Quick ?s about grounding headunit

[inmylrg 10+ year member]

In the process of installing my HU right now. Should I ground it to the factory harness or bare metal? Also, does it matter if I disconnect battery or not? Thanks!

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[svarasnj 10+ year member]

Actually I asked the same question couple days ago here but nobody answered.

Anyway first I tried connecting to a bear metal. Worked fine, Then connected to factory harness , works the same exact way . So I left it this way.

I did not disconnect the battery, but I heard its recommended tho.

good luck

 

[inmylrg 10+ year member]

Thanks man, I just heard mixed opinions so just thought I'll ask. If I want to disconnect the battery, all I need to remove is the positive right?

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

disconnect battery ALWAYS.....go to bare metal

 

[TNTR70 10+ year member]

Thanks man, I just heard mixed opinions so just thought I'll ask. If I want to disconnect the battery, all I need to remove is the positive right?

yup. or just leave the keys out of the ignition

 

[inmylrg 10+ year member]

disconnect battery ALWAYS.....go to bare metal

I found a spot where there's already existing ground, is it okay to add the HU ground to that? I heard that it may pick up noise this way.

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

yup. or just leave the keys out of the ignition

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif certain wires are live all the time.....

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

yup. or just leave the keys out of the ignition

I really wish people researched before they posted.

And OP: Bare metal. For extra security, ground your RCA's to your head unit.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

Here are a few suggestions that should be RULES:

1) Always remove the NEG- wire from you battery before doing any wiring changes

2) Always ground every device to bare metal, never trust the factory grounds or mounts

3) Never drop the soap in the shower

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[nimrod 10+ year member]

Here are a few suggestions that should be RULES:
1) Always remove the NEG- wire from you battery before doing any wiring changes

2) Always ground every device to bare metal, never trust the factory grounds or mounts

3) Never drop the soap in the shower

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

#3 is VERY important.

 

[inmylrg 10+ year member]

I really wish people researched before they posted.
And OP: Bare metal. For extra security, ground your RCA's to your head unit.

Okay, good to know. Are you talking about RCA cables? If so, I'm not running any and I didn't know that you have to ground them. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

Here are a few suggestions that should be RULES:
1) Always remove the NEG- wire from you battery before doing any wiring changes

2) Always ground every device to bare metal, never trust the factory grounds or mounts

3) Never drop the soap in the shower

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

Only the negative? Or negative first, then positive?

 

[MkKin420 10+ year member]

Do you have an amp besides the headunit, if so and you are not using rca's then you must be using the high-level or speaker level inputs on the amp. Also, Always disconnect the negative battery terminal first and set it away from the battery terminal and if you have to, wrap it in a cloth or somthing else thats dry to keep it from touching the battery terminal, just to be safe. It is not absolutely necessary to remove the positive terminal as negative is the point of all return, IIRC. But it never hurts to take it off while your at it just to be safe as well.

I own a jvc headunit and had issues with the factory ground so I spliced a 14 gauge wire along with the factory ground with a couple crimp on butt connectors to make a y shape in the end and grounded the wire to stripped and sanded bare metal under the dash and have not had a problem since. Use a ring terminal at the end of your ground wire and a nut, bolt, and lock washer to secure it.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

Only the negative? Or negative first, then positive?

You only need to remove one wire to break the circuit. By removing the NEG- wire, you can be sure it is safer because there is no possible harm of it touching any other metal in the car.

If you had a dual battery setup and removed the POS+ wire from the front battery and it hit metal, you would dead short the rear battery.

So basically, always remove just the NEG- wire from all of your batteries before doing ANY wiring. Removing the POS+ too would be pointless.

 

[inmylrg 10+ year member]

I finished installing it today. I ended up grounding it to bare metal with some bolt and nut. No noises whatsoever. Thanks for all the help.

By the way, I don't have an amp right now, but I plan to run some comps later in the future with one. When I do that, is it recommended that I run new speaker wires from the amp to the comps instead of using the existing OEM wires?

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

I finished installing it today. I ended up grounding it to bare metal with some bolt and nut. No noises whatsoever. Thanks for all the help.
By the way, I don't have an amp right now, but I plan to run some comps later in the future with one. When I do that, is it recommended that I run new speaker wires from the amp to the comps instead of using the existing OEM wires?

It is preferred, but not 100% necessary. It is a personal preference thing. Most OEM wires are plenty capable.