brickloaf

good idea or bad?

dont really want to drill any holes and cant find any good spots that already have a screw (amp is on back of rear seats with 2 ft of ground)

mkulrey13

iTrader: (39)

under teh seat, use the bolts that hold the bracket on. Thats what i used and worked fine.

brickloaf

i heard that it isnt a good spot to ground, i use to have mine there to

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

ya that wont work to well. no way in hell you can heat up the metal enough for it to wick properly. unless you go at it with a torch its just going to be sorta sitting there.... need me to find you a spot where you can drill?

brickloaf

nah i just put it back where it was (seat bracket)

did you get my scrilla yet?

xtremsounds

isnt your battery located in the back where your spare is ?

HunterKiller89

iTrader: (1)

yea...if the amp is in the back, just run the ground to the battery, or cut a hole in the carpet where your spare tire is and ground it there

brickloaf

my ground cable isnt long enough to get to the battery, and everyone always told me to keep the ground under 3 ft

HunterKiller89

iTrader: (1)

the ground can be 20 feet if need be...but the longer it is, the larger it should be. Step up the gauge another level if your concerned, and then run it to the battery

Spun

iTrader: (1)

He is right
Your ground can as short as possible but if your using a shitty ground location it is not going to matter how long it is, it just won't work right.

In the end the ground spot and the wire length should be a good blend. Find a good ground spot, then find a place to mount the amp within a reasonable distance.
The problem is it doesn't always work like that. However ground location should never be sacrificed for ground length, it defeats the whole idea.

Brickloaf- Are you getting any whine through your speakers?
If not I think you may be over thinking the whole ground thing, if the stereo is working good as it is then just enjoy it...."If it aint broke don't fix it"

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

to sorta back it up the whole reason for the question is due to him upgrading to knu 1/0 wire for his T10001BD and he only bought 2ft of wire for the ground.

In cobalts im pretty positive that grounding straight to the battery is the best option but as stated above he doesn't have said option. But if he can get a good ground he should still be fine

the problem with the seat bracket ground is the fact your using only the bolt to transfer all that power. If you have the ring terminal on top of the bracket its sitting on a painted piece of metal that's not attached to the car. so the ground isn't ring terminal to metal held in by screws but solely the bolt itself

Ultimately it will work but you will need to realize that its the 3rd best choice in a cobalt. every car has a different situation and due to the removable bracket in the cobalt it makes it much worse of an option to use the seatbelt bolt. Also realize how much power your running.

Spun

iTrader: (1)

There is another option you know
Its right in that whole area and kinda a bitch to get at but there are 2 more bolts that hold the back seats in that are a few inches under the the seat (from the trunk) and have no bracket to get in the way. If you do use this make sure not to put the bolt through the hook that is attached to the seat when you re install it
You could also just go down to your local shop and get them to hack you a bigger piece off the roll it shouldn't cost too much

I miss my civic that had the bolts that held the shocks in at the top exposed like it is in the front of the Cobalts

brickloaf

i ordered my wires online, ill look for that spot you described but i wish someone told me ground could be as long as you wanted like a week ago

jschatte

lol good lick heading up the frame enough to melt the solder... you'll be there all day and it still wont be hot enough.