Grounding Your Car

[quintessentiallyenigmatic]

guys this should be a DIY foundation thread........just helping along a bess info - stay alive

[dmitc]

Here's a useful diagram I found that outlines major grounding points. I think the only one this seems to be missing is the alternator ground. Add that one in and you should be good to go.

Did a similar job to this except the factory ground ran from the battery to the chassis and the transmission (left it as is).
So i ran Battery to the right side cylinder head by the vacume rail,
From that point to Trottle body,
From that point to the chassis (bolted it down on shocks had to remove paint)
And a ground from the front of the cylinder head to the chassis (bolted it to where the radiator is secured, removed paint as well)

Used 3 feet of 4 gauge wire for the connections from the chassis to t body and from t body to cylinder head.
Used 100% copper battery cable to connect the battery to the c head and the c head to the chassis.
Used all copper ring terminal since they are a better conductor than gold.

The whole project cost TT$85 so far, i'm still waiting on this


and since i did the mod i notice better acceleration, better trottle response and faster response from my power windows
All in all well worth the time and money

[eitech]

dis is my next DIY project..btw, u ever tested ur resistance from ur battery negative to different ground points, e.g, altenator ground, fuel rail, etc...i did this and got sumtin like 2.0 ohms...

[dmitc]

Was going to before and after but my uncle was not around at the time and well iz his multimeter i use, well untill i get mine that is.
would check it out this weekend and see the diff

[+G0thiC_CitY+]

jackal, u have more ground than a cricket field..lol ..this post important for men wit lots of music as well..

[altec]

reading this and was wondering how to check the resistance. If the wire still connected i think the resistance would be different. I am thinking of cleaning the grounding points in the ck2 so where are the points not including the battery?

[Nyo1988]

greAT one nice. keep up the work.

[eitech]

actually i firts tries cleanin as many groundin points as possible and i notice my headlights are lookin brighter, especially my fogs

[slick]

I notice my car does accelerate slower when I have the AC on.

Anybody know if doing this extra grounding would make my acceleration faster or the same as if I had the AC off?

[ryansouthman]

nice install

[dmitc]

I notice my car does accelerate slower when I have the AC on.

Anybody know if doing this extra grounding would make my acceleration faster or the same as if I had the AC off?

acceleration would always be slower with the ac on since the there would be greated load on the engine because of the compressor.
but do the grounding anyways may see some inprovement in trottle responce.

[slick]

I will give it a try dmitc.

[X_Factor]

i did this over the weekend..but not all the points

i wanted to confirm...on the intake manifold..im seeing 2 little stock wires there...are those the grounding point for it?

the fuel rail...jus use ne of the bolts that hold the rail in place?

and the TB..jus pic ne place where i can bolt it and do it there?

GA15 engine

[Hook]

Here's a useful diagram I found that outlines major grounding points. I think the only one this seems to be missing is the alternator ground. Add that one in and you should be good to go.

did this DIY job last weekend and included the alternator ground...so right side chassis, alternator, TB, head, tranny(block), battery, left side chassis

NOTE: all crimped connections were soldered as well to preserve their integrity

I used to have a problem with the car idling erratically for a few mins whenever I reset the ECU, this time it idled just fine, so it seems I did something right

[Morpheus23]

Good to hear.

Nice bump too. I have to complete mine

[X_Factor]

just use good wire and not the cheap 4/2g wire when doing this

[dmitc]

Hook, where exactly on the alternater did you attached your ground wire?

[Hook]

I sanded down the top bracket and the top mount of the alt and cleaned the bolt with some WD40 and a wire brush then attached the ground to where the alternator bolts to the top bracket

before u get to that, loosen the tensioner and start to work on it....so that when u done, once u set it in place and tighten back the top bolt, all u have to do it adjust the tensioner so the belt doesn't squeal...normal procedure

[dmitc]

attached the ground to where the alternator bolts to the top bracket

is this where you are refering to?


i was going to do this initially but i noticed a factory ground attaced to that same bracket (by the dipstick) so i did not bother.

i would run a ground from the bolt still though since more grounding cyar hurt

[Hook]

yeah, ...I cut the loop connector on the ground harness to make a "C" and put it between the bolt head and the washer....I know there's a factory ground there, but I removed it a while ago since the connector was broken and it kept jumping out anyway

I'm thinking to run it by where the factory ground was, but that area looks a little cramped...will try a ting later


BTW....u ever found out what that blue/red bracket on the brake master cylinder was for?

[dmitc]

BTW....u ever found out what that blue/red bracket on the brake master cylinder was for?

as far as i could see it's incase the nuts for the brake booster was to come loose this braket prevents the whole setup from moving.
other than that me nah know

[red bwoy]

i think hook said it earlier but i did the groundin on my bj an ran a 4.0 guage wire from de alternator hot to the battery an a similiar set up to wahts in the picture noticible difference in response not big but noticable take ah


for ah bess post dey jackal

[V2NR 3.0]

wat the point of all that grounding?
if u dont mind me asking..
cuz THATS ALOT OF GROUNDING!
neva heard of people doin it to that extent unless they into the music and stuff

It drastically improves electricals dude.

[demboyzaudio]

I wanna try this soon..
Was looking for this post a while now...
Same b14

[7143]

jackal,wel done man....good read....

[V2NR 3.0]

I use this system to ground my car. excellent

[7143]

wat was d overall cost to do this??

[Hook]

I did mine from the diagram, so including the extra connection to the alternator body, that's 8, 0AWG loop connectors (these actually hold up to 3 sets of 4AWG wires on one connector) and about 4yds of 4AWG wire...tie straps (to keep everything away from hot engine surfaces), solder and 100W soldering iron was mine and a roll of electrical tape (yeh I taped mine to cover all that red..not a fan of excessive loom)...cost came up to around $100 when I did it last year...methinx wire prices have gone up since then tho, but it still shouldn't be too expensive

measure up and make the grounding harness off the car so u can take ur time and do it properly, then install then engine is dead cold (for safety sake) and clean all connection points properly before installing

also, take ur time soldering that heavy wire (it would help to tin the wires and connectors first, then just assemble the joints and apply heat for everything to meld together) and ensure the soldered points are good and strong

[X_Factor]

^^ in addition to hooks scene...get a good brand wire, Stinger, tsunami, rockford, american bass, exf, jl. PG, DB etc...
dont waste ur $$ buyin cheap cables with more insulation than copper..observe this when going to purchase the wire...look at the size of the core

solder and crimp the wire, trying to keep the end as a circle over the wire..but dont beat it with a hammer and get the terminal all out of shape and flat--it just looks untidy..

after that, there is something called heat shrink tubing...getting that and putting over the area you joined looks even more professional, covering where the wire enters the terminal and about 1-2 inch on the wire itself
u'll need a heat gun to shrink the tubing..but i placed it over the stove and that worked just as well

all the points in ur vehicle that u decide to ground, make sure and sand them properly and apply some electrical grease after to prevent rusting

measure ur wires properly so that it wont have alot of excess making it look bulky and untidy, you can also put loom if u wish

i dont know if it makes any difference, but i used 0g wire from the battery to chassis--usually that piece of wire is about 8" long for the most..and then 4g for the rest

[Devon.Lopez]

great diagram