Can I relocate an unreachable engine ground cable?
Factory ground cables located on the back of the engine block are often impossible to reach by hand or with standard tools. Attempting to clean or replace them forces people to look for alternative mounting locations elsewhere on the block.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Connecting the ground wire to an alternative clean metal spot directly on the engine head instead of the factory location.Did this help you?
- 2Using long needle-nose pliersDid this help you?
- 3Using specialized long-reach tools or hose clamp pliersDid this help you?
- 4Using a ratchet wrench or an extensionDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“2016 Hyundai Tucson. Image doesnt show how impossible it is to reach this. I cant fit my hand up there and can barely get my long needlenosers.”source ↗
“Cleaning up my ground cables but having trouble with the one that goes to the back of the engine block. Can I just connect to another random spot on the engine block.”source ↗
“The bolt directly under my finger in the second picture should work, right?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 5Cylinder shaped part dangling near rear wheels on Mazda 3
- 2Dropped clip stuck in spark plug hole