Establishing a good Ground...

[SynCity 2]

Well on my way to class i smelt something odd... thought it was the dump i was driving past. i pull in to CSN and i see smoke go by my face... so i turn around and my whole trunk is in smoke.... now aparently my ground was bad (pops said too much current). ran 2 amps into 1 ground, just tapped into one amp ground to get them both going (Ground was VERY HOT when the smoke appeared). So i went to Lowes and picked up some 1 gauge and it dont fit in my amp terminal. so i grabed some 2 gauge... FITS... yet the wire is VERY stiff and i cannot find any Ring Lug Connections for 2 gauge so i grabed some bolt connector things.... yet it does not give me a secure connection and i wind up just pulling the cable out with little effort. SO my question to you is what is the most effecent way to gain a GREAT ground? Should i just continue my search for Lug Rings in town/ Order them online? or can i do something with having a remote battery set in my trunk...?

Edited September 28, 2008 by SynCity

[jonbearsmt 919]

what kind and size are the two amps?

i ground to the frame,

along with t he big three it is a great ground.

sounds like your amps are toast now huh ?

[SynCity 2]

i got 2 pheonix gold Ryvals 1000w each. amps are great. no problems in that part. i just do not want to keep the ground being crappy and something horribly wrong happen. "anything worth doing is worth doing right". hmm... i guess i could use this 1 gauge for the alt.... also how do you tap into the frame? meaning what kind of connection (Lug Ring? Bolt? or what?)

[jonbearsmt 919]

if all is well where did the smoke come from?

[cx-7heaven 7]

Go to your local autoparts store, they should have 2 guage ring terminals there.

[manbeer 0]

you never wanna skimp on the ground, i made that mistake with the first stereo i ever had and for about 6 months the amp would shut off intermittently. eventually i replaced it thinking something was wrong and thats when i found it was just a bad ground. right now, for my 1000 watt monoblock i have a 1/0 ground in the trunk, mounted under another 1/0 that runs to another solid point under my back seat and then to an additional 4 gauge running from there to my firewall next to the battery where it grounds, which is attached with 1/0 to the firewall

Edited September 28, 2008 by manbeer

[dropkick13 0]

Go to your local autoparts store, they should have 2 guage ring terminals there.

yes but shy away from the cheap POS thin, gold plated crap. You want a heavy duty, industrial copper lug. Aluminum would be an ok substitute. Also make sure you properly crimp the lug. you should be able to pull on the lug with all your strength and not get it off.

For the ground, make sure you find the frame. Just use a bolt with washers, nuts, and maybe a star washer for extra bite into the metal. Clean the metal, sand it down, throw tons of dialectric grease on there and then secure your ground. Hit it with some underbody coating to keep the moisture and junk out.

[Duran 387]

I bought some 2/0 Gauge welders brass ring terminals and soldered them, they worked so much better then crimping.

[manbeer 0]

i use this kind of terminal, just like the clean look and i'm sure they conduct just fine. plus i had a bunch left over from old installs where i used to buy caps that came with these for free and just give customers the cheap terminals and keep these

Edited September 28, 2008 by manbeer

[SynCity 2]

Thank you all for your help

And yes the ground was getting way to hot heating up the carpet and causing smoke to rise.

Go to your local autoparts store, they should have 2 guage ring terminals there.

For the ground, make sure you find the frame. Just use a bolt with washers, nuts, and maybe a star washer for extra bite into the metal. Clean the metal, sand it down, throw tons of dialectric grease on there and then secure your ground. Hit it with some underbody coating to keep the moisture and junk out.

okay... i'm waiting for a friend to bring a good set of crimpers over. i got the underbody stuff, the dielectic grease, bolt, terminal ring connectors, and washers. so let me get this right. i found a place to put the ground cable so i sand it down to bare metal. drill hole, put grease on? screw in bolt with washer between ring terminal and bolt head? then use the undercoat all over it.... right?

Edited September 29, 2008 by SynCity

[johnecon2001 82]

Sounds like the ground is undersized and you have a poor connection there. Your ground wire should be the same size, if not bigger than your power wire.