HI
I was just getting ready to install my new RF modulated cd changer. But I have a quick question before I get started: The (hide away) control unit for the cd changer has a ground wire and the changer itself has a ground wire. Can I just "T" the changer ground wire to the control unit ground wire and "T" the control unit ground wire into the radios ground wire. Basically can these 2 ground wires be "T"ed into the radio ground wire or should I drill them into the frame seperately? Also there are 2 ground wires coming out of the factory radio harness one is a thick, black one with a faded grees strip and the other is a small thin black one does it matter which one I use?

 

I'm not a stereo install expert, but it seems to me you can attach your grounds with the same bolt or screw to the frame if the wires are all long enough to reach the same location. If anyone can explain why not, I'd be interested in hearing. If you are going to "T" wires together prior to the ground attachment, I would use the heaviest of the ground wires off the radio.

I had my RF unit installed for me, and I'm not sure how they hooked it all up.

You may want to check out Sounddomain.com (I think I spelled that right) and post over there for the expert's opinion.

------------------
1999 XLT S/C, 4.2 V-6, auto, 3.55 rear, dark torreador red/harvest gold, bed liner, Sony 10 disc CD, Edelbrock IAS, K&N filter, Superchip

 

You'd want to ground every component to the chassis directly and in the same spot, on bare metal. The ground completes the circuit from the positive terminal of the battery to the equipment to the chassis. The battery itself is grounded to the chassis/frame. Doing otherwise might cause ground loops and give you all those annoying noises and whines associated with wrong grounding techniques.

------------------
Thunder
rainmaker@attglobal.net

Black 97 Expedition EB 5.4L 4WD

Mods: Lightning Wheels, Pirelli Scorpion Zero 285/55VR18, K&N Gen II Kit, JET Chip

Brembo 14" disc brake kit coming right up!!!And hopefully a Lightning engine too!!!

Audio: McIntosh MX406, McIntosh MCD4000, Zapco SX-SL, Zapco EQ30, Genesis Monoblocks (3), Genesis Dual Mono, Dynaudio System 340, Dynaudio System 220, JL Audio Stealthbox




[This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 01-26-2000).]

 

When grounding low voltage devices such as your cd changer, using the same ground is ok. If you are using a high amperage device, such as an amp, it is recommended that you ground these at least 12" apart, with good, solid, clean grounds.

------------------
1995 F-150 Regular Cab Flareside w/ 302 V8... Mods: Dual Exhaust (no mufflers), full JL/Kicker/Pionner system

 

Well I went ahead and hooked it up last night. I did what I originally said I was going to do, I "T"ed the chager gw to the controller gw and conected to the controller gw to the factory radio gw. Basically they are all hooked up to the radio ground wire and everything sounds great. The only thing I was worried about was whether or not the ground wire could melt and cause a fire. Is taht possibile?

Thanx

 

I remember putting a system in my Corvette and I had a severe noise problem. I had 3 very high quality amps, cd head unit and an Audio control eq/x-over. The amps needed to be ground as far away as everthing else, using seperate grounds, the audio control needed to be grounded far from the amps with a seperate ground AND a heavy wire back to the head unit ground to cancel this noise. So i suppose it might depend on your components.
Sorry to muddy the water on you, trial and error may be the solution.
Thunder... you seem to be the man on this, ever heard of this sort of thing?
Bruce

 

Bruce,

I've always grounded all my amps to a common spot without encountering any problems. The trick is to find a good spot, bare metal. Ground every amp there, making sure that each individual ground wire comes out of the common point at the same angles (so it looks like some sort of a star). You could ground the wires to different points in the car's frame but make sure all your grounding points have good contact to bare metal.

Jennifer, you don't have to use the same grounding points for the deck and the amps. The deck can be grounded to the frame somewhere in the area of the deck. Just make sure it's grounded properly. I've never tried doing it as you described it. It seems to me it might cause grounding problems in the long run. And, no, i don't think you're going to burn anything. Head units don't normally use more than 1 ampere...unless it's a powered head unit. Then I would definitely not use a common wire to ground components.



------------------
Thunder
rainmaker@attglobal.net

Black 97 Expedition EB 5.4L 4WD

Mods: Lightning Wheels, Pirelli Scorpion Zero 285/55VR18, K&N Gen II Kit, JET Chip

Brembo 14" disc brake kit coming right up!!!And hopefully a Lightning engine too!!!

Audio: McIntosh MX406, McIntosh MCD4000, Zapco SX-SL, Zapco EQ30, Genesis Monoblocks (3), Genesis Dual Mono, Dynaudio System 340, Dynaudio System 220, JL Audio Stealthbox