I have a question for all you car stereo nuts out there....OK I heard that you are supposed to use a common ground for your amps and your head unit so that you won't have ground loops in your system. Which means not using you factory harness....Correct? I keep hearing different $hit about this from everybody?? Could someone please clear this up so I can tell my buddies to stop smoking crack.

 

every electronic unit should be grounded no longer than 10" from the body somwhere. clean bare metal connections and dielectric grease are a good idea.

 

If you have more than one amp, try to ground them all at the same location, as close to the amplifier(s) as possible.

For the head unit, yes, what you've red is the "proper" method. Run a thick ground wire from the deck to the trunk, and ground it next to the amps.

Now, back to reality. I've been installing for a long time, and I've never had to run a new ground for a deck. Just ground it at the factory harness, and you'll probably be fine. If you do get noise after it's done, you can run a new ground wire then if you have to.

 

Chris is right. Running the head unit ground all the way to the back isn't practical, and unless you use a very large gauge wire, it can actually create the problem you're trying to avoid (ground loop). In the very rare instance that you're getting noise through the deck, try running a 14 or 12AWG ground to the passenger kick panel area.

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On the radios in the systems I've done, I've also always used the factory power, memory, and ground from the harness.


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It's overkill dude. You shouldn't have a problem using the factory ground.

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