Battery Ground

[CraigMBA]

I have my antenna and speaker wires in the sill, will the battery cable cause interference?

Probablly not. If you do have a problem, it'll be on AM because of inducted noise from the antenna. FM should be fine, and speaker wires are a non issue.

[vanzuuk1]

Thanks.Ihave had a few cars with "radio tach", buzzing that follows engine rpm through the speakers.

My retractable antenna is exactly where I want to mount the battery, its gonna be tight. crap.

[MonzaRacer]

Run a seperate ground to the engine block from the battery AND ground it in trunk. rought it opposite the positive wire.
In my monza I had a battery cutoff in therear pannel, then ran the positive to the starter solenid, then ran ground wire to the block/head.
AND I did all this in huge 2/0 welders cable.
I tried to ground it to the rear for the car but it gave me fits.
Ground ,ground and more grounds.
Also run small braided steel grounds from EVERY large piece of sheet metal in front end (fenders, hood ,inners fenders, firewall, etc.
This will lessen the alternator whine in some cars.
Good luck
Lee

[69ratfed]

I have grounds on my 69 that are in places they do not really need to be. After talking with the guy at M.A.D. Electric, proper grounding is vital to your charging system. Relays really do wonders for the electrical system as well.

[6'9"Witha69]

I have 2 grounds from block to firewall, 2 from firewall to frame, 1 from frame to battery, the big one from battery to block, and the solid motor mounts make another connection from the block to the frame. If I ever were to change to poly mounts I would run 2 more grounds from the block to the frame. All the modified electrical in the world is for naught without good grounds!

[parsonsj]

OK, guys.

Let's add to this thread. I've got a near finished car I'm doing the wiring for. (it came that way, so don't blame me, ok? ). Rear mounted battery, no grounds anywhere. No wire anywhere for that matter. Beautiful, gorgeous paint. One of the straightest, blackest paint jobs I've ever seen. And that paint is like that everywhere. Subframe, underbody, all surfaces.

My plan was to ground the transmission case to the subframe with a high quality strap style ground on both sides. The transmission case is painted, but I think I can get a good ground connection there.

So I've got some questions (remember the mega-expensive paint everywhere):

1. How would you guys ground to the subframe? I was considering installing rivet nuts, and bolting the strap that way. Would that method provide enough surface area for a good ground?

2. What would you go about grounding all the loads? I hate to grind away all the paint every time I ground something. Would self-tapping metal screws be good enough? Or if the paint must be removed for a good ground everywhere, how would you go about it?

3. The ECM is grounded to the block. Will my transmission double ground method be good enough for that?

4. Any other ideas? Anybody here dealt with a beautifully finished car that you have to drill holes in?

jp

[wmhjr]

I've dealt with a finished car needing holes and wiring. Not a unibody with subframes, but....

Obviously, YMMV as you guys are focused on unibody based F-Body cars with subframes. I'm guessing that even with subframe connectors, solid ground via the "frame" from back to front may not be as good as in a full perimeter framed car like what I have. However...

Trunk mounted battery. From negative battery terminal I used 0/1 gauge to this connector: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/LNG-45700/ . The connector is mounted out of the way in the trunk floor where it really cannot be seen (next to the battery). Underneath the car I used 0/1 gauge directly to the frame. All main power and ground in the car uses Taylor 0/1 gauge cable, and these cable ends http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TAY-21414/ . In the front of the car I also used 0/1 gauge with those ends, going directly from the frame to the block. I also have a ground bus bar under my dash, connected via 12 gauge wire directly to battery ground. It is also connected to the cowl. There are a few more ground straps on the car just for kicks. All frame ground contacts are both cleaned of powdercoating to bare metal, drilled, tapped, and then dielectric grease on the threads of what I'm connecting. I used an exacto knife to carefully remove paint on body parts getting a ground connection, and then used self tapping screws. I've measured resistance all over the car, and I have very good ground everywhere. All this with only one hole in the trunk, finished very nice with the Longacre connector.

[parsonsj]

I've used those connectors in the past, and I'll need some for the ISIS main power feeds too. Longacre makes good stuff.

jp

[1969CamaroRS]

I'd probably grind them to bare metal, use a star washer for some bite and some dielectric grease to keep corrosion at bay.