got into a discussion on another forum: best place for a ground

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

Where do you think the best place for a ground wire would be in a unibody car?

Click to read more...

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

the front battery is optimal //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

the front battery is optimal //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

especially if you sell wire //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

seriously though, your car's chassis is at least 1/0. Some measurements are 2/0+.

if you're running 1/0 wire or smaller the chassis is the best. Wire larger than that and the chassis MIGHT be less conductive than a ground wire to the battery (-).

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

or if you dont want your amp turning off //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Where do you think the best place for a ground wire would be in a unibody car?

With a properly prepped area, and a reasonable system as stated above (not requiring a ton of power) then any place is good. Just make sure you upgrade your chassis to battery ground cable to at least one size bigger than your ground to chassis on your amplifier. (Remember, audio isnt the only thing utilizing chassis grounds

 

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

The truck's chassis is about as conductive as a 1/0 run of wire...I need more. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Straight to the battery it is. Wire gets here today. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/woot.gif.aaa6090e619a97b6090d16dd863c5a69.gif

 

[dleccord 5,000+ posts]

Why not do both?

 

[Bipolar 10+ year member]

your saying I should run my amps + &- from the battery? I thought you were not suposed to run the - to the battery...i'll be dipped..

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

your saying I should run my amps + &- from the battery? I thought you were not suposed to run the - to the battery...i'll be dipped..

You're supposed to have the ground as short as possible ... UNLESS you're going back to the original power source, eg battery.

 

[Bipolar 10+ year member]

Well we use lots of big gauge wire on our semi's and also on our drag cars when we relocate the batteries to the trunk. I'll try running my ground back up front then..

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

You're supposed to have the ground as short as possible ... UNLESS you're going back to the original power source, eg battery.

Can someone explain to me the wisdom of connecting the ground directly to the battery's negative post, please?

The reason I ask is because I have never done so for anything having to do with an audio install. Past experience from when I was pretty heavily involved in the CB radio community has shown me that ground connections directly to the battery were generally a sure-fire method of getting horrendous alternator whine in your CB gear and more often than not it would allow fairly gnarly interference from the windshield wiper motor to intrude into your gear.

Based on that personal experience and commonly-accepted wisdom amongst the people here locally who are/were also heavily involved with CB radios and the associated gear (for those that do not know outboard amps get used with CBs as well quite frequently although their use for regular channels 1-40 CBs is illegal even though rarely enforced) that grounding your transmitting equipment to the battery is a bad idea I've never done it for stereo gear.

I see it being suggested, however, pretty frequently here on the forum. Does it not create interference in stereo gear like it does with CB radios?

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

nope - at least not for me. I have knu 1/0 from the battery back.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Can someone explain to me the wisdom of connecting the ground directly to the battery's negative post, please?

I've done it once with my mid/high amp, and I didnt hear any difference in the sound quality or any interference.

I didn't say to do it, i just simply said keep it short or go all the way back.

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

lower resistance in a vehicle with a high-resistance chassis

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

lower resistance in a vehicle with a high-resistance chassis

aka Older car, chassis highly rusted, maybe holes in it. The path of least resistance would be very curvy and could be shortened with a wire direct to the battery.