does a 420a pcm need a ground

[gotboost21]

does a 420a pcm need a ground in order to not short out

 

[VelocitàPaola]

It needs a ground in order to work at all. The stock ECU is grounded through the case to the chassis.

 

[gotboost21]

you think I would have fried it by not grounding it though

 

[gotboost21]

and can I just run a ground wire from the casing to the chassis

 

[1slow97]

Mine is not grounded out and works fine..

 

[SnprSlick]

you think I would have fried it by not grounding it though

How can you fry something that never turned on?

 

[VelocitàPaola]

you think I would have fried it by not grounding it though

Probably not... how would you have fried it?

and can I just run a ground wire from the casing to the chassis

You could, but I don't see why you would need to. As long as it's mounted to the chassis as it was from the factory it should be adequately grounded.

Mine is not grounded out and works fine..

What do you mean? An ECU requires a connection to ground to function.

 

[gotboost21]

well when i bought it the mounting bracket for the ecu was missing, and I never bothered to replace it so now I am looking for a way to ground it "adequately" using a jumper wire. What gauge wiring should I use?

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Your best option, really, is to buy a PCM bracket. I'm sure you can pick one up from someone parting out their car; maybe for as little as $5 plus shipping. If you're lucky, you might find one on eBay, or even a local junkyard.

If you really want to use wires, I would use at least three 14AWG wires, or one 7AWG wire or bigger. Be sure the ring terminals are properly crimped and rated to handle ~30A or ~100A respectively.