After writing that reply in the thread 'What's the latest' regarding my fuel line problems in my truck it reminds me that many bad days and break downs could have been prevented. There's some easy stuff that so many of us know about but "Not now, I'm in an awful hurry..." or "I'll get that later..." and later only comes when it's too late.

Electrical's gotta be #1 on the list for 'Later, baby'. It's good to check the primary battery cables to check the condition of wire and connections right there at the battery. Disconnect battery cable and make a tiny cut in the plastic insulation and inspect the copper wire underneath. Sometimes to our surprise we'll find that battery cable that looked fine on the outside is a funky corroded green gunk underneath! No cure on that except replacement.

Of course cleaning those lead battery cable connector clamps is a regular maintenance item, also making sure they're good and tight. Good idea to check those starter wires and cables to make sure wire strands haven't become fatigued and broken through, or connections corroded. Also over time corrosion occurs in various places in our trucks, any place that current flows between 2 or more metal items, whatever they are. You've got that braided engine ground cable, check both ends for clean and tight.

It's also good to run little, or not so little, jumper wires on the truck to insure continuity of earth ground throughout chassis. Good to install a jumper wire, 12 ga or better, between the cab metal and bed metal, so rear lights have a continuous ground to electrical system. Add a dab of Dielectric Grease or common grease at the screw connections to discourage rust formation. Clean the connections at both ends at least every 6 months, preferably every 3 months, especially in moist and humid climate.

Also up front, where electrical components may be mounted to fender or radiator support - run a ground jumper from fender to cab and from radiator support to fender. May be a splash panel connected to fender connected to cab, that all need to be joined as one. Over the years those body mounting screws develop corrosion and there goes your continuous ground. Where possible, pull a few of those screws, wire brush or replace with new and add Dielectric Grease when re-fastening.

Check your running lights for equal brightness, and be sure that light housing has a clean ground connection to body. These housings are a very likely place for corrosion and rust so another dab of grease will help fight it. Also a quick polishing inside light bulb sockets with a little piece of Scotchbrite can noticeably brighten up your life. Taking a couple of hours on a lazy weekend can save a lot of grief up the road by preventing nasty stuff that doesn't even have to happen! Brighten up your life and have a great ride!