How to properly make a ground!!!!!

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Can I gound to the same place that my battery is? It's a nice big bolt, right now I have them on these two little bolts...

Also when running two amps can the grounds be on the same bolt? Do I need a distro block?

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

if you are saying you have a batt in the rear of the vehicle with the amps then it would behoove you to ground to the batt itself

and if you are running two amplifiers then it is best that they be grounded at the same location to prevent ground loop issues

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Yes the battery is in the back of my car along with the amps.

So can I ground both amps and the battery all on the same place?

What you typed sounded like a yes. (I know my first post wasn't to clear..)

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

basically ground your amps to the battery

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

K sweet.

Thanks a bunch

 

[2Tone 10+ year member]

it has come to my attention (from reading various threads on this here forum) that many of the regular members here do not know how to make a proper ground. I there for shall inform the ignorant masses.
This is not going to be a long explanation as it is no at all difficult and for those who struggle with reading comprehension i am sorry there will be no pictures.

What to look for in a good ground

Look for a piece of metal that is apart of the vehicle chassis and not attached to the chassis with bolts or any other methods. For example in the 95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipses there is a little back hump against the back seat that looks like it would be an awesome spot to make a ground and many people and installers :sigh: make this mistake. In actuality this litle piece of metal is bolted to a painted part of the chassis and thus would royally **** as a ground. All in all make sure you are grounding to the unified chassis of the vehicle if not the frame itself. Also you do not need to ground to a factory bolt. While they are convenient if you cannot find one you can simply pick a location (preferably away for rear decks and the like) and attach a self tapping screw to it. Once your grounding location has been selected if you want to be sure you have selected good spot take a meter(DMM) and run a quick wire to the negative post on your battery (doesnt need to be pretty as it will be removed when you're done with it) and measure the resistance. If you can pick up any resistance with a commercially avaiblable meter you have selected a poor ground so try again.

How to prepare your well chosen ground location

This is simple, simply scrape away the paint at your chosen spot. This can be done using a variety of methods. The easiest method ive found is o take a drill and a wire brush attachment and have it until you can almost see yourself. Another method is to take a flat head screwdriver or a utility knife and have at scraping away. This method is not nearly as aesthetically attractive but works nonetheless. The final method is some very coarse grit sandpaper. I personally have never used this method but i cannot imagine it not working for any particular reason

How to prepare you ground wire

This also is very simple. USE A RING TERMINAL. If you do not have any at the time go to walmart or something and get some. They are not going to cost very much so there is no reason not to use one.

How to attach you ground

Also extremely simple. If you chosen ground location is a factory bolt (hopefully you made sure your ring terminal fits around the bolt) simply remove the bolt ,place it through your ring terminal and reattach it to the vehicle. Now if not using a factory bolt then simply inspect both sides of your chosen location. Make sure there are no gas takes or line running under the location you have chosen. Take the shortest available self tapping screw (usually 3/4") and screw it into the vehicle.

In closing this throught process is not only for amplifier installation. I use his thought process everyday when dealing with alarms and anything else i might need to find to ground.

the end

if i neglected anything someone please add it

i like to find a nice location hidden but easy to get to if need be , ill use angle iron or a small piece of tube stock welded right to the body or frame of the vehicle... the peice will usually have another plate welded to it with numerous holes drilled it all different sizes... the plate, (that has never had any paint on it) will serve as thee perfect ground ... secure all ground cables to the plate and you will never have to worry again... it will cost you about 5 bucks to make and about 10 minutes to drill holes and weld it in.. hardest part is finding a location

 

[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

I love amp.

 

[Fiercetimbo17 10+ year member]

The triple threat as it is called by some installers is what i do, after using a wire brush to scrape off all paint and checking clearance i shoot a small self tapper through the center of the ring terminal and one of each side of the ring terminal that catches the edges. So you have 3 screws holding your ground in, have never had it fail me

 

[Racerx250 10+ year member]

The triple threat as it is called by some installers is what i do, after using a wire brush to scrape off all paint and checking clearance i shoot a small self tapper through the center of the ring terminal and one of each side of the ring terminal that catches the edges. So you have 3 screws holding your ground in, have never had it fail me

I've seen that done before. Worked quite well from what i seen.

