redmax95se

Hi all i want to know is where do people ground their amps. Got a 4 gen maxima. Please help. And do you bolt it or soilder it on? Please help...

cbrflyer919

pretty much all pros remove the bottom of the rear seat and use an eye connector and bolt on to the seat belt bolt

Tony Fernandes

That all depends where your amps are mounted!

Tony

victor

iTrader: (1)

i'd recommend that you to have the shortest ground wires wherever the amps are mounted. i'd pre-drill a hole and the use a bolt, something of a bigger diameter than a screw. maybe similar in diameter to the gauge of the wire your using. and make sure to scrape away the paint so the metal of the head of the botl rests on the metal.

you want the ground to be the same size of the power wire, as to allow for the amp(s) to draw as much voltage from the electrical system as possible. so the bigger the shorter the better in wiring.

so spend a lot of time on the ground.

jag5311

My amps are in the trunk on a board mounted to the back of the backseat. The ground i have is a 16 gauge wire, i believe, it may be 8 gauge (which is what my power wire is) and it is only like 1 1/2 foot long attached to the top of the trunk, right where one of the holes that can hold a bolt is. that is how mine ground is attached.

bryan

Tony Fernandes

Well, you know the old saying...if it aint broke don't fix it. But seriously, that doesn't sound like the best place to ground. Victor gave the best advice, I would follow it if I were you. Do you have any noise in your system? Most likely it's from a bad ground.

Tony

jag5311

I am not sure if you are following me exactly, i didn't describe it very well. I do not have any noise. it sounds great. If you were to lay down in the trunk with your stomach facing the sky, and you looked right above, that metal top, or whatever where the speakers poke through and there are holes here and there on it. One of the holes is made for bolting something. So the ground is mounted there with a bolt. I hope that clears it up. The guy who did it is an electrical engineer and works with cars quite a bit. (wiring in cars) so i pretty much assume he knows what he is doing.

Tony Fernandes

Victor coudn't have stated the grounding theory any better in his post. If you're not having any problems I wouldn't worry about it. At the very least, I would make sure your ground is to bare metal. In other words, grind off the paint at the grounding point to get the best contact.

If I would have done it I would have routed the wire to the trunk floor under the carpeting or near the spare tire. But if you're happy with the sound, or the lack thereof, then you should be fine.

Tony

noleafclover

sounds like you're talking about the holes that are there to bolt on these things that hold baby seats in.

jag5311

i may try grinding off some of that paint like you said. Well, one reason i probably don't hear any noise is because the only amp that is ON and grounded is the amp for my subwoofer. I have a kenwood that i will use to power my 4 speakers, but i took the fuse out for now since i have nothing connected to it.


Now that i think about it, the ground wire i have been talking about is to my amp. There is a ground for the eclipse cd player, and i can't think of where it is attached to. hmm. Im trying to remember if we brought that ground wire all the way back to the trunk. Either way, it must be correct if i am not having problems.

thanks

bryan

victor

iTrader: (1)

i would probably move that ground, if you have a chance. i don't know how good it could be, but the best place is the chasis of the car, so i'd do what tony said and go down to the trunk floor.

but like tony also said, if it ain't broke, there's not need to fix it. but you might be able to squeeze a little more juice out of your amp if you have a better ground.