mclee

I installed both a CB and a ham antenna on my JK using the Arizona Rocky Road Antenna mounts. A good ground to the vehicle body and frame is required for best performance, but because of the hinge the tailgate hinge is not well connected electrically to the body and frame. This problem can be overcome with a grounding strap between the tailgate and the body.

Finding a good place on the JK for a ground strap that is hidden and out of the way is not easy. However, after a lot of looking and contemplating, I found a great way to install a ground strap on the JK.

It goes under the plastic cover over the lower tailgate hinge.



Remove the cover by pressing the locking tabs through the locking slots in the tailgate from inside the tailgate. It pops off very easily. Attach the strap to the tailgate mounting bolt and insert the strap through the lower locking slot.



Snap the cover back into place. This requires a light tap since the locking slot now has the strap through it also.



Find a bolt inside the tub to attach the other end of the ground strap. I used the bolt that holds down the subwoofer.



The ground strap I used is from a roll of strap material I bought at a hamfest. I am sure it is available at CB shops. I used the one that is about 1/2" wide.

JackMac4

Nice...Just for reference for others, John L also did this, but he did it on the top hinge - from this thread:

mclee

I had seen his installation, and it was my starting point. However, I did not want to drill any new holes. Going through the hinge cover locking slot to the outside of the tailgate lets me use an existing bolt while hiding the strap.

JackMac4

Yep...for sure. A great idea!

Jeff

How did the ground strap work? Did it improve radio performance? I use the same size strap to ground the exhaust to the body to reduce noise.
N4XGI

John L

I like this, nicely done. Do you think it will eventually abrade at the rectangular hole location?

MossMan

ditto, did it help your CB? how was it before?

mclee

Didn't notice any major difference, not that I used the radios that much before installing the strap. There may be enough metal to metal contact for ground most of the time, but my concern was intermittent ground later. This solves that problem.

mclee

It may, but it was easy enough to install that I could install another one if this one fails.

matthew2000tx

Does Radio Shack Sell this strap? How long of one did you need?