[hothead_steve]

hey - doing my first install in my corsa. everything is going ok but i dont know where to fix the ground lead from my amp. I know its got to be somewhere where its not painted but where.
help would be much appreciated.

 

[corsalover]

I took the seat bolts out of the centre of the back seats, sanded it with some wet and dry, stuffed the cable in there, and tightened the seats back down. Worked fine. Hope this helps!

 

[Nigel]

With your earth you need to mkae sure it is connected to bear metal no paint or anything on as above the seats are genrally a good place

 

[Exclusiv 1.4]

Yes I'm going to ground mine to the seat bolts this time, on my last amp I grounded it to the bolt's on the bracket where the seat's clip into when they are in the up position, it was neat as it was hidden behind the trim but a pain to get to.

 

[MediaManiac]

Don't just jam the wire between 2 places and tighten it up! You should have a crimp terminal on the wire and bolt it down somewhere free of paint.

The better the earth, the better it will perform and if it doesn't have a good connection then it could get hot and possibly start a fire!

Play it safe kids! :thumbs:

 

[Exclusiv 1.4]

Like MM says use a crimped terminal, you usualy get these with your amp wiring kit

 

[ka$h]

If not, then a ring crimp is only pennies from RS or Maplin.

Really, 5-6p is the cost. It's well worth it!

 

[corsalover]

Media Maniac - quite agree that the better the earth, the better the performance, but trying to get a ring terminal for 16mm earth lead isnt the easiest. To get the best earth, use fatter earth wire, rather than the skinny stuff that comes with most amp wiring kits.

Earth leads simply complete the circuit, and there is no heat generated what so ever. I run 16mm earth from a Rockford 278RMS amp and a 5 channel Kenwood amp and its stone cold all the time as would be expected, and i drive it hard.

 

[johnny 5]

i just installed my amp right, and also grouonded the earth under the seat bolts. they are a right ass to get under. anyway,i found the official grounding point, its near the seat bolts,but under the carpet under the back seats. i only found this after i bloody mounted my earth! :x probably a better mounting point,as it must be paint free.

Anyway,how the **** did u all get ur power lead through to the battery? i tried squeezing it through the existing grommet behind the glovebox like some of u have claimed to have done, but i couldnt get mine to fit. :? :x i just cut the grommet in half, making it fit better and whack **** loads of vaseline ontop to seal out the water. gay. :x

 

[MediaManiac]

Earth leads simply complete the circuit, and there is no heat generated what so ever.

Yes, the earth lead does complete the circuit. It's a return path for the current which flows through the wiring and is just important as getting a good power connection. If you have a high resistance in your earth return then it will generate heat.

If you wiring is rated correctly then there should be no problem but underrated wiring and bad earth connections are a fire hazard with that kind of current passing through them.

 

[johnny 5]

If you have a high resistance in your earth return then it will generate heat.

If you wiring is rated correctly then there should be no problem but underrated wiring and bad earth connections are a fire hazard with that kind of current passing through them.

so is a bad earth connection create high resistance? so if my amp heats up,does that mean i have a bad earth connection? doesnt current pass through my amp cretaing heat,hence the heatsink? im confused? i thought an amp was meant to get hot when used? my headunit one def does?! i will check after a long period of use for heat.

 

[ka$h]

It will get hot anyway. A bad earth path will increase this causing overloading and can lead to failure of components inside!

 

[Sel The Don]

Jonny 5, that grommet was a right pain in the arse, what I used was a Long screwdriverto open the hole, and got a mate to feed he cable through. It took me two days to install my amp and sub, the main problem was getting the head unit out!!

 

[johnny 5]

yeah,that grommet is a right pufta. what i think i will do to sort out my wires properly is to drill another hole near the current one,just to feed the power cable through. i will stick a grommet on it to keep the water out,all good.

 

[corsalover]

I used a coathanger to poke it through. Then attached a long thin wire to the hanger with tape, then had my power lead attached to the thin wire with more tape. That way the whole gets gradually bigger. Done it twice like this with no probs at all. :lol:

 

[bling]

i just installed my amp right, and also grouonded the earth under the seat bolts. they are a right ass to get under. anyway,i found the official grounding point, its near the seat bolts,but under the carpet under the back seats. i only found this after i bloody mounted my earth! :x probably a better mounting point,as it must be paint free.

Anyway,how the f**k did u all get ur power lead through to the battery? i tried squeezing it through the existing grommet behind the glovebox like some of u have claimed to have done, but i couldnt get mine to fit. :? :x i just cut the grommet in half, making it fit better and whack sh*t loads of vaseline ontop to seal out the water. gay. :x

any one got any pictures of this official earthing point ?

or could someone explain i lttile more where it can be placed ?

 

[johnny 5]

lift up ur rear bench and then lift up the carpet under the rear bench. Last time i saw it, it was a large bolt with lots of wires going into it. it aint very acessible tho coz u gotta run ur earth cable from ur boot to this point. better of grounding under the bolt of the back seats - in ur boot, remove the boot carpet, then u will see the point where the back seats pivot on when u fold them down. this pivot is held down by large bolts, undo these bolts, give the area a good scraping with a screwdriver and also sand paper, then tuck the ground under the seat. the rear seats are heavy and once the bolt is bolted down again, the ground wire will be very secure.

 

[sburrows]

I got a big circle connector and attached the ground to my rear seat bolts (after I had removed the paint with sandpaper) - works a treat, it's a really 'clean' earth connection :thumbs:

 

[ultim8DTM5]

Ring terminal (or crimp) to a large bolt which is attached to the chassis is the best option.

 

[N417H4N]

Anyone used the rear back seat to earth? I've used some wire wood to get the black paint off n smooth it dwn