another battery hookup- couple questions..

[94civik 10+ year member]

I probably coulda searched for this- but im way too lazy and i figured my AMAZING paint skills would help me clarify this..

is this right? what else would have to be done?

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[casper97ta 10+ year member]

In short, yes that will work. You could also do a negative run from your front battery instead of a chassis ground. what kind of vehicle?

 

[J3M Concepts 10+ year member]

i'd ground the back battery to the front battary as well as in the back...never be too careful

Edit: beat me to it

 

[94civik 10+ year member]

In short, yes that will work. You could also do a negative run from your front battery instead of a chassis ground. what kind of vehicle?

Civic.. Well, If i ground them both to the chassis, it would make no sense at all to waste my time routing another wire..

 

[J3M Concepts 10+ year member]

Your body is not that good of a conductor

 

[94civik 10+ year member]

Your body is not that good of a conductor

WHere do you suggest i ground it to then?

 

[Alpineforever 10+ year member]

Is there too much of a difference between grounding a trunk battery to chasis as compared to battery. You guys are saying it's safer, but howm uch of an actual differnece is there. Because I am in the middle of an install and dont have enough 0 gauge to ground trunk battery to front battery. Am I safe or should i go ahead and order another run?

 

[J3M Concepts 10+ year member]

WHere do you suggest i ground it to then?

i'd ground the back battery to the front battary as well as in the back...never be too careful

You can always short-cut..will it work? Yes.....but is it as good? No

 

[94civik 10+ year member]

Is there too much of a difference between grounding a trunk battery to chasis as compared to battery. You guys are saying it's safer, but howm uch of an actual differnece is there. Because I am in the middle of an install and dont have enough 0 gauge to ground trunk battery to front battery. Am I safe or should i go ahead and order another run?

Exactly what im wondering..

 

[J3M Concepts 10+ year member]

Battery Ground Connection:

The reference 'ground' for the battery and charging system, as well as all accessories, is the chassis (body) of the vehicle. The chassis ground is the return path for all of the current supplied by the battery and/or alternator. The accessories (including the audio system) may draw copious amounts of current. Some amplifiers will draw well over 100 amps of current at full power.

Upgrades:

There are 2 connections which must be intact or upgraded when adding any components that draw significant amounts of current. The first is the short ground wire which connects the negative battery terminal to the vehicle's chassis. The other connection is the braided ground strap that connects the engine block to the chassis.

Problems that you'll avoid:

All drivetrain components are mounted to the vehicle on rubber mounts. Since the alternator is mounted to the engine, virtually all charging current flows through the braided ground strap. If the ground strap or battery grounding wire are missing, the current will try to flow through any conductor available. This may be the throttle or shift linkage/cable. If the current flow is high enough, a significant amount of heat may be produced. It may even produce enough heat to melt the plastic liner inside the cables, causing them to seize.

Vehicle Floor Pan:

The vehicle floor pan is, on many vehicles, a single piece of stamped sheet metal that runs from the trunk of the vehicle to the firewall. It is the best return path of the vehicle's chassis. When you ground any electrical accessories (including your amplifiers), ground them to the floor pan. Do not ground anything to braces or the wheel wells. These pieces are generally connected to the floor pan with a few spot welds. If you ground to any spot welded sheet metal, you will have more resistance in the return path. The floor pan will have less resistance. Any extra resistance will lower the voltage at the amplifier and your amplifier will produce less power.

Note:

The seat belt bolts are rarely a good place to ground your equipment. Sometimes there will be a thick tar like substance (used for waterproofing) that will prevent you from getting a proper ground. Even if there is no sealant, the connection may be less than perfect because the hardened steel seat belt bolts (relatively high resistance) go into a hardened steel nut that's pressed into a piece of stamped steel that's spot welded to the bottom of the vehicle (not exactly a great electrical connection).

http://www.bcae1.com/battgrnd.htm

how bout that? work? Yes...as good....No

Of course it'd be ideal to ground the front battery to the alternator casing as well