Mailbox Hunter

Sorry, quick question, wheres the most efficient place to ground an amp in the hatch area?

chads89ta

iTrader: (6)

under the rear panels in the hatch area there is a pinch weld, sand the area down to metal drill hole then bolt ground wire to it

mtwlkn122

...thats what i did...then run your cables so you cant see anything. I have two amps tho. I think i drilled a 3/8 hole and used a 3/8 bolt nut and lock washer(thats the ring terminal size for most 4 gauge wire)

Mailbox Hunter

any other way than doing that?

crytical point

Not really you will have to drill a hole and strip to metal for a good ground. If not then you amps will perform badly or cause some other problems down the road.

IROCKET4U

There is another option: Since your running the power wire back from the battery why not run a ground back from the battery too?

mtwlkn122

haha i guess some ppl can call that an option. At the price for 4 gauge or better a foot i wouldn't even consider doing that. Its so much easier and causes you a lot less problems if you just drill a hole and bolt that baby down. TO TOP ALL THAT you want the shortest ground as possible. The shorter your ground is the better off your going to be. If your stressing out about drilling a hole...dont. Its only a hole. Thats part of customizing/repairing a car. I mean dont go around making your car a big swiss block.

Al Hasse

This keeps the ground wire short and decreases the chance of ground loops. Mine is grounded to the floor of the well where it starts to turn up toward the hatch. Instead of a lock washer, use a star washer which will bite into the metal as the bolt is tightened.

-srs-

Good contact is so important. Star washers do a great job. Ground loops are caused by unequal potential between grounding points. That ground point starts at the amp. Wire guage, quality, length all affect the potential of the ground. What sucks is that if you get all of those things right and choose a bad place to attach that ground you can cause yourself problems. Even worse is that you can do EVERYTHING right but if you have a bad/weak ground at the battery you can have a loop.

87350IROC

iTrader: (2)

Any issues with using one of the grounds already in that area? I'm putting an amp in the spare tire well and there is a ground there for the rear defroster. The amp is only a 200 watt rms 4 channel with 8 gauge wire.

firebird904

I grounded my amp with the bolt inside the panel where the rear seat belt is and ive had it like that for about 6 months and it works great i sanded it down to the bare metal first then just bolted it down with the seatbelt's bolt

rough

You can put your amp in the spare tire area, drill a few holes, run your wires, looks clean plus no one can see where your amp is.

acadburn

I know quite a few people who use the seat belt bracket and ground right to

that is usually a very good option ... remember to remove the paint wherever you ground to it will help a lot

grounding to the battery is always a very good option and wire really isnt all that expensive. remember your ground wire going back to the battory needs to be at least as big as the power wire

also you can never have to many grounds if you think your ground isnt good enough simply make a 2nd

Prettymuch2cool

Im going to have to agree that the best place is hooked up to the seatbelt bolt. I install custom electronics and thats where I have always put the ground on camaros and firebirds.

Mailbox Hunter

anyone think it would be a good idea to mount the amp under the driver seat, ground the the driver seatbelt (or even the seat bracket for that matter), and just run the speaker wire back? I think that would be less hassle then running all the wires back the the trunk. Thoughts?

V6F1R3BRD

Now why didn't my slow @*# think of that. my amp has one of those sound filters that i change depending on the music i have playin... could reach under the frikin seat and switch instead of stopping the car, getting out, poppin the hatch, folding the seat down.... well u get the point .

Mailbox Hunter

so i take it, it should be good to do =]
i started running the wires, and well 34d outside
anyone else have any thoughts?

ClickClickVroom

Check in the glove box/compartment area in the rear. I think there was a predrilled hole I used for one of my grounds there.

Mailbox Hunter

im trying my best to divert running unnecessary wires =]. the less the better.

ps, i LOVE how the sky reflects off your hood in the pic, very artistic, and sharp

ClickClickVroom

yeah I hear ya. I have yet to clean up my wiring. I imagine I'll just tuck it under the box or something :P

and thanks. That was with a 55mm Macro lens I got not too long ago. It makes a decent portrait lens, and I can't decide if i like that shot or not. Too cluttered in the background. But I had just washed the baby, and I didn't feel like driving to an empty parking lot.

