Grounding
12-22-05, 04:55 PM
#1
1986 Rx-7
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Grounding
Hey guys I was just wondering about the grounding stuff on FCs. I haven't had any problems yet but im doing some extra grounds so I dont have any problems. How many extra wires should I run? What Gauge? Ect. ect. Right now I'm kind of half-assing it and not using bolt up stuff. Like example; 
would that even do anything to help? Thanks
would that even do anything to help? Thanks
12-22-05, 07:46 PM
#3
Passing life by
I am not surprised this has not been awnserd. View the archive and FAQ there is plenty of setups and wakthroughs. What you have done though wont do crap.
Run minimum of 4ga wire 2ga preferd. View my blog to see how I did mine.
Run minimum of 4ga wire 2ga preferd. View my blog to see how I did mine.
12-22-05, 08:19 PM
#5
2 gauge or even 4 gauge is a bit of overkill if you ask me and looks wierd. i would just add a 2 extra grounds to the engine of 6 or 8 gauge mounted at the strut towers to the upper intake manifold and one to the front iron ear at the top driver's side. also a ground wire from the battery to a spot near the battery is also good due to the stock chassis ground getting tired over time.
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12-23-05, 01:51 PM
#8
BIG gage for the battery terminal ground. I used something like 4gage to the strut tower.
I think I used something like 12-16gage for my regular ground lines.
One from the boost sensor to the strut tower
One from the EFI harness ring terminal to the tranny/linked to the firewall
There are others but these helped me out.
I think I used something like 12-16gage for my regular ground lines.
One from the boost sensor to the strut tower
One from the EFI harness ring terminal to the tranny/linked to the firewall
There are others but these helped me out.
12-23-05, 04:31 PM
#9
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Originally Posted by Digi7ech
BIG gage for the battery terminal ground. I used something like 4gage to the strut tower.
I think I used something like 12-16gage for my regular ground lines.
One from the boost sensor to the strut tower
One from the EFI harness ring terminal to the tranny/linked to the firewall
There are others but these helped me out.
I think I used something like 12-16gage for my regular ground lines.
One from the boost sensor to the strut tower
One from the EFI harness ring terminal to the tranny/linked to the firewall
There are others but these helped me out.
12-23-05, 05:30 PM
#10
Passing life by
^rear iron, and do not ground PS on any models above 86, the 5v system utilizes a central grounding system.
I disagree 4ga + should be used for the ground enhancements or an equivalent capacity of wire whether it is flat or round. DC voltage doesn’t need a huge section b/c it does not skin like AC voltage but does need a large conductivity. You are grounding a big block and the conductivity can be lost in a small wire when you are trying to create an even grounding distribution. This does not mean the wires in the harness need to be 2 or 4ga but the grounding straps should be of this size. Use a block or run all the wires back to the – terminal. A grounding system will fail completely if you have one week section.
I disagree 4ga + should be used for the ground enhancements or an equivalent capacity of wire whether it is flat or round. DC voltage doesn’t need a huge section b/c it does not skin like AC voltage but does need a large conductivity. You are grounding a big block and the conductivity can be lost in a small wire when you are trying to create an even grounding distribution. This does not mean the wires in the harness need to be 2 or 4ga but the grounding straps should be of this size. Use a block or run all the wires back to the – terminal. A grounding system will fail completely if you have one week section.
12-23-05, 05:32 PM
#11
i call it overkill because of all the cars on the road how many commercially built do you see requiring that kind of wiring? none.
sure it helps, but not enough to worry about it on near stock or even mildly modified cars. the stock grounds suck ***** but no need to go nuts with the repair.
sure it helps, but not enough to worry about it on near stock or even mildly modified cars. the stock grounds suck ***** but no need to go nuts with the repair.
12-23-05, 05:38 PM
#12
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how much juice is running through the ground wire to justify using wire rated to carry 2000 watts? I know that propper grounds need to be somewhat heavy gague to insure a good connection and a good pathway for electrons, but 2 gauge? I agree that is overkill.
12-23-05, 05:42 PM
#13
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I understand where you are coming from Karack.
Perhaps, that is why I stated in an opinionated form based upon my research. Who knows, I went ahead off the bat and went with 4ga. Maybe you have done this with a smaller gauge to further make a point in the matter?
Perhaps, that is why I stated in an opinionated form based upon my research. Who knows, I went ahead off the bat and went with 4ga. Maybe you have done this with a smaller gauge to further make a point in the matter?
12-23-05, 05:43 PM
#14
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Originally Posted by Alex6969
how much juice is running through the ground wire to justify using wire rated to carry 2000 watts? I know that propper grounds need to be somewhat heavy gague to insure a good connection and a good pathway for electrons, but 2 gauge? I agree that is overkill.
