orbitalpunk

iTrader: (5)

hi guys, im installing a avic d3 and wondered where exactly did you guys find a adequate ground location up front? i had grounded my 3 grounds to the bracket that the white AC box mounts to but i think one of them is not proper. just wanted to get some pointers on some usable ground locations in that area of the car.

thanks guys

Takhteh

iTrader: (18)

i suggest taking off that entire center plastic, i.e. the one that goes around the parking brake, etc.. you will find multiple locations there for connecting ground directly to the car chassis..

just be CAREFUL if doing this for the first time, though, bc (1) the shift ****, shifter plastic will need to be removed, ashtray, couple misc screws/bolts, etc.. and there is a wire harness connecting misc. wires to that center plastic before you can pull it off (i.e., wiring to "hazards"). but once off, you can "pretty up" all the wiring you may or may not have going to the back of the Z, as well. so.. if planning on a build, get your parts in order before ripping apart your car.. OR just drive around town until you complete it like i did, having ppl think my stereo got jacked/and ride "broken into" or something, haha.. G/L!

orbitalpunk

iTrader: (5)

there aren't any grounds up front? just wanna be sure cause this will cause me to lengthen all my ground wires.

in the pictures is where i made my three grounds.

oh , and can i ground multiple wires together to the same bolt?

thanks so much

Takhteh

iTrader: (18)

I can't say for certain if those are good grounds. I used them, too, when I did my "first" install in the Z and everything worked out ok, but I used to get a little "shock" everytime I got out of the car! However, at the time, I was also using a lot more power than I am now... I think I had 2awg wire and ~120 amps powering two amps, one to comps and one to sub. Now I am using 60 amps w/4awg wire to power just one amp to comps. However, I am now using grounds found in that centered location I mentioned. For the radio, I loosened one of the bolts at the top of the shifter base (just remember to sand off the paint/area where you are going to ground!). But that is definitely car chassis.. lol.. and not too far from the radio hu. But yeah, you might need to lengthen the wire some if the hu manufacturer was a bit stingy on the wiring.

OR... another alternative: use the ground located up high and near the three cluster gauges. I know many have used this with "apparent" success, but I have yet to try myself.

Finally, wrt multiple grounding locations at the same spot.. I've heard mixed opinions on this topic, some saying it is actually better to do multiple grounds at the same point, while others say it is worse. I just always try and keep them separated, dunno if it really makes a difference, or is even right, but I am not getting shocked anymore and everything seems in perfect working order! And I may soon be forced to double-up on one or two of them anyways, though, so we'll see.

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

I use an interconnected star ground.

In the rear for the amplifiers and the CD player I use a rather large three lug grounding block to the center of the unibody.

For the head end, under-the-seat brain, and video monitor I use the factory dash ground located behind the triple gauge cluster.

I run a wire between both of those two system ground locations and then up through the firewall to the battery post.

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

To your question about multiple grounds on one lug.

Yes, ideally everything would be mounted side-by-side and very short ground wires would all connect to the exact same point very close to the battery. That's normally impossible as due to the nature of cars things like the antenna go in the back along with amplifiers and signal processors, the head-end, brain, and video screens have to go in the middle near the driver, and the battery fits well under the hood.

If you ground in three different points there's the potential (voltage!) difference in their resistance (ohms!) between each point. There are also likely signal wires connecting these guys together as well - RF for the antenna, video for the monitor, and audio for the brain, amplifiers, and head end. You don't want the large power currents traveling on signal wires - these are called ground loops.

So with my system I use short 12"-18" ground wires to connect to a local star point. Star points are then interconnected with nice fat 12 gauge wire shorting out any potential difference between the unibody, dash ground, and battery post. Most of the current will flow though those designated spots, any potential difference would be tiny between those points and made even less with my ground tie wire. Ideally there should be no current flow on the tie wire.