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03-19-2007, 09:42 AM
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#1
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Newbie
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 55
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Ground to Negative???
I've read two seperate things and am unsure whats right.
Some people say you should connect the ground to the car chassi.
Others say the ground should connect to the Battery Negative terminal.
Basically I have an amp which has +12v, and a Ground. Additionally I also have an inverter which has + and - points.
I assume the ground and negitive points of both devices are the same thing just called different things.
I so then: What and where do I connect the negitive terminal of the inverter and the ground wire from the amp???
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03-19-2007, 09:44 AM
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#2
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Neither darque nor pervert
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Elsewhere
Posts: 12,911
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Either will work.
The idea behind grounding to chassis is creating a shorter ground path, which is easier to connect/disconnect, and involves less physical wire.
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03-19-2007, 10:02 AM
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#3
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Newbie
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 55
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just what I wanted to hear, thanks...
Why some devices refer to ground as negative, or negative as ground, I dont know...!
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03-19-2007, 10:09 AM
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#4
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FLAC
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Floreeda
Posts: 1,011
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negative isnt always ground. AFAIK...
we do have 3 prong plugs in our houses?
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(----) 0.0%
No more loot for the carpute.
Trying to fit my 20" iMac into the dash... RF 600.5 amp, two 10" JLW0, 8 Infinity Components
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03-19-2007, 10:37 AM
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#5
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Variable Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: missouri
Posts: 291
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Quote: Originally Posted by sdashiki  negative isnt always ground. AFAIK...
we do have 3 prong plugs in our houses?
The current in your house is alternating + and - that is the reason you use a third wire for the ground, for the purpose of preventing the item from getting fried due to an electrical surge from things such as lightning... Your vehical uses a direct curent, one wire will always be + and the other will always be -, the reason you "ground" your negative to the car chasis is due to the fact that the chasis is used for the negative in the cars electrical system...
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03-19-2007, 11:19 AM
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#6
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FLAC
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Floreeda
Posts: 1,011
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Duh, im stoopid, didnt even contemplate the AC/DC differences.
__________________
(----) 0.0%
No more loot for the carpute.
Trying to fit my 20" iMac into the dash... RF 600.5 amp, two 10" JLW0, 8 Infinity Components
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03-19-2007, 12:41 PM
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#7
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Variable Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: missouri
Posts: 291
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Quote: Originally Posted by sdashiki Duh, im stoopid, didnt even contemplate the AC/DC differences.
 Dont be so hard on yourself man....
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03-19-2007, 12:50 PM
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#8
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_
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Little Elm, Texas
Posts: 13,481
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The reason some people will ground to the negative battery terminal is that on average, the chassis of your car is only equivilant to about a 4 gua wire.
That and grounding to the battery eliminates the possibility of ground loops.
If you do ground to the chassis of the car be sure to follow proper procedure. Keep the ground as short as possible and be sure to scrape away any and all paint. Ground to bare metal and for petes sake, don't just use a metal screw for this. Use a nut and bolt.
Last edited by RedGTiVR6; 03-19-2007 at 03:03 PM.
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03-19-2007, 12:52 PM
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#9
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FLAC
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Maine
Posts: 937
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Quote: Originally Posted by RedGTiVR6 The reason some people will ground to the positive battery terminal
Positive?
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But don't take it from me! here's a quote from a real, live newbie:
Quote: Originally Posted by Viscouse
I am learning buttloads just by searching on this forum. I've learned 2 big things so far: 1-it's been done before, and 2-if it hasn't, there is a way to do it.
eegeek.net
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03-19-2007, 01:38 PM
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#10
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MySQL Error
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Beach City, Socal
Posts: 4,042
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Quote: Originally Posted by ijwalla I've read two seperate things and am unsure whats right.
Some people say you should connect the ground to the car chassi.
Others say the ground should connect to the Battery Negative terminal.
Basically I have an amp which has +12v, and a Ground. Additionally I also have an inverter which has + and - points.
I assume the ground and negitive points of both devices are the same thing just called different things.
I so then: What and where do I connect the negitive terminal of the inverter and the ground wire from the amp???
To confused you even more. In other place in the world, it also called Earth.
Ground, Negative, Earth are all the same thing (well for DC, it is.)
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03-19-2007, 03:01 PM
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#11
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Banned
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 984
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Quote: Originally Posted by MatrixPC To confused you even more. In other place in the world, it also called Earth.
Ground, Negative, Earth are all the same thing (well for DC, it is.)
And more. 0v or 0 volts. (again this would be for DC)
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03-19-2007, 03:03 PM
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#12
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_
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Little Elm, Texas
Posts: 13,481
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Quote: Originally Posted by evandude Positive?
ouch!
I was talking with Darque at the time about his install and the positive battery terminal.
Thanks for catching that. I've changed it.
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09-19-2007, 04:51 PM
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#13
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Low Bitrate
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Oxnard, CA
Posts: 83
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Distro block in the reverse to ground
Sorry to revive an old thread but I thought it would be better than to create a new one concerning the same thing.
So if I choose to ground directly to the negative battery terminal and I ground multiple devices I would think I could use a distribution block. Would that cause a problem using one in the reverse? I mean going from 8 gauge up to 4 gauge then to the negative terminal?
Thanks,
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09-19-2007, 05:48 PM
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#14
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 176
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Nope, using a distribuition block is fine, except that some distribuition blocks come fused. You generally don't want to fuse a earth/negative/ground so buy a non-fused distro block.
Also remember the wire going from the distro block to the battery MUST be the same guage as the positive/live wire. If for example you have two 8guage positive wires, you must use a 4 guage ground wire etc
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09-19-2007, 05:52 PM
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#15
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Low Bitrate
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Oxnard, CA
Posts: 83
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Awesome thats exactly what I needed to know.
Thanks BiG K!
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