The infamous battery vs frame ground

I would like to ask carstereo.com how they feel about this issue. I have done a lot of reading and people are for both sides. I am no electrical expert or car audio wizard but my opinion is to ground directly to the battery. My opinion is that a well placed 0 gauge wire running directly from the battery to the amp would be much better. I know for a fact that although everything grounds to the frame there can still be a lot of resistance through the frame... every weld, rust spot etc. I also know that the 0 gauge wire has very little resistance because it has a very large number of small copper wires and do to the uhhhh "something about electricity flows on the surface law" it has a very good connection. I know that the conductivity of the copper is a heck of a lot better than steel. I also know that a dedicated ground wire can also be useful when installing a second battery in the back with the amp to provide a great connection. What side does car stereo take on the subject?

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There is only one true physical ground in a vehicle application and that is the negative terminal on the main battery , disconnect it and every thing stops ,unless there is another battery in line, the frame and body are both grounded to the battery, so instead of bouncing off have a dozen parts thourgh a frame that is comprised of many different materials such as poly , plastic , rubber body mounts etc. running a dedicated ground is the best way.

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 i totally agree

I agree with you man all the way.

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 Really

you two guy's would never set up anything for me. 1st have either of you heard of the big 3 ? 2nd all auto's I know of the alt grounds thru the block to the frame with a small flat strip of wire,so if thats not a good enough example think or look up ground loops cause running a ground from the battery all the way to the back of the auto is crazy lol. look at any install manual for your amp and I'll bet it say's your ground should b 18 in's or less...............................

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 RE: Really

quote:

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Originally posted on 02-01-2011 by oldtimer

you two guy's would never set up anything for me. 1st have either of you heard of the big 3 ? 2nd all auto's I know of the alt grounds thru the block to the frame with a small flat strip of wire,so if thats not a good enough example think or look up ground loops cause running a ground from the battery all the way to the back of the auto is crazy lol. look at any install manual for your amp and I'll bet it say's your ground should b 18 in's or less...............................

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 aw come on

well atleast the original questionier has some electrical knowelge, But you only answered 1 part of the question, and if the so called dedicated ground is better than answer me this why do all amp manafactures say keep your ground under 18 inches Huh ?

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 RE: Really

quote:

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Originally posted on 02-01-2011 by oldtimer

you two guy's would never set up anything for me. 1st have either of you heard of the big 3 ? 2nd all auto's I know of the alt grounds thru the block to the frame with a small flat strip of wire,so if thats not a good enough example think or look up ground loops cause running a ground from the battery all the way to the back of the auto is crazy lol. look at any install manual for your amp and I'll bet it say's your ground should b 18 in's or less...............................

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 I agree

Thank's for your reply and I am not argueing that the ground is the battery, my argument or opinion is that ever since the 70's when I was into Cb radio shootouts till today every amp manual ive seen say's not to exceed 18 inches from the amp to the ground,and yea even your bike has a frame weld's and other parts that 1 of the guy's were saying would not give u a good ground,maybe Im not being precise enough But I belive you know what I mean.

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 RE: aw come on

quote:

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Originally posted on 02-01-2011 by oldtimer

well atleast the original questionier has some electrical knowelge, But you only answered 1 part of the question, and if the so called dedicated ground is better than answer me this why do all amp manafactures say keep your ground under 18 inches Huh ?

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 aw come on

man U can do your system anyway you like Im not on here to argue opinions,true cars were made of alot better metal back in the 70's than today, but I know Ive looked at more install manuals than I care to try and remember and they all said keep your ground wire as short as possibile,But you know I am curious to 1 thing how many trophy's have you won as Ive won several, but as the old saying goes to each his own

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From what I have seen (older cars = good ground anywhere lol) the newer cars are ok for lower wattage systems to ground to metal frame but people who have higher wattage systems put their extra batts in the trunk and ground directly to the batt rather than the frame.As far as running the - of the amp to a battery in the front i have seen that as well but not on lower power amps.

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Run a system from a dedicated ground (which makes the circuit twice the length) for 6 months while monitoring the resistance from end to end of the cable. See how long it stays the path of least resistance, if it happens to be that in the 1st place.

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 older was better

Yea Bud ur right the older the better when it comes to what they were made from look at some of the 50's old lead sleds they use to call them lol now they were steel not recyeled alumium.And like you ive seen alot of things done That I would not do but they worked for them so what can I say lol,But I do have 1 question for you what wattage are you saying as I use to run over 10k in my truck and it was grounded to the frame.true enough that was a cb amp not a stereo or a sub amp but still 10k is a fair amout of power.So im just wondering what are u calling lower wattage?. heck im 53 and I let my system Thump and get a kick out of the look's on youner peeps faces when they pull up beside me and see im not a young man lol.

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 Why they recommend short wires.

I hate to break it to you. JK but as everyone knows every single company out there is doing everything in their power to make more money. I guarantee you the only reason they recommend shorter wires is because the amp wiring kits they produce have short ground wires and less wire = less cost = more profit. The companies know that they can slip by with just using the frame ground because that used to be enough. Heck if they could tie into the tail lights then I bet you they would. I know this is not always the case but I think it is true for most cases.

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 wow

ok so 40 yrs ago when they were saying use as short a ground cable as possibile was to make more profit's lol man you are like alot of folk's you will try and justify your idea anyway you can.your a new member and most likely new to car audio too , forget what ive tried to tell you listen to the guy's that have been in it quite awhile . there here trying to help you new guy's out. what is that formular 1 hardhead = 1 empty pocket lmao

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