1ADan

iTrader: (4)

I had used the seat belt bolt like most have mentioned when I installed my amps in place of the back seat. When I was running an older setup in the hatch, I used one of the bolts holding the manual hatch latch. Not the most ideal spot, but never had any issues.

krisb410

iTrader: (9)

I have a 4 channel amp mounted under the seat, grounded to one the studs for the seat. My sub amp is mounted in the rear glove box and is grounded on one of the tail light bolts.

Mailbox Hunter

i tried running to the bolt, but the damn amp didnt fit under the seat like ide like it to. so i put it in the trunk ofthe high flat area and i mounted it to the the rear seat belt bolt.
works like a charm!



thank you for all the support!

8t2 z-chev

I mounted a fairly big "old skool"amp along with a few
terminal strips and other parts under the driver's seat
-cut out the carpet underneath and made a mounting
plate,was quite a bit of room,2 more amps are in the
LH lockbox area.

Tpx

I grounded my two amps in the hatch area on the metal supports parallel to either the left or right quarter panels. There are metal bars running vertical and you can drill a hole in there.

If you look closely you can see a fugly dent on my passenger side quarter panel, right behind the dent are the supports i'm talking about. It's also the reason it's not an option for me to bang that dent out

3rdgnberlinetta

u dont have to drill anything. just a washer and strip more wire out take that thru he hole of the washer and take one of the blck plastic light screws off your rear lights and attach the washer on the bolt and screw it back on.it will work perfect,i worked at a sound shop and thats how i ground every camaro,im running 4000 watts of just bass power ans have no issues at all,just make sure you use the right gauge of wire

NEEDAZ

I can't believe what some people think is a good ground these days...

V6F1R3BRD

i know right.. i don't like the idea of finding a random bolt and just tightening it down.. some are good, but your tailight? wtf man. find a good hidden area, sand to bare metal, drill it and use a star/locking washer. don't be lazy and just do it right. its better in the long run. And 3rdgnberlinetta, if you worked at a sound shop and did it that half-a**ed, i hope you got fired real quick.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

Hey guys,

I noticed the other day when I was installing stereo that the battery is grounded to a point on the engine block. It seems like that would cause a ground loop if your trying to ground to sheetmetal in the rear of the car.


What I've done with cars that actually have a full frame is ground my battery to the front part of the frame and ground my amps straight to the frame in the rear, hence no ground loop.

I'm thinking about running a ground off my battery and going straight back to the spot (metal brace in the rear) to strengthen that ground.

NEEDAZ

Ground to big, thick metal. As long as you do that at the amp and deck, and you got the big 3, you shouldn't have to worry about ground loops. If you are worried, you can run a ground from the deck back to where you have the amp grounded, but shouldn't need to.

redcamaro83

woooooooooo back from the dead...... in time for halloween.

A little info:

our body ground is that piece of measly black 10-12ga wire that bolts up near the fender. installing an amp? replace that while ur at it. running more than 2-300 watts? run at LEAST an 8ga cable from alternator power terminal to your battery (yea that other small red wire going to the battery is your charge wire) terminal.

Now for amp wiring. rule of thumb: ground wise, keep it short and as large as possible. plenty of holes around under hatch panels seats etc sand the area prior to bare metal bolt it up an BAM!! you'll be bumpin away in no time.

My name is sparky and i approve this message......lol

1ADan

iTrader: (4)

i agree. the "big three" should always be one of the first electrical upgrades done on any car, especially when a stereo upgrade is involved. bat to ground, block to ground, and bat to alternator. the stock wiring was sufficient for a stock car; adding any additional circuits (especially when talking a high draw amp setup) will start to show the weaknesses of the factory setup real quick

evilemokid94

iTrader: (6)

i used my spare tire mounting point. works good for me

alicat

I ground my amps to the rear seat mounting bolts,the bottom ones,and run the cables
up behind the seat back.Everything is nicely hidden.

Alicat.

89firechicken89

i grounded mine to the seat bracket