1.2 16v engine earth issue

[ditz]

One for the clever boys Have a 1.2 16v (the early one, ecu on the back of inlet) in at the moment.. Haven't really gone through it yet but had a quick look.. It's a non start, won't crank or do anything other than a relay in the engine fuse box buzzes and goes mad. I determined that it was an earth issue fairly quickly, and put a jump lead from the engine to the battery negative and it starts....
But where does the engine block get its earth from? I seem to recall from when I pulled the 1.2 out of my old car it had no conventional earth strap?

Any places to start looking save me a bit of time rooting through it all manually?

 

[Sean6545]

On the side of the gearbox near the 5th gear housing.

 

[ditz]

Even on the 1.2? I know 1*2 have that, but unless I'm very much mistaken my 1.2 didn't, as I had to buy one when i put the 2.0 in...

I'll have a look tommorow though, hopefully it is that simple!

 

[mr.pink87]

Same as on the 1*2s. Had a D4F out few days ago.

 

[MicKPM]

Gearbox to chassis is a common point on all Renault. There's also one on the front of the block, dead center... It's the main engine loom earth. Could also be a poor battery to chassis ground but without being there and testing each earth I couldn't say for sure.