car radio ground
Discussion
hi
yo
i have a nissan that doesnt have a factory ground it grounds via the aerial.
When i set my volume on my head unit to loud it turns off, which is no fun.
I think its because of the crappy grounding system.
Can I just attach a wire to screw on the head unit and then screw that to the chassis somewhere? Will that improve the ground?
Its embarrassing when your rocking out to happy dubstep vocal trance with big beat bass and it cuts out just before the drop.
yo
i have a nissan that doesnt have a factory ground it grounds via the aerial.
When i set my volume on my head unit to loud it turns off, which is no fun.
I think its because of the crappy grounding system.
Can I just attach a wire to screw on the head unit and then screw that to the chassis somewhere? Will that improve the ground?
Its embarrassing when your rocking out to happy dubstep vocal trance with big beat bass and it cuts out just before the drop.
LuS1fer said:
In that case, no. Use a hammer to earth the unit. 
But I need to stand out in the maccys car park bro!So if i just crimp a ring terminal to each end of the thickest wire i can find and attach it to a random screw on the back of the hu and some decent bare metal in the car it should improve things?
simon1987 said:
But I need to stand out in the maccys car park bro!
So if i just crimp a ring terminal to each end of the thickest wire i can find and attach it to a random screw on the back of the hu and some decent bare metal in the car it should improve things?
That's the theory! So if i just crimp a ring terminal to each end of the thickest wire i can find and attach it to a random screw on the back of the hu and some decent bare metal in the car it should improve things?
8-10 gauge will be sufficient I would think, keep it short as well.I'd go back through it with a proper wiring plan, if needs be a new power and earth wire, you can go straight to battery on earth if there's no clean metal anywhere near, power to a switched live circuit. There's probably some old knackered wiring in there that's causing problems, at least that was the case in mine, so I wired in an amp and speakers instead.
andy-xr said:
I'd go back through it with a proper wiring plan, if needs be a new power and earth wire, you can go straight to battery on earth if there's no clean metal anywhere near, power to a switched live circuit. There's probably some old knackered wiring in there that's causing problems, at least that was the case in mine, so I wired in an amp and speakers instead.
The wirings all factory, never been spliced or messed with.Got a standard double iso connector to fit the factory loom but the factory wiring has no ground wire.
simon1987 said:
So if i just crimp a ring terminal to each end of the thickest wire i can find and attach it to a random screw on the back of the hu and some decent bare metal in the car it should improve things?
If it's earthed through the antenna then adding a second earth might mean you cause problems to the radio reception. I had this with bike intercom where it was earthed via the connectors to the intercom and to the radio, removing the radio's earth means everything earths through the intercom and the reception is fine again.However if you're usually playing CD's this might not be an issue for you.
Doubt it's relevant to the problem, but if you want the radio to work at its best, a seriously thick earth connection to the bodyframe of the car works wonders on FM and AM (won't do naff all to DAB). Bit of thick braid is the best, and quite a few car radios have a threaded stud on the metalwork to attach it to.
Never seen a production radio with this fitment, but this sort of thing is often done by specialist installers. Cuts out most sources of car borne interference a treat.
Never seen a production radio with this fitment, but this sort of thing is often done by specialist installers. Cuts out most sources of car borne interference a treat.
LuS1fer said:
I can't really see how a ground would do that - it is either earthing or it isn't.
So you don't think a poor/high impendance ground would introduce voltage drops during high peak current demands?This belong in the same pot of myths as "Cheap HDMI cables are just as good as expensive ones, it's a digital signal so it either works or it doesn't"
Mr2Mike said:
So you don't think a poor/high impendance ground would introduce voltage drops during high peak current demands?
This belong in the same pot of myths as "Cheap HDMI cables are just as good as expensive ones, it's a digital signal so it either works or it doesn't"
According to the SKY engineer, an expensive HDMI cable is no better than a cheap one as the signal is only as good as the weakest part of the electrical path ie you can have gold connectors but if some other part is nickel, nickel is what you get.This belong in the same pot of myths as "Cheap HDMI cables are just as good as expensive ones, it's a digital signal so it either works or it doesn't"
As a rule, you spend enough on an interconnecting cable to ensure things are properly connected. So even for a digital signal, the very cheapest lead is quite likely to have problems. But, spend a little more, and the lead will be fine.
A few years ago, the tin shed retailers were selling the cheapest DVD player at around £50, and trying to get you to spend another £50 on a super duper SCART lead. At the same tin shed, you could get a known brand, all pins connected SCART lead for £8.99 (or at least, that's what I paid). Cheap SCART leads did not connect all the pins and so some features would not work.
A few years ago, the tin shed retailers were selling the cheapest DVD player at around £50, and trying to get you to spend another £50 on a super duper SCART lead. At the same tin shed, you could get a known brand, all pins connected SCART lead for £8.99 (or at least, that's what I paid). Cheap SCART leads did not connect all the pins and so some features would not work.
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