Grounding Help

mazda3uzr · 12-19-2004, 02:12 AM

Okay so i have a xbox, shuttle pc, and a clarion lcd with a pioneer HU with an aux-in adaptor. the xbox and shuttle are both running off a inverter. the inverter is powered through a 8awg cable direct to the battery and the ground is going straight to the battery - which is around 6 feet away. that is all i did for grounding, so what do i do now. i definately know i have a grounding problem because of the amount of noise i am getting. i am guessing i should run a common ground but question is what type of wire should i use and can i run them all off of one wire. so the wire would start in the trunk, then run to the xbox, then the shuttle, then the inverter, then the screen, then the deck, and then to the chasis or somewhere else. or should i run sperate wires for each and have them all meet at one place. and again, how thick should it be, i have been told as thin as 16 awg by some and as much as 8 awg by others. BTW, i am using a xantrex 300 watt inverter.

SAScooby · 12-19-2004, 02:57 AM

the negative pole of the battery is regarded as the noisiest ground of all, the alternator feeds directly into it, the body of the car shields / filters this additional noise out.

choose another common place (sand away the paint, bare the wires nicely and bolt all your grounds to this new common ground) should solve half your problems, if not all of them.

mazda3uzr · 12-19-2004, 03:36 AM

what type of cable should i use? i am assuming the deck, computer case and psu, lcd should all be fine with 14-16 awg. i guess i will need 10 awg or so for the inverter. please advise on the appropriate cable thickness and if my estimates are right

Matthew230 · 12-19-2004, 03:39 AM

I'm fairly certain that you need to do two things. Firstly you need to ground it to some other place than the battery. Secondly, and probably more importantly you need to run a ground from your audio gorund on the xbox to the audio ground on the HU. This will sort out most problems.

mazda3uzr · 12-19-2004, 04:12 AM

i am a bit conused. what do you mean by the audio ground on the xbox? what or where is the audio ground on an xbox? and also as for the HU, right now ther ground is hooked upto the ground wire on the harness. should i disconnect it from there and run a common ground from there and the xbox's "audio ground"?