is this a good ground???

PonyPower96 · Oct 30, 2005

Hey guys, i just moved my battery outback and i couldnt find anywhere to ground my negative cable that would work fine. My first ground was drilling a hole through the trunk and i sanded the paint, but my voltage was on the L on the cars volt gauge. Finally, I ran it through the rubber grommet in the trunk and found an empty hole on the way edge of my fuel tank that was 3/8 on inch and ground it there and im on the halfway point on the gauge. My question is, is this safe? It sounds kind of dangerous by its on the way tip of the fuel tank when theres a thick metal piece.

jrichker · Oct 30, 2005

Rear mounted battery ground wiring. Follow this plan and you will have zero ground problems.

One 1 gauge or 1/0 gauge wire from battery negative post to a clean shiny spot on the chassis near the battery. Use a 5/16” bolt and bolt it down to make the rear ground. Use a 1 gauge or 1/0 gauge wire from the rear ground bolt to a clean shiny spot on the block.

One 4 gauge wire from the block where you connected the battery ground wire to the chassis ground where the battery was mounted up front. Use a 5/16” bolt and bolt down the 4 gauge engine to chassis ground, make sure that it the metal around the bolt is clean & shiny. This is the alternator power ground.

Crimp or even better, solder the lugs on the all the wire. The local auto stereo shop will have them if the auto parts store doesn't. Use some heat shrink tubing to cover the lugs and make things look nice.

The computer has a dedicated power ground wire with a cylindrical quick connect (about 2 ½”long by 1” diameter. It comes out of the wiring harness near the ignition coil & starter solenoid (or relay). Be sure to bolt it to the chassis ground in the same place as you bolted the alternator power ground. This is an absolute don’t overlook it item for EFI cars

2000xp8 · Oct 30, 2005

Ya, definetly don't skimp on the computer ground, it can cause problems later.

I just grounded the battery directly to the quad shock mount bolt.

fox racer · Oct 30, 2005

jrichker, excuse my ignorance, but ima alittle lost on what to do. if i put my battery int he trunk, i can ground it to the quad shock mount bolt (with 1 gauge wire). then use 4 gauge wire to go from that ground (quad shock) up to where the battery used to be mounted, but where should i attach it? and what is the alternator power ground?

TheUser · Oct 30, 2005

fox racer said:
jrichker, excuse my ignorance, but ima alittle lost on what to do. if i put my battery int he trunk, i can ground it to the quad shock mount bolt (with 1 gauge wire). then use 4 gauge wire to go from that ground (quad shock) up to where the battery used to be mounted, but where should i attach it? and what is the alternator power ground?

Might want to re-read his post again - that's not what he said. He said 1 or 1/0 from battery negative terminal to a spot close to the battery - the quad shock bolt would probably be sufficient if the spot is cleaned properly. Then run another 1 or 1/0 wire from the that wire (where ever it's mounted - quad shock, etc) to the engine block - timing cover where the stock ground was would be good after it's cleaned properly. Then you run a 4 gauge wire from that spot (timing cover or wherever it's mounted) to the spot on the fenderwell where the little chassis ground was mounted before - the chassis ground is the little 10-12 gauge wire that ran off of your negative battery cable to the chassis when the battery was in the stock location. After you drill the hole bigger and sand the area, connect your 4ga wire and the computer ground in that spot.

What he means by alternator power ground is that the alternator grounds it's self to the alternator bracket, which grounds to the rest of the motor, which grounds to the chassis via the negative battery cable and that little 10-12 chassis wire...only now it's grounding through the 4ga wire you will be attaching to the fenderwell (chassis ground location). A good alternator power ground will ensure the alternator charges properly.

Albrainya · Oct 30, 2005

I would run the ground cable (1GA) through the trunk floor and bolt it securely to one of the frame rails. then a ground strap from the engine block to the frame rail in the front.

PonyPower96 · Oct 30, 2005

so is my ground fine though since its running perfect right now? i tried to ground it to the frame rail but the bolts were to big for the terminal.

fox racer · Oct 30, 2005

TheUser said:
Might want to re-read his post again - that's not what he said. He said 1 or 1/0 from battery negative terminal to a spot close to the battery - the quad shock bolt would probably be sufficient if the spot is cleaned properly. Then run another 1 or 1/0 wire from the that wire (where ever it's mounted - quad shock, etc) to the engine block - timing cover where the stock ground was would be good after it's cleaned properly. Then you run a 4 gauge wire from that spot (timing cover or wherever it's mounted) to the spot on the fenderwell where the little chassis ground was mounted before - the chassis ground is the little 10-12 gauge wire that ran off of your negative battery cable to the chassis when the battery was in the stock location. After you drill the hole bigger and sand the area, connect your 4ga wire and the computer ground in that spot.

thats what i figured, thanks alot for clearing that up. when i do this project, i'll get lengths for all the wiring and have a local audio shop solder the terminals and stuff for me. thansk alot.

KDK1988GT · Oct 30, 2005

one other quick question..

another quick question about a trunk/hatch mounted batt.

How long of a ground should one use? Can u have one thats too long, or too short?

Thanks

mob · Nov 1, 2005

TheUser said:
Might want to re-read his post again - that's not what he said. He said 1 or 1/0 from battery negative terminal to a spot close to the battery - the quad shock bolt would probably be sufficient if the spot is cleaned properly. Then run another 1 or 1/0 wire from the that wire (where ever it's mounted - quad shock, etc) to the engine block - timing cover where the stock ground was would be good after it's cleaned properly. Then you run a 4 gauge wire from that spot (timing cover or wherever it's mounted) to the spot on the fenderwell where the little chassis ground was mounted before - the chassis ground is the little 10-12 gauge wire that ran off of your negative battery cable to the chassis when the battery was in the stock location. After you drill the hole bigger and sand the area, connect your 4ga wire and the computer ground in that spot.

What he means by alternator power ground is that the alternator grounds it's self to the alternator bracket, which grounds to the rest of the motor, which grounds to the chassis via the negative battery cable and that little 10-12 chassis wire...only now it's grounding through the 4ga wire you will be attaching to the fenderwell (chassis ground location). A good alternator power ground will ensure the alternator charges properly.

When you do that do you have to solder the wires to each other? or can you just put both wires in the same bolt?

So it should pretty much look like this? Where does the computer ground go to?
(Im trying to clean my engine bay up alittle bit, can i put that wire that went to the fender wall, on the firewall or somewhere hidden?, thanks

jrichker · Nov 1, 2005

The computer has a dedicated power ground wire with a cylindrical quick connect (about 2 ½”long by 1” diameter. It comes out of the wiring harness near the ignition coil & starter solenoid (or relay). Be sure to bolt it to the chassis ground in the same place as you bolted the alternator power ground. This is an absolute don’t overlook it item for EFI cars
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is this a good ground???

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