choice of location for ground terminus

Hello:

Currently have the interior out of my 1994 Chevy K2500, 454 truck. Will be soundproofing shortly. This is a question for the techs regarding choice of termination of ground wire from a power amplifier.

This installation will include two amplifiers. Although I have a lot in the garage to choose from, my intention is to use a Soundstream Reference 705 and a Zapco AG360. Won't detail speakers, etc. here, as it is irrelevant to this topic.

I had my Soundstream Reference 405 (which was powering the system prior to stripping the interior) grounded by a 4 guage wire in a short distance to the floor sheetmetal. I think it would be more reliable, considering moisture may accumulate under the carpet and corrode the metal where the ground would attach, to run a ground wire of sufficient guage (appears from your table elsewhere on this web site that if I used a 2 guage wire it would do) to the battery ground post to make a better ground connection.

Am I remiss in this assumption?   Please advise. If you say it should ground via the shortest route to true ground, please suggest a way to reduce the chance of future corrosion from moisture at the sheetmetal attachment point. My query here relates to ground wire attachment point and distance from amplifier.

(Yes, I searched the site forums for this topic, and found no posts or threads using a number of different search queries)

Thanks,

Mike

-------------
Chronic, late stage optimist.

I usually use one of the seat bolts as a grounding point using a ring terminal large enough to put the bolt through.

I sand the paint all the way off the floor to SHINY METAL. then apply di-electric grease(to prevent corrosion) to the area as well as the ring terminal and place the bolt back in this order: floor, ring terminal, seat bracket, seat bolt. I use washers on other seat brackets to correct alignment if necessary.

IF you put the ring terminal on top of the seat bracket then make sure to sand both sides of the bracket also.

If it isnt that far to the battery then yes running wire to it for both power and ground is great.

Make sure that your ground wire guage is always the same or larger than the power wire.

-------------
Dodge Magnum in progress:
Pioneer DEH-80PRS - PPI Amps - Dayton Subwoofer(s) - Exodus Anarchy's - Vifa Tweeters - Kinetik Battery

I can't use the seat bolts. They are covered with insulation to prevent vibration. This is a truck.

I don't what is a reasonable distance from the battery ground to use that route. I would estimate the wire would run about 8 feet to that ground terminal.

Otherwise I have to use the floor sheetmetal in the cab.

-------------
Chronic, late stage optimist.

Hello fuster.  You may, as forbidden referenced in the grounding sticky, run a large gauge wire back to battery negative.  However, even a 2 ga. wire is not as efficient as the chassis of the truck, which is a larger mass than any ga. of wire you could use.  That's the basic reason why the recommendation of ground wire length from amplifier to chassis is to remain as short as possible.

Find a ground location near the two amps, and ground each one to a spot on the chassis that is close to the other ground.  In that way, you are not stacking one ground wire atop the other one and each amp has an excellent contact with the chassis.  The two grounds are located near each other to eliminate the possibility of creating a ground loop.  If you have to occasionally inspect for moisture presence in the ground location, consider modifying the carpet in that area so you can remove it easily for maintenance.

-------------
Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.