stray (ground?) wire

[pethier]

I didn't remember to twist the wire for this shot: The wire ends in a terminal ring seen here edge-on.  The wire was rolled up and cable-tied to what appears to be the factory Caterham harness.  Since the wire is black, I checked it with an ohmmeter to ground and found the resistance is 0.3 ohms.

 

Is it safe to assume this is meant to be a ground wire for some component that's doing a reasonable job of grounding itself?

 

Is it likely that it is supposed to be grounded by that fastener there on the bottom of the fuse block?  I did not see any other obvious existing places for it to live.

 

 

Edited September 12 by pethier
typo correct

[MV8]

I would not assume. It is true that black was usually just for ground around 1991. It may be a mistake in the harness as an extra ground or something else. If it stays grounded when the key is in all other positions, it is probably a ground. If everything works as it should, there is no harm in cutting it out. I'd leave it, tape the end and stow.

Edited September 13 by MV8

[pethier]

I put a voltmeter on the ring and ran every system on the car.  Gaining confidence in not seeing significant voltages, I bolted it to the firewall and drove the car to a Minnesota Triumphs meeting.