How to: Convert a vehicle from Positive Earth to Negative Earth
Positive to Negative Earth Conversion
First up, why do we have Positive Earth and Negative Earth in cars…?
During first half of the 20th century some manufacturers used positive ground, while others used negative ground, and some even switched form positive earth to negative earth more than once.
When car radios became a popular accessory, ignition static could be a problem, and it was good if all vehicles might have the same electrical polarity to reduce ignition noise on the radios. We still had a mixture of positive and negative earth vehicles until the mid 1960’s. With the advent of practical portable alternators it was a convenient time to standardize, and all vehicles thereafter were built with electrical return path to the negative battery post. For a couple of years in the mid 1960’s there were a few positive earth alternators, but most people have never seen one.
For that reason, if your car is still a positive earth vehicle, it pays to switch it over.
A 1958 MGA… Originally positive earth.
How to convert your car from positive earth to negative earth:
Make sure that the ignition to the car is in the off position before you start.
Battery
Disconnect both of your battery terminal connections, and turn the battery around 180 degrees. If it is not possible to turn the battery, the cables must be lengthened. Now connect the cable that leads to the starter to the positive post on the battery. Position the ground cable so that it can be connected to the negative post of the battery, you may need to purchase new connectors, but do not connect it now.
Coil
Look at the wiring on the ignition coil. One side is probably marked SW (SWitch and the other is probably marked CB (Contact Breaker). Your ignition coil may be marked with a + (plus) and a – (minus), instead of SW and CB, as it may have had the coil replaced at some time. Reverse these wire connections. Essentially …….
a) for contact points, if the ignition low tension coil wiring is reversed, the coil will “pull” spark, rather than “push” the spark, and you will be losing about 50% of your voltage at the spark plugs and have a weak spark. Electrons prefer to leave a high-temperature, high energy surface (like the center electrode of the spark plug) rather than a low-temperature (low energy) surface like the arm of the spark plug. More voltage/spark is available if the electrons move in the correct direction, in the direction they prefer, from the high-temperature center electrode of the spark plug to the relatively low-temperature arm of the spark plug.
b) For electronic ignitions that will only work with negative earth you must reverse these wire connections or you will blow the electronic ignition module.
Dynamo
Look at the Generator. You should see a large brown wire and a smaller wire connecting to a terminal marked F (for Field). Pull off the wire to the Field terminal. Connect a short jumper wire to the large brown connection (make sure you have metal-to-metal contact). Touch the jumper “lightly / slightly” to the Field terminal on the generator. You should see sparks, touch again (more sparks), and again (again more sparks). Now disconnect the jumper wire from the large brown connection, and re-connect the Field terminal wire. Your generator is now polarized negative earth.
Ammeter
Remove the ammeter from the instrument panel leaving wiring connected and reverse the brown wire connections on the back side of the ammeter. It is easy to tell if you have done this correctly the gauge will simply read “backwards”.
Replace the ammeter in the instrument panel.
Your car is now wired for negative ground (negative earth).
You can now reconnect the battery with a new negative earth cable and install a new radio, tape player, CD player, radar detector, or even plug devices into your cigar lighter without worrying about frying components.
Powerspark Ignition - BLOG 
[…] Many cars of the 60’s era were set up as a positive earth to prevent interference to car radios. There may have been plenty of other reasons too but modern 12v electrics generally require a negative earth. As I wanted to eliminate all manner of complications and brain-freeze down the line, I needed to change the electrics on White Lady to a negative earth. A bit of research and this wasn’t too difficult. I found this article essential “How to convert your car from positive earth to negative earth” […]
i have a wolseley 6/110 which i am changing to negitive earth having read your instructions every thing looks straight forward except my wiper motor 2power green power wires in and a black earth wire out side your advice please
This is something that you would need to check before performing the change over but I believe it would be ok to proceed.
Simon
What happens to the starter motor. – won’t it go backwards!
Your starter motor will continue to work without any change.
What about the temp and fuel gage on 49 Austin to convert it to neg grnd.
Fuel gauges and temp sensors usually work either way for the grounding but some do still need reversing depending on the circuitry.
When I push the starter solenoid button after conversion to negative earth nothing happens. If I bridge the connectors the car turns over. If I change the battery back to positive earth and connect a negative feed to the solenoid then press the button the engine turns over. Tried another solenoid and same result. Could my solenoid type only be suitable for pos earth?
Hi
I can try to help you.
What car is it please?
dose the voltage regulator wires have to be switched also, on the pos ground conversion??
The voltage regulator will stay the same and so nothing to do there.
Please see the updated comments above
I have an Minor 1000 which has a +ve earth system. The electric fuel pump is +ve earth, therefore am I correct in saying that the pump in the event of -ve earth change, the pump must be converted or replaced for -ve earth working
Yes you would more than likely need to replace the fuel pump in this instance.
Simon
Are the interior lights or dash lights affected?
No there should not be any issue with those and bulbs tend to last longer as a result of the conversion to negative earth.
