stangthang

This has probably been covered here, but i had a different question. The goal is to get all the components running off the same ground source?? Would it help to run a heavy wire down the middle of the car from the stereo to the battery in back?? I could then use this wire cable to ground each component of my stereo system, amps, stock h/u, EQ's, and such....Will this cut down on the background noise?? When I turn the stock radio off, I still have the hiss in the front and rear tweeters. It is pretty loud. I like the way the new speakers sound but want to get rid of that hiss. Do I need to go through and disconnect each part of the system to figure out where the noise is coming from?? I also have a little bit of that alternator whine when the rpm's go up....any other clues?? other than telling me to "get a clue"...haha....

Switt23

iTrader: (7)

Mine is the same way. The way to improve this is to obiously elimante resistance in the wires. I advice upgrading the speaker wire to something thick enough that your not going to have to worry about it being too small...

Make sure you have a good clean quality ground.

Make sure the power wire and the ground wire are the same size wire.

RCAs MUST be ran on the opposite side of the power wire unless extremely shielded RCAs. Even then I wouldn't recommend it.

Wait for emperor, he will advice further.

stangthang

well, I used large speaker cable....had proper gauge power and ground wire, used shielded RCA wires, and ran power on one side, RCA on the other...

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

Make sure the RCA's are on the Pass side. in the cobalts they need to be there vs the drivers. You can go ahead and run a ground from the HU to the amps in the back but i wouldnt recommend cutting your stock harness to do so. You also want to run that down the drivers side along with any remote wire or anything like that. Speaker wire size doesnt really matter. Only effect the power that gets to the speakers themselves. has nothing to do with noise. either way anything over real 18g for the door speakers is overkill

stangthang

How would I run a ground to the H/U from amps?? Ground it to the radio housing maybe?? Or tap into the ground wires in the radio harness?? I have an extra power wire I ran already from trunk to about the shifter, so thought I could use it to make a better ground. Maybe my ground spot is not so great. I did not sand the paint off a spot, and used a bolt under the rear deck, probably not the best ground spot. I thought if I had a heavy ground cable going right to the battery negative side, i could use it to make ground locations anywhere in the car i wanted. Should be a decent ground at least. Will this probably help??

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

well yes and no. The main goal is to get all your electrical audio components grounded to a single location and with the battery in the back it should be at that negative post. BUT each ground shouldn't be cut and spliced. Adding a butt connector or solder connection works but it still causes resistance. Multiply that by whatever and this new ground you ran is no better then what you had before.

I would def swap your ground and ground direct to the battery negative terminal

stangthang

sounds like a plan. I read a little on some car audio forums and I am pretty convinced my ground points are a large part of my problem. I have trouble soldering these large cables also. I only have a smaller sized soldering iron or two, cheapo ones. How do you solder a connector onto a 4 gauge wire?? I have trouble with 8 gauge. Get a bigger, hotter soldering iron I bet. and thanks for answering all these questions we all have. You must spend a ton of time helping us out. I can imagine it gets real old with the same questions.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

lol nah not really i like helping people when i can.

soldering 4g is almost impossble and really you shouldnt be soldering the wires as such. EIther a D block or a individule ground for each componant is the best way to do that

stangthang

I think I was wiring a new alternator on an older car once, and just used a crimp connector on a large gauge wire. The new alternator went bad. Shop said it was because the connection needed to be soldered. It is a better connection, less resistance I guess??.. Most of the time I would not care....It would just make a better connection if done right....

NWAE Cobalt

iTrader: (1)

off question real quick...not audio but still connectors

when i put my header dp in i had to extend the sensors and simply used the same gauge heat shielded wire and butt connectors and the sensors havent worked right consistantly since then....
think this is the problem...too much resistance???

Spun

iTrader: (1)

How exactly did you extend them.

Did you splice into the middle and leave the ends the same (connectors)?
Is one of the wires a ground?

NWAE Cobalt

iTrader: (1)

exactly, i cut in the center and added more wire with butt connectors, ends are extactly the same
so..it looks like:
(o2 sensor)(stock wire)(butt connector)(new wire)(butt connector)(stock wire)(plug to engine)

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

yes a soldered connection is better then a crimped one but ultimately a single non cut wire is the best connection possible when trying to fix ground loop you cant cut corners otherwise you'll never get anywhere. a ground loop is anything from a slight difference in ground resistance to a huge difference. You can spend tons of time fixing all the big things and get no where so you want to try and get it right the first time that way you don't have to redo anything down the road.

stangthang

so the best way to ground each part of the system is to use a ground strap right to the metal chassis of the car?? I thought I could use a heavy gauge wire to take the place of the actual chassis....run it from front to rear of car and tie each ground wire into it with a good connection....If the large wire goes from the head unit all the way to the rear battery negatve post, this would be the same as bolting each ground wire to the chassis, correct?? Has anybody tried this before??

For the O2 sensor, is it possible the wire butt connectors allowed water to get in?? Not sure how those sensors work, but some exhaust kits come with an adapter wire to extend the wire harness.....so I would think it must plug in to the factory wire somehow....sounds like your idea would work...what is the O2 cable wire made of?? Is it just a normal copper wire??

Spun

iTrader: (1)

If your going to extend it and are concerned about water getting in use solder and heatshrink.
If you go to your local auto parts store ask for all weather heatshrink. It has a silicone liner in it that should give you a water tight seal when you put the heat gun to it.

NWAE Cobalt

iTrader: (1)

it looked to be a standard copper wire..i think...but i may try redoing it with solder and the water proof heat sink....or just replacing the o2 sensors and buying the extenions they make for them...hmmm