Just installed on an Xterra, but not getting enough current from the ground cable. I grounded it to the seat belt bottom underneath the floor board but the paint on the metal is disrupting the current. Nothing seems to be close enough that I can find, so first question is
how long can the wire be from the amp to where the wire is grounded,
and also...
if anyone has an Xterra, where did you ground. THanks!
Find a place in the floor that is free from any wires or other stuff underneath (like a gas tank). Use sandpaper or something to clean the paint away in 1" diameter circle. Crimp a ring terminal to your ground and shoot a self tapping screw through the ring. Lock it in place w/ a second self-tap. Make sure the screws get a good bite.
This will work fine, unless the body is not properly grounded...or you are running over ~1500w.
Other local shops around here use seat brackets for grounds. They just shoot a self-tapper into the bracket (not even the floor, just the bracket) and don't even worry about the paint. Its funny as hell. I have even seen them not even clean up the weather coating in the trunks of older cars. Just shoot a screw into the floor and call it 'grounded'...lol. Even the "bigger" shops here do it.
in my car, i could just take the side panel off and there were a few different screws for me to choose from. It was something i never even thought of until i tried to fire this bad boy up in the Xterra and nothing worked. I thought i messed up something else.
The problem really is that I am at college and this is my roomates car so we dont have any power drills or anything of the sort. So...sanding by hand is probably out of the question, and drilling a hole would be near impossible...
A ground to the chassis is only going to be able to carry what 4 ga wire carries. From the battery back to the amp like M.S. said with the proper wire gauge is best when you need more current flow.
i have an xterra and i grounded my amp the the bolts on the rear seats. take the time and just sand a bit. it makes a big difference. or just run the groud to the battery like MS said