Simon
Thank for last reply, when changing from poz to neg earth would I need to do anything with the voltage regulator? Thanks David
No you should not have to do anything there.
I have a positive earth electronic ignition system bought from you Simon, will I need to change it? Or can I just swap wires over.
If you have the positive earth ignition kit and are thinking about changing to a negative earth wiring then you will need to source the negative earth version yes, you can not simply swap the wires for the kit.
Simon
In most cases, it is just the three points that you need to follow.
When you do this switch doesn’t it make the starter run backwards?
No this doesn’t happen, it is an electric motor and only go one way.
Simon
Replacing a gen with an alternator with built in reg and changing to neg earth on a Morris 1000 any tips or suggestions?
Please read through the post and then if you require anything further please send an email to [email protected]
Do you require to do anything with the voltage regulator voltage stabiliser or fuel gauge or sender unit?
The majority of the time it is just the three points that you have to follow.
Simon
Hi Simon, land rover defender td5 the 10as alarm gives a positive signal to trigger lock unlock adding central locking by Hawk which works on a negative trigger, do I use relays to correct this problem please? So I can use original fob a d not have to carry 2 around?
Converting Classic cars vehicle earths ‘positive to negative’ is straightforward compared to the operation of plastic and metal alarm ECU and CDL devices.
The alarm and centre locking systems and signal triggers from devices on the Defender are complex.
The best place for getting advice and modifying these is either :-
a) Remotekey.co.uk
b) Technozen Electronics
I am sure these are a couple of companies that can offer the specialist help/modification and/or advice that you require.
In addition there are several companies that offer specific solutions for the key fob bypass and upgrades that you can also consider but are too numerous to list here.
I hope this has helped, and good luck
If the vehicle has an isolation switch attached to negative do you need to change this to positive when changing the polarity?
If this is for security then no you can actually leave that as it is.
Simon
Thanks for your response. It is for security so one less thing to worry about
My 50’s Daimler has positive earth and 4×25 amp fuses to the chassis. What is the situation there.? Do I put the fuses in line with the new positive travel.?
I would be tempted to say leave that as Positive earth simply because it is a fibreglass body.
Simon
Hi Simon.
It’s a Daimler DE36. No fibreglass for miles.😁 All good old steel and s bit of aluminium.
on a pos. to neg. ground conv. starter motor needs any attention?
This should be ok as it is without any change.
Simon
Recently came into a 1964 Triumph TR4. I have it running but fuel and temperature gauges don’t seem to read correctly. A mechanic indicated that he thinks when it was changed from positive to negative ground, they did not change the voltage stabilizer which may be causing the problem. Could this be the problem? How do i know if a voltage stabilzer is positive or negative ground?
The regulator will be the original grounding if it was not changed. Can you confirm the model type please?
If you can send any further request to us at [email protected] that would be helpful to get you the support you need.
Simon
Hi, I wish to convert my Daimler v8 2.5l to Negative earth. What else do I need to change besides the items you listed?
We can help with that yes, is it the Lucas 20D8 distributor you have? Please contact [email protected] for further help.
Simon
I replaced gen. and reg on 65 mg midget positive earth and polarized by touching neg battery to field it has an isn’t light and no ammeter the light goes out only at idle when rpms go up light comes back on? any suggestions? thank you Randy
Sounds as if you are missing one of the steps in the walkthrough. You should see the flash if they have all been completed as in the instructions.
Simon
Under Dynamo you have not said whether to hook up the battery the old way or new way to get 3 sparks. The goal is convert to Neg Ground.
The new way must be completed otherwise it will not change polarity.
what would cause this i have followed the instructions to the letter in regards to converting positive earth to negative earth .I can not get a spark across from the connector to the terminal I am reading it as i have to have the ignition off and only the positive connection on the battery .i have tried with the battery connected but either way I have no spark so i cannot polarise the dynamo the vehicle is a mk1 Ford Consul anyone got any ideas ?
Please note these points :
Maybe engine is not earthed enough.
Connect dynamo earth ie mounting ——- to battery earth on the terminal doesn’t need special wire even a jump lead will do then flash another wire from live
I hope this helps
Simon
To polarise the dynamo to negative earth you can just take an extra wire from the live ie+ve and flash it on the power cable to the dynamo the battery needs to have negative lead connected/grounded and might need 2 or 3 goes to be sure, you can turn dynamo a few degrees by hand.
Simon
how wood i change my wifes 1957 hillman to neg earth please
Thank you for your message.
We have a step by step walkthrough here for anyone wishing to undertake such a conversion :
https://blog.simonbbc.com/classic-car-projects-and-tips/converting-a-vehicle-from-positive-earth-to-negative-earth-electronic-ignition/
Thank you for your question once again.
Simon
sorry I’m back again but I just need to get this right will changing from positive earth to negative earth mean I will have to change my feul gauge as well? thanks p,cope
Usually the fuel pump is one component that does need to change after the polarity change so this would be good to double check with your vehicle. If you have a FuelFlow fuel pump then you can un these on both positive and negative earth vehicles.
