Best grounding point for amplifier ? 1997 Lexus ES300 (3ES)
10-20-13, 09:06 PM
#1
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Best grounding point for amplifier ? 1997 Lexus ES300 (3ES)
I currently have two amplifiers in my car (one for the subs and one for the 4 door speakers).
When I installed my car audio equipment I really didnt know much about grounding points, and what problems a bad ground could cause.
Both of my amplifiers are currently in the trunk of my car, I have the amps grounded in the trunk as well. The location of the ground points is kind of hard to explain without a camera, but I will atleast try.
On each side of the trunk, you can remove the plastic guard type thing (the plastic cover that sits right where the real tailights are) once I got those out of the way, I pulled the siding (carpet like material) off the side walls looking for a ground point. I found a screw that was on both sides of the trunk (same location, but on both sides of the trunk). I unscrewed this screw and used sandpaper for a good 30 minutes. I never really could see any metal coming through even after sanding for so long (the part I sanded is a very rough type of metal).
Regardless of all this, I still grounded my amps on both sides of the trunk to these screw locations and then tightened them as far and hard as I could.
NOW...there is a faint noise coming through my speakers, and I honestly believe it is because of a bad ground (ground loop ??)
Does anyone know of the best location to ground amplifiers in the (3ES) trunk ? I saw the other thread that is in the DIY main thread showing how another user of this forum grounded his amp...but I just want to be extra safe and ask others.
Thanks
When I installed my car audio equipment I really didnt know much about grounding points, and what problems a bad ground could cause.
Both of my amplifiers are currently in the trunk of my car, I have the amps grounded in the trunk as well. The location of the ground points is kind of hard to explain without a camera, but I will atleast try.
On each side of the trunk, you can remove the plastic guard type thing (the plastic cover that sits right where the real tailights are) once I got those out of the way, I pulled the siding (carpet like material) off the side walls looking for a ground point. I found a screw that was on both sides of the trunk (same location, but on both sides of the trunk). I unscrewed this screw and used sandpaper for a good 30 minutes. I never really could see any metal coming through even after sanding for so long (the part I sanded is a very rough type of metal).
Regardless of all this, I still grounded my amps on both sides of the trunk to these screw locations and then tightened them as far and hard as I could.
NOW...there is a faint noise coming through my speakers, and I honestly believe it is because of a bad ground (ground loop ??)
Does anyone know of the best location to ground amplifiers in the (3ES) trunk ? I saw the other thread that is in the DIY main thread showing how another user of this forum grounded his amp...but I just want to be extra safe and ask others.
Thanks
10-21-13, 12:19 AM
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Dont know how much work you want to do but if you want the most solid ground.
Find a place where you can drill through the trunk bottom (or use a pre existing grommet), run 0 AWG from distribution block to the cars frame it self. Get a wire brush and clean off a a spot (were you can add a bolt) to where it is bare metal. Once attached make sure area is clean and cover area with silicon to seal up bolt and bare metal. Make sure to add silicon to grommet that was used to run the wire through. Remember to keep ground run as short as you can. Having multiple grounding spots in a audio system is asking for headaches and should be avoided at if at all possible. If it has to be done the gounds should be right next to each other.
Find a place where you can drill through the trunk bottom (or use a pre existing grommet), run 0 AWG from distribution block to the cars frame it self. Get a wire brush and clean off a a spot (were you can add a bolt) to where it is bare metal. Once attached make sure area is clean and cover area with silicon to seal up bolt and bare metal. Make sure to add silicon to grommet that was used to run the wire through. Remember to keep ground run as short as you can. Having multiple grounding spots in a audio system is asking for headaches and should be avoided at if at all possible. If it has to be done the gounds should be right next to each other.
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