Does the computer case have to be grounded to the chassis? Why not float it.

**nobb** · 07-27-2006, 12:07 PM

Hi.
I have not yet installed a carputer yet, and I am still in my planning stages. I have a computer set up and I tried powering it off my inverter to test everything out. The inverter was powered off a ATX computer power supply so I could see if the computer would run from the inverter off a 12 volt supply ok. The inverter I am using has its AC ground plugs not connected to anything and I was wondering if this might be a problem to my computer if it were to be used in my car (static electricity maybe?). I have read alot about people connecting their computer's case to the car chassis for ground. However, when I connected my multimeter to my computer case and the negative terminal on the inverter, it showed an electric potential of 0.1 volts. Should I still ground the case to the chassic of my car when I install the computer? The computer runs fine without the case grounded, so maybe should I just leave it that way?

**DarquePervert** · 07-27-2006, 12:13 PM

If it works, don't fix it.

**parksgm** · 07-27-2006, 12:18 PM

Some AC inverters don't ground their outputs properly...that's likely why you are seeing a voltage difference.

I found a 20 volt (!) difference between my chassis ground and my inverter ground...and I wasn't aware it existed until I noticed that everytime I touched the any audio or video ground connected to the computer and my metal gearshift at the same time, there was a nice tingle that ran up my arm. Thank goodness it was only 20volts...

I agree with Darque. Don't fix it.