 

[Blinkdogo2 10+ year member]

at my shop we just use 2 self tapping one through the middle then on throught the actual ring close to where the copper comes out , i believe 2 is all it takes

 

[zmcqdv 10+ year member]

if you are saying you have a batt in the rear of the vehicle with the amps then it would behoove you to ground to the batt itself
and if you are running two amplifiers then it is best that they be grounded at the same location to prevent ground loop issues

What if i have the extras 4 gauge wires and use them as grounding for each amps (3amps), and channel them into a distribution block (or directly connect them to the battery), then back to the battery at the front of the car. Is this better?

Thks.

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

some one should post pics of bad grounds and pics of good grounds

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

I prefer to do a ground run.

 

[Papaloads 10+ year member]

Hi,

This may be a stupid question but i wanted to make sure i was grounding my amps properly but dont have access to a VOM. It says to choose a location on the chassis. I'm not exactly sure which part the chassis is so i took a picture of where the original installer chose to make the grounding point in the trunk of my 2003 Lexus IS 300. Is this indeed a good location or bad location for my ground.

a closer look

If this is a good location i wanted to scrape the paint away(most likely use sandpaper) and reconnect the wires with the same shown screws from above.

When disconnecting the ground to my amps, should i remove the positive and/or negative wire from my battery terminals? and have the car in the off position? what is the procedure to follow that sets up the safest working environment when messing with my sound systems electrical wiring?

If this is a bad location where would you guys specifically suggest i pick as a grounding point in my cars trunk?

Background on my system:

JL audio 1000.1v2, JL audio 13" w7, Kicker KX600.4, and Stock head unit

Stock alternator and Duralast Gold: part # 24-DLG, CCA 750, 935 at 32F, reserve capacity 130amps

4 gauge wiring was used for the positive power wire from my battery's positive terminal all the way to the trunk where that 4 gauge wire was fed into a distribution block. This block has three output wires using 8 gauge wiring. Two of these 8 gauge power wires run to and are simultaneously connected into the 12v input of my JL Audio 1000.1 (shady? should i upgrade to 4 gauge or unnecessary). The one remaining 8 gauge power wire as well as the small red remote wire is fed into a:

Bosch 12V 20/30A small black plastic thing (fuse?).

This Bosch has a very small black ground wire that is "grounded" as seen in the picture below. does the location of that ground look fine? do i just need to scrape the paint away to ensure a good connection(like my amp ground point)? should i choose a different location? if so where?

The output of this bosch piece is an 8 gauge wire and the (small red) remote wire.

this red 8 gauge wire is then fed into the 12v input of my Kicker kx600.4 amp.

the remote wire is fed to the remote wire input of the kicker amp and another small red wire connects the kicker amp remote input directly to the remote wire input of the JL Audio 1000.1

Given my systems specs and electrical wiring setup, what gauge wiring would you guys suggest i use when doing "the Big 3" upgrade to my car?

should i be worried about the size of the 8 gauge power wires that is used to power both of my amplifiers?

Is this electrical wiring, shady and or could it be improved? if so how?

The reason I am asking is because i experience random bouts of alternator whine and turn off thump, as well as light dimming when playing the bass loud. My plan of attack will be doing the big three upgrade and following the suggestions made in the

Sticky Thread >>>Engine whine and ground loop fixes... take two

but before I do these I wanted to make sure the electrical wiring of my system was correct.

Let me know if you need more pictures or more information

also i apologize for the extremely long post and if you guys think this post is better off being put somewhere mods could definitely move it or i can repost it in the advised thread.

any help would be great

Thanks!

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

if you could take a pic of that relay untaped that would be great because im not seeing a reason to have a relay period in your current situation.

If that ground is where i think it is in the trunk of that vehicle then he is on the frame or very close to it and definately part of the unified chassis. I would def remove that paint asap it will likely assist in your atl whine issue. Also what gauge wiring was used for your ground wires...i cannot tell by the picture but it looks an awful lot like 8gauge for both if that is the case im going to need you to upgrade that as well. As for the saftey issue do whatever you feel is safest. I personally never disconnect batt terminals unless unplugging airbag harnesses. As for the distroblock i strongly suggest you purchase a decent distro block and run at least 2ga to the rear of that car and then split to at least 4ga to the 1000/1 and the kicker. As for the big 3 upgrade i would also do atelast 2ga if not 1/0. The wiring in your vehicle seems more lazy then anything else or like someone was attempting to quickly complete the install.