Simon
It is likely yes but this depends on the actual gauge itself as some aftermarket gauges are capable of dual polarity.
Simon
hi I would like to follow the very clear steps you gave to change my 1963 fb victor over from positive earth to negative,other than my amp meter do I have to alter the wiper moter wires as well ?thanks for your help p,cope
It is common to have to change the two components’ wiring you mentioned when completing the conversion yes, however it can be different for some components so it is always good to double check on each individual part to be sure.
Simon
I bought a 1966 Riley Elf that was last on road in 1982 but had no battery ! How do I know if it is positive or negative earth please ?
Thank you for your post… If you check which side of the battery is to ground and also which side of the coil is wired to the Live side this will be the best way to tell.
Please call up to the office on 01527 889 453 if you have any further questions.
Hi
I bought a Jaguar XK140 recently that had been changed to negative earth but I am not sure what items were re-wired. There was a loud noise from the relay every time I switched on the overdrive and I cured this by reversing the leads on the illuminated switch (no idea why – but it worked).
I have just discovered, by chance, that the heater rheostat switch is getting seriously hot when driving along. Could this be caused by the polarity change (or something else?) and are there any other components that I should be concerned about?
Thanks
John
Yes this would be likely and it would be wise to check this with a negative earth switch. It is likely that some electrical components are not compatible to run in negative earth.
Thanks very much for the quick response. Where could I get a negative earth switch that would fit an XK140 and are there any particular other items I should check?
John
also forgot to ask do i reverse the coil as well thanks Tom
If your vehicle is negative earth then you don’t have to do any of the above but you do need to follow the three steps, battery, coil and dynamo or alternator… all of these need to be swapped over in accordance to the steps above.
hi Tom here i have a 1963 bedford ca van i have just purchased a electronic ignition kif {kit 10}
do i need to reverse wires on starter and dynamo after i reverse batery cheers Tom
Hi,
I am looking for an electronic ignition kit for my 1961 Wolseley 6/99.It has the DM6 type distributor -it’s very original and I want to keep it positive earth.Do you have anything suitable? Will I need another coil?
Thanks
Certainly, we can do this for you.
Please call on 01527 889 453 and we will be more than happy to help.
I accidently connected my 1953 GMC pick up as a positive ground and now my vehicle doesn’t want to start what should I check first
i just brought a K3X replace my regular point, my car is 70 rolls royce silver shadow ,
after received the parts ,no installation instruction attached,just want to know, is the red wire connected to the coil + and the black connected to the Coil -?pl advice.also want to know, should i change the coil?
pl reply asap
Thank you for your email.
We are sorry that you were missing the K3X instructions, form this I assume that it was labelled on the K3XRoyce on the invoice. If this was the case then you have the correct item, I was worried that you had the K3X which is for the P5B or P6.
So with that covered it certainly is the Red to the positive side of the coil and Black to the negative side.
New conrtol box fitted to ’64 998 cooper. Ignition light stays on when revving engine. Dynamo re- poarised to – earth. New brushes and commutator checked, fan belt tension good. Not sure what alse to check?
This sounds like there is an issue with wiring to the coil or that the wiring is not connected at the coil.
There is no reason why the ignition light would stay on unless wiring is incorrect. When you say new control box, what do you actually mean please?
Original SU fuel pump should work fine without any wiring changes, but if it has an electrolytic condenser inside the lid this must be unsoldered and reversed.
Wiring to wiper motor should be reversed, otherwise it will destroy its bearings because the thrust on the armature will be away from the thrust bearing.
Heater (if fitted) should have fan wiring reversed or else the fan will suck instead of blowing. The fan motor has 2 wires plugged into the side. Just pull them off and swap sides.
Fuel gauge has a voltage stabilizer associated with it. This is clearly marked POSITIVE EARTH. You will have to replace it with a negative earth unit from a later MGB.
Have you an electronic ignition system for an AC 2 litre saloon 1949 6 cylinder lucas distributor?
Peter lynch asked.I have recently acquired a Rover 1949 P3 4 light 6 cyl sports and want to convert to
neg earth.I have an electrictronic ignition from a 4 cylinder distributor.Can adapt it to the 6cyl distributor.Also I want to fit an alternator to bypass the old regulator ETC Hope you can help.
Thank you for your message, we are happy to help and think it may be best to send your enquiry to the [email protected] email address.
Simon
I have a 1965 MGB Roadster, I want to put electronic ign on.
Do I have to change my fuel pump or swap wires?
Will RPM gauge still work?
Heater motor?
I just want to be sure converting to neg earth will be ok for me
Thanks
Stewart
Thank you for your question.
Here is a list of the changes you may need to make:
Fuel Pump you can swap wires and this will be fine although we do offer a replacement low pressure fuel pump
Rev counter can be resoldered inside see Internet article for possible help if not there are many articles on the internet about this.
Radio may need changing as some radios are positive earth only and likewise negative earth only (if there is one installed)
Heater will work regardless of the polarity
I hope that this document above provides enough info to help with the conversion and helps in relation to the Coil, Battery, Ammeter and Dynamo / Alternator