Lee
07-14-2002, 05:03 PM
2.6 Should I do the same thing with my ground wire, then? [JSC, IDB]note: follow up question after: "Should I run a wire to my battery?"
No. In almost every case, the best thing to do is to ground your amplifier to a point that is attached to the chassis of the car and is as close to the amplifier as possible. The ground wire should not need to be more than about eighteen inches long, and should be at least as large as the power wire. The point to which you make your ground connection should be an unpainted piece of bare metal.
Some cars (Audi, Porsche) have galvanized bodies, and in these cars, you must find one of the manufacturers' grounding points or else some noise can result.
Addendum: There are some rare cases where a 'good' ground can not be found, or due to the size of the system (many watts) the available ground presents too much resistance for best performance; in these cases running large gauge cable to the alternator casing can be beneficial. [lh]
No. In almost every case, the best thing to do is to ground your amplifier to a point that is attached to the chassis of the car and is as close to the amplifier as possible. The ground wire should not need to be more than about eighteen inches long, and should be at least as large as the power wire. The point to which you make your ground connection should be an unpainted piece of bare metal.
Some cars (Audi, Porsche) have galvanized bodies, and in these cars, you must find one of the manufacturers' grounding points or else some noise can result.
Addendum: There are some rare cases where a 'good' ground can not be found, or due to the size of the system (many watts) the available ground presents too much resistance for best performance; in these cases running large gauge cable to the alternator casing can be beneficial. [lh]