question about grounding a hu

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

Ok another crazy noob question from me. (I'm going to wire up the harness tonight)

The constant 12v wire has an inline fuse.. should I be running it directly to the battery (or another constant 12v source) other than my harness?

I just want to get all my bases covered before I start anything.

Thanks again everybody

 

[armcclure]

Doesn't it make the most sense to just acquire the 12+ and ground(-) from the same wires/places that the STOCK/CURRENT head unit gets them? Why spend the time and money running new lines....

 

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

Well I'd rather do things the right way the first time out.

The new hu's harness has a terminal for the ground and a battery wire thicker than the harness adapter's, also the battery wire is fused and has a circuit (i think).

Also, don't forget we're talking about a high performance hu vs a stock, relatively low power, hu.

if you were to install high performance components, would you reuse the oem wiring? I wouldn't

 

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

regardless, I wired up everything to the harness with the exception of the ground and power. If I do wire the power into it, it will take like 2 seconds.

Also I have to hit everything with solder but I'll do that in the morning. I am falling asleep right now (really long day)

 

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

Oh and here is a pic of the wiring (will solder them tomorrow). feel free to critique it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

butt crimps or closed end connectors would work just fine and are a lot easier. You'll gain no benefit over the extra work of soldering.

 

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

here is a picture of everything soldered up (decided to forego the illumination/dimmer.. I dont want to deal with any additional hassle at the moment and may add it later)

flame away! ( I dont really solder much, just little things here and there)

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Solder work looks fine.

 

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

Solder work looks fine.

excellent thanks for the input

I'm just kind of worried if I did too little, or not enough.

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

 

[350_regal 10+ year member]

just make sure you cover them good some of them look pretty sharp.

 

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

just make sure you cover them good some of them look pretty sharp.

yup, I have heat shrink tubing already on all the wires and I will be using thick electrical tape over that. I just want to test for continuity tomorrow before I button it up and the hu will go in the car shortly after

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

The heat shrink would be enough.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Don't use the tape. It'll only make a mess.

 

[maddog808 10+ year member]

If we stopped calling it "grounding the amp" or "grounding the HU", this argument would cease to exist. It seems as though some people confuse "grounding" DC Electrical in CA with grounding AC Electrical in residential or commercial structures. There is no "ground" for a CA amp or HU. There is an electrical circuit which requires a positive and negative to be completed. If the source of power is the battery/alternator, then in theory wouldn't the best path be directly to the battery terminals? I am new, but I at least understand this.

Having said that, if I find a good "ground" near the amps (less than 18 inches), with no resistance back to negative battery terminal, will that be good enough for my setup? I have a Sundown SAZ-1500D and a SAX-100.4. If I add up the fuses on the amps I get 250A. According to Knuconceptz.com wire size chart, I need 1/0 wire from battery to a distro block, then 4 gauge to each amp. Should I do this, with a 250A fuse at the battery?

Also, is this wire good enough:

http://knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KLMX0BL

Or do I need to get this stuff:

http://knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KFX0BL

BTW, I'm doing the Big 3 with 1/0 also. I have a Dodge Ram2500 with the diesel motor, so I have two batteries up front. Should I upgrade the wiring from EACH battery to alternator, and EACH battery to chassis, along with alternator to chassis?

Please and Thank You.

 

[maddog808 10+ year member]

I just realized I replied to the wrong thread...sorry for threadjacking.

Anyway, some help would be appreciated either way.