12-23-05, 05:56 PM
#16
i have, nick's(smogsux) car in the dyno section is only running two 8 gauge wires to the ground now off the chassis to the engine since he remotely mounted the battery, though this is in my view not enough grounding but it has had no issues yet but he will be picking up a 2 gauge wire to run to the transmissions since we had to toss the car together to get it to the dyno.
his car made 300RWHP with nowhere near that kind of grounding and steve didn't mention any issues with the electronics when he did the tune.
the problem i see is the transmission is the only stock grounding point, the sandwich motor is not a very good path for the grounding so i see the best path is the main ground to the transmission, two secondary grounds at the intake and front iron so that there is an even path all accross the motor.
his car made 300RWHP with nowhere near that kind of grounding and steve didn't mention any issues with the electronics when he did the tune.
the problem i see is the transmission is the only stock grounding point, the sandwich motor is not a very good path for the grounding so i see the best path is the main ground to the transmission, two secondary grounds at the intake and front iron so that there is an even path all accross the motor.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 12-23-05 at 05:59 PM.
12-23-05, 08:02 PM
#17
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Originally Posted by Karack
i have, nick's(smogsux) car in the dyno section is only running two 8 gauge wires to the ground now off the chassis to the engine since he remotely mounted the battery, though this is in my view not enough grounding but it has had no issues yet but he will be picking up a 2 gauge wire to run to the transmissions since we had to toss the car together to get it to the dyno.
his car made 300RWHP with nowhere near that kind of grounding and steve didn't mention any issues with the electronics when he did the tune.
his car made 300RWHP with nowhere near that kind of grounding and steve didn't mention any issues with the electronics when he did the tune.
Originally Posted by Karack
the problem i see is the transmission is the only stock grounding point, the sandwich motor is not a very good path for the grounding so i see the best path is the main ground to the transmission, two secondary grounds at the intake and front iron so that there is an even path all accross the motor.
Alex6969 You are misunderstand the electrical system of the car. The grounds you are referring to are the block to the firewall and the ECU ground. These grounds are fine if the wires are in proper condition. The main factory ground leads from the battery 4GA to the long bolt that bolts the starter to the trany. The other small grounds feed from this. If at any points grounds are bad or points where the metal is not conductive as it was 17yrs ago you have issues. When you run a ground enhancement as per say Kevin landers style you pull a main feed from the battery just like the factory main lead and beef up the current loss between points. If you just ran any wires from your block to somewhere on the car you have realy done nothing. The grounds will not be any betor then the ground the factory has from the batetry to the bolt holding the starter on. This is the reson you run straps from the battery to verius points on the block and chassie. The only ground the chassy has is the rear iron strap that goes to the firewall. This is why there is a good reson to run a main strap from battery to the strut tower. All of the chassie harness grounds are from clips bolted to the inside firewall and a few in the engin bay using the same method.
Last edited by iceblue; 12-23-05 at 08:08 PM.
12-23-05, 08:04 PM
#18
most people forget simple things like cleaning both positive and negative battery terminals and more complex issues such as high resistance in wiring, the added grounds may help the issue but never fully fix it.
nick's car has a total of about a 20 foot positive battery lead as it runs from the storage bin to the stock battery terminal and through the factory harness for the time being, negative is a 4 foot lead that is grounded to the seat belt loop only then there is 2 chassis grounds to the engine. not sufficient but it just goes to show that good clean connections are very important and many of the problems people run into are only being bandaided to cover bad connections elsewhere.
nick's car has a total of about a 20 foot positive battery lead as it runs from the storage bin to the stock battery terminal and through the factory harness for the time being, negative is a 4 foot lead that is grounded to the seat belt loop only then there is 2 chassis grounds to the engine. not sufficient but it just goes to show that good clean connections are very important and many of the problems people run into are only being bandaided to cover bad connections elsewhere.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 12-23-05 at 08:07 PM.
12-24-05, 11:26 AM
#19
Passing life by
Originally Posted by Karack
most people forget simple things like cleaning both positive and negative battery terminals and more complex issues such as high resistance in wiring, the added grounds may help the issue but never fully fix it..
Originally Posted by Karack
nick's car has a total of about a 20 foot positive battery lead as it runs from the storage bin to the stock battery terminal and through the factory harness for the time being, negative is a 4 foot lead that is grounded to the seat belt loop only then there is 2 chassis grounds to the engine. not sufficient but it just goes to show that good clean connections are very important and many of the problems people run into are only being bandaided to cover bad connections elsewhere.
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