Solder or crimp connections

[stevem5000 10+ year member]

What is the general consensus....

Do I solder all connections or can I use crimp connections???

I am going to solder all the connectins for my HU...but wires from my subs are going to a screw down connector strip...those wires, should I solder my spade connectors or are crimp connectors suitable???

Also, grounding for my amp...can I bolt the ground wire to one of the bolts that hold down the car seat, or do I have to drill a hole in the floor pan, sand the paint off and bolt the ground there???

Sorry, I know these are very basic questions, but this is my first install...

Thanx

Steve

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[Qckrun 10+ year member]

What is the general consensus....
Do I solder all connections or can I use crimp connections???

I am going to solder all the connectins for my HU...but wires from my subs are going to a screw down connector strip...those wires, should I solder my spade connectors or are crimp connectors suitable???

Also, grounding for my amp...can I bolt the ground wire to one of the bolts that hold down the car seat, or do I have to drill a hole in the floor pan, sand the paint off and bolt the ground there???

Sorry, I know these are very basic questions, but this is my first install...

Thanx

Steve

Sodering is always good. If your going to ground, try to ground off the battery, its the best way to ground. For the subs dont soder the wire, just put the wire into the sub and u should be good to go.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

If your going to ground, try to ground off the battery, its the best way to ground.

if you have a properly done chassis ground, it shouldn't be any different from a resistance standpoint.

 

[stevem5000 10+ year member]

if you have a properly done chassis ground, it shouldn't be any different from a resistance standpoint.

Jack, I agree with you...but I guess what I am trying to determine is...

Exactly what is a "properly done chassis ground"...

In computer networking, which is what I do, we have to consider ground loops, incorrect grounding...and taking the ground back to the battery is what we would consider an "isolated ground"...which is the proper method of grounding...but networking is high frequency stuff and not DC...

However I have read a number of posts where guys have had issues that seem to be traced down to a faulty ground...

So, in deferance to Qckrun, if I do NOT run an isolated ground back to the battery, exactly how should I set the ground point...

I am reluctant to drill into the chassis and sand off some paint as this opens a point to collect rust, over time...

And I know that the bolts that hold the seat down are not very clean, oily etc and would be an absoutly incorrect way to ground a RF source, like a computer network...but for a DC circuit, and an amp, is this good enough???

Many thanx

Steve

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

However I have read a number of posts where guys have had issues that seem to be traced down to a faulty ground...So, in deferance to Qckrun, if I do NOT run an isolated ground back to the battery, exactly how should I set the ground point...

Honestly, most of the time when people are having problems with a ground, it is the headunit's ground that is the problem, not the amp's ground.

The best thing you can do is clear away any paint, dirt, grease, oil, etc etc so that the connector is touching clean, bare metal. Also, it is usually beneficial to reground the headunit to a different spot than the factory location, which is usually shared by many non-audio components.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

In computer networking, which is what I do, we have to consider ground loops, incorrect grounding...and taking the ground back to the battery is what we would consider an "isolated ground"...which is the proper method of grounding...but networking is high frequency stuff and not DC...

I know where you're coming from...my background is in radio and other broadcast electronics, where an RF ground for an antenna is much different than a DC ground - after all, a lot of antennas are dead shorts at DC.

The proper method of grounding here is a direct, solid mechanical connection between the ground wire terminal and bare metal of the chassis...and furthermore, run a negative lead back to the battery and touch the probe on the grounding spot to make sure you have 0 ohms (or a very small amount) of resistance at that point.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

Honestly, most of the time when people are having problems with a ground, it is the headunit's ground that is the problem, not the amp's ground.

care to explain reasons why you think that?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

care to explain reasons why you think that?

Care to explain why you disagree?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

I'll put some reasons for that...

1. Head unit grounding is generally done through the vehicle's stock wiring harness...would I trust the factory wiring to be solidly grounded? Doubt it.

2. When you ground the amp, you have to make your own ground point, so you can guarantee that it's solid.

3. Sometimes, vehicle chassis grounds are shared, floating, whatever...I've had problems with Alpine head units that didn't like stock Ford grounding.

Basically, since you didn't run all the wiring harnesses that you plug your head unit into, there are a lot more potential for gremlins to find their way into the system.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

...never said I disagreed...lol

...just wanted to know for my own good

so is it possible that a bad HU ground could cause a perfectly finely grounded amp to go into protection mode?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

so is it possible that a bad HU ground could cause a perfectly finely grounded amp to go into protection mode?

I don't think it could cause the amp to go into protection (atleast I can't think of a reason why it would), but it can cause noise issues.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

or how bout a bad HU ground causing the HU to distort it's signal on the patch cables, which the amp doesn't like and goes into protection?