]

I'm not sure what metal they use or what they coat the metal with.

[cromagman]

ground strap

When I got my boat about a month ago, I saw that the strap that you are talking about was broken. I tried to solder it together but the solder wouldn't stick, so it mist be stainless. I tried to remove the bolt where it attaches to the motor itself but the bracket prevents it from coming all the way out. I will figure out a way eventually, but the bigger issue is that all the ground wires put the motor at one time had gotten so hot that it melted the insulation off the wires. Does anybody know if this could be a result of this broken strap. I have since repaired/replaced the wires and the motor runs fine. Not sure of it did before the repairs or not because I wanted to fix them before I started it. A question though, if the battery on the boat is not grounded to the bot itself, what is the purpose of the ground strap to begin with. I have an all aluminum boat with 1987 50elh.

[99yam40]

That is a bonding strap, it keeps all parts of the motor at the same potential so the sacrificial anodes can protect from corrosion.It is not meant to carry battery current.
If you have 12 v battery current flow through it there is a bad connection somewhere and it will try to flow through the least amount of resistance to get back to the battery

[mitch]

316 grade stainless steel wire should be able to pick some up from a chandlers shop

[Rob Welman]

Thank you Mitch