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Knowledgable audiophiles give input please

CSVT_2004 said:
Metal floor FTW

Bolts and other body screws FTL

Talk to any Real car audio installer... I guarantee they scrape off the paint on the metal and screw to it.... Unless they're lazy.... It's not that hard to look under the car and double if not triple check before you drill to make sure you're not drilling into important things....
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Oh there's no question that attaching the ground directly to the body is the way to go. Once it is secured you pretty much never have to worry about it again. I'm just suggesting the latch if you're lazy, ya know...:laugh: I was just too darn lazy to get an alligator/circular tip for the wire, drill a hole in the floor and screw in the ground just for my sub-par system. It's not like I have PREMIER sound or something :crazy: haha just look at my sig :cool: .
 
So what is wrong with finding an empty hole on the decklid, scraping off the paint and attaching a ground there? It's all welded together...so unless I am mistaken, there shouldn't be a difference between grounding to the deck or grounding to the floor. The hole that I used was on the speaker cutout on the decklid.
 
Sprebound said:
So what is wrong with finding an empty hole on the decklid, scraping off the paint and attaching a ground there? It's all welded together...so unless I am mistaken, there shouldn't be a difference between grounding to the deck or grounding to the floor. The hole that I used was on the speaker cutout on the decklid.
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There IS a difference between grounding on the lid and the floor. I personally noticed a difference between my first and second systems. My first system was grounded to the decklid, and it just plain didn't cut it :shrug: . The decklid isn't really part of the "whole" body, it is just secured to it. But the floor of your trunk IS the body of the car...Someone correct me if I am wrong, though...
 
I've also seen where amps have been grounded to central grounding spots for lights. (like there are a bunch of factory grounds ran to the same bolt, so the person just assumes that putting their amp ground their is fine as well) Then they wonder why every time they push their brakes the their subs jump... They never think to consider their ground attachment usually....... I find it pretty easy to do metal body grounds... That's how I do all of my installs... it's really not that hard to just get a light under a car and look where your drilling so you don't run it through the tank, heck the screws I use are probably 1cm long... I don't use 2 in long screws for grounding.... less likely to run it into something... :D
 
Yeah...I will change my ground and see what happens. I doubt it will help my situation though because I am pretty sure the voltage regulator on my amp is shot or something...but who knows right? If I may ask, what does the custom ground wiring in your sig refer to? Did you upgrade your engine bay wires?
 
Sprebound said:
Yeah...I will change my ground and see what happens. I doubt it will help my situation though because I am pretty sure the voltage regulator on my amp is shot or something...but who knows right? If I may ask, what does the custom ground wiring in your sig refer to? Did you upgrade your engine bay wires?
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LOL thats sig worthy? LOL

Just run a 0 gauge wire to the trans and 4 gauge to the body some where. no need for all that other stuff LOL

LOL kids and thier sillyness
 
Oh wow...I actually had never thought of doing that... I might need to invest in some large gauge wire and give it a go. Thanks for the inspiration. And Steeda's insight.
 
First, you grounded it to your seat bolt, then you double grounded it.(I think that makes ground loop noise) ...then you grounded it to the deck lid?

all ya gotta do is take a large self tapper or whatever, drill into the trunk and mount with an adapter.

Or try to get a 12v jumper box.....hook THAT up to the AMP to check for proper operation. If that works, youre power and ground is jacked.

I got an ..............idea, go to a pawn shop and ask them if you can try any amp in the store in your car before you buy one.
 
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fordsvt98 said:
First, you grounded it to your seat bolt, then you double grounded it.(I think that makes ground loop noise) ...then you grounded it to the deck lid?

all ya gotta do is take a large self tapper or whatever, drill into the trunk and mount with an adapter.

Or try to get a 12v jumper box.....hook THAT up to the AMP to check for proper operation. If that works, youre power and ground is jacked.

I got an ..............idea, go to a pawn shop and ask them if you can try any amp in the store in your car before you buy one.
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Ground loop is caused by the source unit and the amplifying unit having different ground potentials.... and you don't get alternator wine in sub installs, only in 4-channel installs.... At least I've never heard of alternator whine in sub installs....

Steeda... said:
LOL thats sig worthy? LOL

Just run a 0 gauge wire to the trans and 4 gauge to the body some where. no need for all that other stuff LOL

LOL kids and thier sillyness
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Eh.. I got bored at BBY and had some left over wire... can't hurt.... Just upgraded the grounds that were there already.... well except for the throttle body and the fender one...... no performance gain... but just something to do... I actually had someone ask me though if I noticed a difference in my lighting and driving etc, etc... which the answer is no... I didn't notice any difference...

I wish my name was Green...
 
oH I thought ground loop also meant when you ground the same thing in two different places. Like 2 amps at dfferent ground spots. Or an amp and a cap. I was under the impression you should only ground at one central location
 
fordsvt98 said:
oH I thought ground loop also meant when you ground the same thing in two different places. Like 2 amps at dfferent ground spots. Or an amp and a cap. I was under the impression you should only ground at one central location
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Well that is an ideal situation... but how many installs are you going to run the ground for the radio all the way back to where the amps are being grounded at.....? I usually do a central ground for amps, caps, and multiple amp installs like you were saying.... The problem doesn't occur though from grounding your amps in separate locations... it occurs because the source unit is grounded on the chassis in a different location than your amplifiers giving it a different ground potential. RCA's with crappy shielding can also add to the effect of alternator whine, and depending on where they were ran as well... I've also heard that installers have added an additional 4 awg ground to 4-channel systems from the (-) terminal at the battery to the fender and it has helped them get rid of alternator whine :shrug:

Just do a google search for ground loop...
Some of these sites do a better job of explaining it than I do....

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/groundloop/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)
 
So...not trying to resurrect this thread from the dead, but I thought I would let ya'll know that I solved the problem. Pretty sure it was the amp because I bought a brand new Kicker 400.1 and it worked fine in the trunk. I ended up rewiring everything so my amp is now under my passenger seat. I definitely need to get a better sub now...cuz I need something that hits a bit harder and that can handle the wattage. Any suggestions of a good 10" or 12" that can handle 400W rms on a 2-ohm load? I am willing to spend $100-$200...but it needs to hit pretty good, sound clear and handle the power. Thanks for all that have helped!
 
Haha...yes you were. If I would of had the dough at the time you said that, the problem would of been solved a lot sooner. Thanks mangs
 
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