Grounding from front to back

[XHiFiX 10+ year member]

Some people say to run a dedicated ground wire from the battery neg under the hood to other batteries and amps in the back. Others say to keep ground wires short and connect them straight to the chassis.

Would it work to run a ground wire from the front batt to a spot on the chassis in the back of the vehicle...then ground your amps and/or batts to that same spot? That way, they have the "direct" ground to the front batt negative, but also they have the chassis as a ground path as well.

Would this cause any problems like ground loops, noise, etc?

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[the_drew]

you want your ground wires to be as short as possible because you want them to have less resistance than the rca cables. if you run a cable from the battery to the frame and make it as short as possible that could help. then keep your grounds at the amps as short as possible you will make those the path of least resistance. a ground loop is caused when the power uses the rca for ground because there is too much resistance on the ground wire. so instead of running straight to ground and taking the noise to ground it loops back through your rca and injects noise into the pre amp ic. remember electricity is like water it will always take the path of least resistance. you also want to make sure you use a good size gauge wire for a ground. i see it all the time someone will use 4 or 2 g wire for the hot side and 8 gauge for the ground then they cant understand why they have noise. and make sure your ground point is clean metal (no paint, rust or anything)

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

Thanks for the first post drew, but I have to disagree with some of your post.

Take a look at this diagram I made, it should tell you all you need to know:

You should actually do both. You should run a dedicated wire and still ground locally as well. Yes that is an extra cost and more wire to buy. Are you asking what is the cheapest way to do it, or are you asking what is the best way to do it? This is the best way to do it.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

you want your ground wires to be as short as possible because you want them to have less resistance than the rca cables. if you run a cable from the battery to the frame and make it as short as possible that could help. then keep your grounds at the amps as short as possible you will make those the path of least resistance. a ground loop is caused when the power uses the rca for ground because there is too much resistance on the ground wire. so instead of running straight to ground and taking the noise to ground it loops back through your rca and injects noise into the pre amp ic. remember electricity is like water it will always take the path of least resistance. you also want to make sure you use a good size gauge wire for a ground. i see it all the time someone will use 4 or 2 g wire for the hot side and 8 gauge for the ground then they cant understand why they have noise. and make sure your ground point is clean metal (no paint, rust or anything)

The one factor you forgot here drew is that the wire size plays an equal role to the distance when considering the impedance of the wire. If your wire is long and fat, it may have the same resistance of a short skinny wire. If you think that a 15ft section of 1/0 has more resistance than your RCA cables, you are mistaken. If you think that same 1/0 has more resistance than 10 chassis welds, you are mistaken.

 

[Cabin_Pressure 10+ year member]

Explaination: A steel vehicle frame has a higher resistance than a copper conductor, for the most effective tranfer of current, a conductor should be run for the ground.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

Explaination: A steel vehicle frame has a higher resistance than a copper conductor, for the most effective tranfer of current, a conductor should be run for the ground.

^^^Cliffs FTW!

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

^^^Cliffs FTW!

x2.

I guess grounding as much as you can would work. It would allow the maximum flow.

 

[Cabin_Pressure 10+ year member]

^^^Cliffs FTW!

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[XHiFiX 10+ year member]

Thanks for the first post drew, but I have to disagree with some of your post.
Take a look at this diagram I made, it should tell you all you need to know:

You should actually do both. You should run a dedicated wire and still ground locally as well. Yes that is an extra cost and more wire to buy. Are you asking what is the cheapest way to do it, or are you asking what is the best way to do it? This is the best way to do it.

loop, can you tell me if this works??

 

[andrew2944r 10+ year member]

Yeah I have 4 runs of 1/0 power from front to back...

and 1 run of 1/0 ground from front to back and other 4 grounds are to the frame...

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

I would make a few small changes to that drawing above:

 

[Cpyder 10+ year member]

Thanks for the first post drew, but I have to disagree with some of your post.
Take a look at this diagram I made, it should tell you all you need to know:

You should actually do both. You should run a dedicated wire and still ground locally as well. Yes that is an extra cost and more wire to buy. Are you asking what is the cheapest way to do it, or are you asking what is the best way to do it? This is the best way to do it.

You made a very direct claim but did not say why. I'm not disagreeing but when you say something is the best you'd best be able to defend it like a fat kit and his cake.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

You made a very direct claim but did not say why. I'm not disagreeing but when you say something is the best you'd best be able to defend it like a fat kit and his cake.

THIS POST

Also, I think you meant fat kid. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Cpyder 10+ year member]

yes i did