Explain Positive Grounding?

Question

Can some one explain positive grounding? What is the advantage, if any over what I would call standard negative grounding where the battery cable running off the negative terminal is grounded to the engine block or motorcycle frame. I'm specifically interested to know why vintage British bikes were positive ground.

Answer 1

well it goes like this , in true electron flow ( on the atomic scale ) electricity moves from negative to positive,(honest ) and since Lucas electrics are so crappy they need every advantage they can get , as for why the rest of the world is negative ground i think it is because in A.C. systems neutral and ground are interchangeable in many applications, hence the perceived flow from positive (hot) to negative (common or ground ) hope this didn't confuse you too much

Answer 2

At one time, almost all vehicles were pos. ground. All of the 6 volt systems that I have worked on were that way. the answer about the flow of electrons from negative to positive is right. One thing that I have noticed many times over the last 40 years of working on vehicles is that there is never as much corrosion on pos. ground systems.

Answer 3

positive grounding is just the opposite of what you described as negative grounding. With positive you ground it to the engine block instead of the negative.