BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

They should understand that.

I thought the same thing when I heard it.

I may put my battery in the trunk and run a block to the front of the car.

(more to open up space for some underhood mods but also to keep the battery in better shape since the heat kills them quicker.

Xantium

I was planning on doing this at one point but there are MANY things that would need to be fused... I wasn't excited about running two 1/0 gauge wires all the way to the back either...

DarkBrew

Forgetting about the return path is the most common error made in electrical designs. So don't feel too bad.

GT Steve

One thing you guys have overlooked is the grounding from the battery to the chassis this should also be upgraded as its normally very poor!

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

I'm relocating the battery to the trunk, could somone point out a suitable grounding location for me i dont have a suitable multimeter that I feel would be accurate enough to test this.

lurch519

i would run a suitable ground wire through the vehicle to the grounding location in the engine bay, as well as grounding in the trunk. you could use of the nuts holding the bracket that attaches to the struts in the back

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

I was thinking about those nuts as my first choice do they qualify? As for runnign a second ground i want to avoid having to run a 2nd 2awg cable(yes i know i could use 4awg) to the front of the car for weight reasons.

lurch519

well, being a unibody construction, your ignition system will probably not like you unless you make sure you have a very good ground path to the battery

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

Could somone with a better multi meter than I do some testing in the trunk for a proper ground, starting with that gold bracket that holds the rear suspension top mount?

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

if it doesn't work out i have a linage grounding kit sitting around that i could probably use to help things out.

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

Run the extra wire so you don't jeopardize your coils.

lurch519

the weight isnt really an issue, as it will only be a few pounds, and if you run it down the passenger, it will help with your weight distribution, helping offset drivers weight.

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

I'm about to put a new set in so if i burn out the old ones then i'll run the extra wire; its almost like if i have to run the extra wire it would be more worthwile mouting the battery lower but still over the front wheels.

Adding weight is never a good idea lurch, not more than I need would be best.
I'm only removing 20-25lbs by the lighter battery, 5lbs of neg cable on top of the 5lbs for the positve wire is 50% of the weight being taken out.

lurch519

ok, i tried giving good advice. anyway, the kicker 4 guage power wire kit, pk4, which contains 20 feet of 4 ga power, 5 ft of 4 guage ground, remote wire, connectors, and anl fuse holder, only weighs 7 pounds. that means that for about 17 feet of 4 guage kicker wire, assuming 1 lb for packaging and other stuff, its about 4 lbs. yeah i know its only 1 lb less than 5 lbs, but thats the way i would do it. of course, i have only been doing car audio/performance for 10 years, so what do i know

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

yeah 5ft of 4awg neg wire, now you practically have to double that for the 14ft to get it back to the front of the car.

Sign on AIM i'll describe to you what i'm doing in more detail.

lurch519

i was using that as a reference. i know what you are trying to do. move the battery into the trunk, get some weight off the front wheels and move it into the back, most likely on the passenger side to help offset the weight of the driver. my fear is that the voltage drop from the resistance through the chassis will cause you problems, with charging of the battery, with voltage problems, especially in the engine compartment with sensors/igniion, and starting the car, which we all know is sometimes a bear with the stock setup, and if you have a voltage drop because of a poor ground, will be even more of a pain in the ***. i am on aim practically 24/7, though not always at my puter, if you want, hit me up on aim egcivichatch

Rotor baby

Very true. Lighter is better. Maybe I should Lose some weight.

solito

Guys I made a stupid mistake.-(puts on flame suit) While replacing the car battery I accidentally(not thinking) attached each ground end to both the Pos & Neg. battery post. -At that point a hugh spark and melted the negative post. I come to realize that I was only to have both end of the "Lineage Ground" cabels meet with the negative terminal. -Please tell me I didint fry the ECU. Thanks.

skrubol

iTrader: (1)

I doubt you killed your ECU. You just shorted the battery. How did you manage to connect a ground to both - and +? Was it a grounding kit or something? Only things likely damaged are the battery and possibly the wiring that shorted it. Oh, and maybe your eyesite if you were looking at the arc (think very big welding arc.)

No handheld multimeter I know of will accurately measure resistances like these on its own. A 4-terminal meter is necessary. The easiest way to accomplish this is to get a current source, such as a lab power supply, and a volt meter (any decent multimeter will do for that part.) You hook the current source up to what you're measuring, and separately connect your volt meter very closely to it. If you run 1A through it, your reading in volts will equal the resistance. The problem with just using a meter is that the tiny connection between your probe tips (or alligator clips or whatever,) have inconsistent resistance that can really show up when measuring tiny resistances like this. I may try this this weekend if there still is no agreement on the best ground in the trunk.

Oh, and welds don't really count as connections. They effectively combine 2 pieces of metal into one, both electrically and mechanically. Unibodies have extremely low resistances, as long as you ground to a large area of them.

What are good sources for cabling, termnals, etc? I'm a cheap skate and believe that copper is copper (though I do appreciate differences in cabling such as insulation heat resistance and small strand size for flexibility.)

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Thinking about having someone make a plexi copy of the carpeted cover for that storage area, just like you have. My install looks clean under there and having the cover over it causes the amp to overheat on long drives (over 1 hour). Hoping the plexi with a couple fans would be better cooling than not having a cover on it at all (Forced air movement versus static). I suppose to could just size up the factory cover and cut some fan holes in it.... but I don't think it would look all that great...