Battery Ground

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=30523
Printed Date: July 07, 2025 at 11:15 AM

Topic: Battery Ground

Posted By: walty220
Subject: Battery Ground
Date Posted: April 16, 2004 at 9:53 PM

Does the ground off of my battery need to be the same guage as the weire going into the - terminal? My battery ground is a mere 18 guage wire. And would the groundpoint of my battery being 2 inches from my positive wire running to my trunk cause alternator whine or noise?? (last resort question, ive been told the basics)

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1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds
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Pioneer Premier DEH-P360
KICKER K35 & K410 Speakers
KICKER KX150.4 Amplifier
Rockford Fosgate PUNCH 1200W Amplifier
Rockford Fosgate PUNCH 800W 12" HE2

Replies:

Posted By: Ketel22
Date Posted: April 16, 2004 at 9:57 PM

your ground wire off of the battery should be equal to/or larger than the total of all the positive wires going to the electrical system.

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Quad L Handyman services

Posted By: walty220
Date Posted: April 16, 2004 at 10:02 PM

Would it affect the ground noise/alternator whine i've got going on?

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1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds
--------------
Pioneer Premier DEH-P360
KICKER K35 & K410 Speakers
KICKER KX150.4 Amplifier
Rockford Fosgate PUNCH 1200W Amplifier
Rockford Fosgate PUNCH 800W 12" HE2

Posted By: minitruck_freq
Date Posted: April 17, 2004 at 9:38 AM

altenator whine is usually caused by a bad ground. if it is possible...use a common ground location for everything. make sure u ground to bare metal. .

Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: April 17, 2004 at 10:50 AM

Agreed... YES upgrade the ground cable, but do not neglect the engine block to the chassis, either... That is the return path to the alternator. When you do the upgrade, be certain you have clean points to the chassis, then after making a secure connection TO those points, spray the ground points with an anti-oxidant (even black spraypaint will do on a pinch, but only temporarily...) and there is not much need to really go to the effort of grounding all to the same point, although it is the preferred method.

Does it seem to you as it does to me that the expensive way is ALWAYS the preferred method? posted_image

I don't believe the proximity of your ground to your positive is the CAUSE of your noise, but if you are running your amp ground all the way to your battery, rather than gounding to the chassis, within 18 inches of the amp, that may be contributing to the noise you are getting.

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."