Where does this heavy black wire go?

[malconium]

I am starting a flurry of remodeling work that will hopefully lead to getting my Airstream ready for some camping this summer. In working on the electrical I find that there is a heavy gauge black ground wire that comes from the area of the battery and where the original Univolt was located. I know it is supposed to be a ground wire because it still has the label on it that I put there when I took things apart what seems like an eternity ago. The problem is I am not sure where it is supposed to connect at the other end. This wire drops through the floor and runs on the outside of the belly pan over to where the factory original propane powered generator is located. It goes up through a hole in the belly pan but I did not drill a new hole for it in the new subfloor. I cannot see any place where it makes sense for it to connect to the generator since it has both a positive and ground wire to it through the wall. Since it is an external wire I am wondering if someone had a reason for adding it later. It is hard to believe that it would have been an original wire the way it is attached on the outside of the belly pan the way it is. So is this an extra wire that I don't really need as long as the generator wiring works OK?

Thanks,

Malcolm

[wasagachris]

Malcolm I have a 73 31fter w/ the factory Onan propane genset. I don't have any wire like that on mine. I agree with you that the PO must have added it for some reason. A/S never would have strung wiring outside of the belly pan. You're right as long as the genny works discard that wire.

[JFScheck]

Perhaps once attached to a stake driven into the ground would act as an earth ground?

I know its a crazy guess but the best I can do after a few memorial beverages...

[malconium]

I agree that it did not make sense that a wire on the outside of the belly pan would have been a factory original. I will just have to make sure that the white ground wire connection from the generator is connected correctly before I remove the black wire. I know how to check that it is connected but I am not exactly sure how to check it for current carrying capacity. Any thoughts? The old style glass fuse between the generator and the ground wire is a 50 amp fuse.

Thanks,

Malcolm