A definitive list of grounds is a good idea. Here's what I know of.
Somebody should fill in the rest, I'd like to print it out and keep
it in each Vanagon.

Braided strap from engine to frame (waterboxer, on the left, diesel,
right side, motor mount to frame)

Braided strap from transmission nose to frame.

Dashboard electrics are grounded to two crown-shaped stampings (a
circular row of space connectors) above the fuse block under the dash.

The radio has its own ground, I believe.

Isn't there a ground to the frame at the steering shaft?

What are the others?

On Feb 4, 2007, at 10:56 PM, Joe Fernandez wrote:

> Hello Volks,
>
> I've appreciated the list for a while now. As a mechanical novice,
> the list
> has helped troubleshoot a number of what seem to be fairly common
> vanagon
> quirks. The other day my van started bucking (quick spikes in RPM)
> once it
> was warm at low speed city driving. I changed the O2 sensor and
> cleaned what
> grounds I could find soon after, and it hasn't happened since.
>
> Possibly the most common recommendation to track electrical
> gremlins is
> "clean your grounds." My questions: is there a good list of ALL of the
> ground locations on the 2.1? How many are there? Where? Are they
> all braided
> metal lines i.e. no insulation?
>
> I've checked the archives.  Some info on HOW to clean the grounds,
> but I
> haven't found a list of them all. Or maybe there's fewer than I
> think, and I
> have found them. Or maybe I'm missing a very obvious search
> keyword. I'd
> like to know either way. FWIW, this hasn't happened again since I
> cleaned
> the couple of obvious grounds and replaced O2 sensor, but I'd like
> to clean
> them either way. Next I will replace Temp2 sensor as preventive maint.
>
> Cheers, and thanks for all of the great info.
>
> Joe
> Santa Cruz, CA
> '86 Wolfy Westy (70k)
> '86 Wolfy Westy (160k for sale)
>