Star 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=30710
Printed Date: September 13, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Topic: Star Ground
Posted By: Trent109
Subject: Star Ground
Date Posted: April 19, 2004 at 10:16 PM
I posted the topic, not enough boom for my buck, and one thing i noticed is, i dont think my ground is right, so i started to read one of my books on stereo equipment(Auto Audio, Second Edition) and it use the term Star ground, could someone shine some like and tell me what exactly a star ground is?
Thank You
Trent Hamilton
Replies:
Posted By: Ketel22
Date Posted: April 19, 2004 at 10:19 PM
im not completely sure but they may be refering to a star washer.. it looks like a star and digs itself into the metal when you tighten it down. used to achieve a much better ground. ------------- Quad L Handyman services
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: April 19, 2004 at 10:36 PM
More likely, a star ground, in this reference, means connecting everything electrical in the system to one single point, but not touching the car's chassis at all... alternator, battery, sources, amps, processors, everything. In a wiring scheme such as this, there is NO way for ground loops to develop, as long as there is absolutely only ONE point of ground (current return), the car's chassis carries NO current over it... It is dificult to acheive, because almost all of the components you will install (most amplifiers today do not have common chassis grounds, though) will share a ground with the chassis of the component. Because if this, it is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve a true star ground in the automotive environment. It can be done, but it is imperative that the chassis of all of your components are electrically isolated from the car ground. If you pay careful attention to your wiring paths, as are careful with your grounding methods, a star ground will not be necessary.
-------------
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."
Posted By: flynntech
Date Posted: April 20, 2004 at 1:03 AM
When I worked at the stereo shop...I always made my own grounds with the 'flap wheel' and dremel. Most of the other installers just threw some self-tappers in there....it worked...but I couldn't bring myself to do it..especially with some heavy duty stuff. We had no star washers....so..that had to do. Almost all the installes I fixed were bad grounds.......rusty trunk latch bolt...whatever.... Total waste of time. If installers and DIYers just took the time to UNDERSTAND what they are doing....none of this would happen. The shop I worked at didn't care....they payed me $7.50 to start, I guess that's good pay for installers....They didn't even look at the work I did or really seem to care if I did it right or wrong. Lucky for them...I knew exactly what I was doing and never messed up a single car. Some installers were 18, barley had a grip on what they were doing and made....$6.50 an hour. That's kind of messed up that someone working at McDonalds can earn more money than someone working on expensive cars and installing high dollar equipment. I can understand if it's somekind of apprenticeship program, but nobody was teaching anything! There was one guy there who was 'still learning how to wire subs' after working there for a year.......that's downright sad. Anyone can visit this website and 'learn to wire subs' in 5 minutes. I know there are more than a handful of GOOD shops out there who wouldn't tolerate such novesty for a second........but they are all too often overshadowed by the 'free install wars'....$1 installs...why don't these people try to take some pride in thier work? Oh well, Ground your battery, engine and connect your amp ground to 'primary chassis parts' with FRESH grounds......by fresh I mean clean it up good or relocate or both. Sometimes the POS wire from the alternator can be upgraded too......try the grounds and then that, or all at once. That star grounding stuff is a bunch of crap, that's for people who don't know how to wire electronics properly. I've seen people try it with all thier gear wired to one place...HU, amps,eq.....Oh it makes me laugh....
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: April 20, 2004 at 9:34 AM
Isn't that what I just said? <grin>
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: April 20, 2004 at 10:08 AM
Right on, flynntech, especially your comment about people understanding what they're doing before they just jump in. I can't tell you how many times we answer the same questions over and over on this forum. If people would take the time to do their research I'd bet more than half the idiodic installs and burned up equipment out there would cease - and if they are on this forum, they obviously have web access and they might want to learn how to use Google! There is some sort of generic misunderstanding about car audio that it is "easy" or "simple" whjen in fact it is neither of those. In any case, the lack of professionalism in the install world is quite a shame. That, and people who act like they know what they're doing when really they have not a clue. ------------- Support the12volt.com
|