Just out of curiosity, does anyone know the technical reason the ground cable from an amp is supposed to be as short as possible? The electricity has to flow from the amp, through the ground, through the body of the car, back to the negative of the battery, correct? If it has to go all the way back to the battery anyway, why does it need to be so short? Just curious. Thanx.
Because the longer the stretch of wire the more resistance that is added to the circuit. Basically the longer the ground wire the more chance you have to introduce a ground loop or a substantial drop in voltage or current. Remember depending on the amp a voltage drop of just a volt can cause a noticeable difference in the output of your amp.
also to add to that there is no way you can ever get a ground cable the size of your cars chassis. Basically the chassis of a car is one huge guage wire that transfers all the accesories grounds back to the battery . when grounding an amp or anything we want the same ground potenetial as the battery has so a shorter wire would be best choice being it has the least resistance.Even though the chassis is a huge conductor it can still vary electrical potential from the battery due to welds on the frame, paint,rust, all this causes resistance just as a longer ground cable would do and in audio we all want one thing and that is minimal resistance. less resistance = more voltage and more voltage well that equals more music and overall cleaner sound from your amps.
-------------
~°¥mobile_chick¥°~ mecp installer level (FEMALE) installer
To add to what mobile_chick 's post said.... it is a good practice to change your power and ground wire every time you see corrosion or oxidation in the wires as this will increase the resistance. Try to keep everything clean as possible and if mositure is in the wires replace ASAP.
-------------
Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA
there are no stupid questions just stupid answers, hopefully limited to other sites.
yea every question is neither stupid or should not have been said . if you dont know ask thats what things like this are here for. even installer veterins need help sometimes...
-------------
Jon
Installer/Help Technician
---coral springs florida---
mecp certification is not always needed. I have it and it has not helped me out at all. my experience out shines it.