Ground wire kit install??

[zuna_mx-3]

Well, I HAVE read the tutorial, and tried to install it, but I did only one wire (the one from the engine cover to the chasis)!
In the tutorial it is explained how to connect the wires but my system is different. All my wires go from - terminal.
So, the negative terminal is the center point where all the wires come from. In my kit I have a new connector to the terminal,
but what should I do with the old one? Should I cut the old connector and just plug it´s ground wire into the new one?

In short, does anyone have any pics of the MX-3 1.6 DOHC engine with ground wire kit installed????

Please help, coz I wanna do this asap!!!

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

the whole point of grounding and bonding is to link all ground points... effectively eliminating all potential difference. Be it a ground bar or a single battery terminal... everything is exactly the same, it just looks different. Use the ground points shown in the faq and just run them to the terminal (if that is what you have to work with). Keep in mind that you can "daisy chain" your ground leads.. this would be run one lead from batt to block (whatever) and run another to your next point, from the same point the last one ended. So this will be like just adding another link in a long chain of ground wires.

[Ryan]

Why can't you just run random grounds? I don't understand ground loops. It would be like parallel resistances then, no?.

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

you can not comply to bonding practices based of random points of contact. Earthing should be done via single point of contact (bus, terminal etc) or bonding by daisy chain.

[Ryan]

If thats how it should be, why doesn't everything run straight to the neg terminal?

Is the chassis not simply a very large "daisy chain"?

I'd think the entire vehicle is just a massive number of parallel circuits using a common ground and 12v

Maybe I'm just uneducated.

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

yes and no. If you think about it.. every different metal has it's own resistive and conductive properties to it. Copper is said to be 100% conductive. (I know I know, that would mean that gold and what not is over 100%... not the issue) If you have 2 different metals.. one steel and one copper, of the same length and diameter, the copper will conduct better. So, in theory.. if you have different points on the chasis grounded to different points, everything will have a vastly difference resistive path to ground. Will this number greatly affect your cars performance.. probably not. But keep in mind that adjacent ccts with different paths to ground can infact have a potential difference (voltage of some sort). This can cause the higher resistant cct to heat up and in rare cases, melt the ground lead.
I'm just trying to explain the intended purpose of an earthing kit. There is little point in the extra $$ if it is not done to the correct specs.

[muttpower]

In short, a grounding system such as the HKS Circle earth one is pointless unless installed correctly...it's main effectiveness comes from the fact that, if installed properly, every major component on the vehicle is linked to one central grounding point...and believe it or not, it does work better with an external Voltage regulator of some sort intalled...as for horsepower gains, minimal if any...but getting back on track to the original question, yes, you should remove your original ground terminal from battery ground cable and replace it with the one from the kit. Then each Major component should have a ground wire run from it to the new terminal...(ie. alternator, block, etc...) but sorry, i have one installed, but it's on a k8 engine, not B6

[Ryan]

No metal is 100% conductive unless you cool it to around 20 Kelvin. Even then, oddly enough its the lesser conductive metals at 300K that become Superconductors at higher temperatures. I think silver is one of the best conductors at around the 300K mark.

Superconducting is actually a very interesting property... it messes with your understanding of electricity and a bit of nature, because there are places out there that are naturally at 20K and don't require hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cooling units to acheive. They have infinite current flow because of absolutely 0 resistance? Think, Infinite doesn't really exsit in anything. It would be an unlimited power source, which also doesn't exist. Or I'm just a nerd.

Eitherway, if unequal path of resistance is the only problem, then I'm not worried at all. Parallel resistance is the sum of the reciprocals of the resistances, and putting them in parallel will net you the lowest resistance. Series is the sum of the resistances, which will net you much more. Although the parallel will give you unequal current flow through all links to the chassis, it will still be the most efficient (less resistive) And less resistance is more current flow is more spark is cleaner burn is better economy...And it makes sense to replace them because over time wires conductive properties deteriorate, and fresh wires will definately fix that.

And honestly, if you were to draw the circuits we talk about, they would look exactly the same on paper.

So, I'm keeping mine random, for all the difference it makes.

[onlytrueromeo]

I have one of the cheapie grounding kits I still need to install. It has like 8 or 9 different connectors that attach to a single point which is supposed to be mounted to the battery. I plan on running 2 leads to the frame itself and connecting the rest to the points on the motor - don't think it will be long enough for all of them because its cheapie ebay, but I can get some crimps and add more 8 gauge.

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

Copper is said to be 100% conductive. (I know I know, that would mean that gold and what not is over 100%... not the issue)

It is "said to be 100% conductive," no one said it IS. Copper is the benchmark. I knew that one was going to happen.

But keep in mind that adjacent ccts with different paths to ground can infact have a potential difference (voltage of some sort). This can cause the higher resistant cct to heat up and in rare cases, melt the ground lead.

I say, do it right or don't do it at all. Just as a back ground: I was an installer for DC power substations for a telecom company. I renew my grounding and bonding once a year. Don't F around man.

[Ryan]

You are quoting yourself and its kinda hard to figure out what you're saying, are you right or wrong?

The higest resistance lead would not melt first. you hook a 1 ohm resistor in parallel or series with a 1k ohm, and the single ohm would pop first...

I'd love it if someone could try and explain the theory to me, as to why daisy chain is any better than random. Without losing their head. I'm actually curious.

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

You are quoting yourself and its kinda hard to figure out what you're saying, are you right or wrong?

I thought it was fairly obvious. I did not say that copper was 100% conductive.. It is "said to be" Ie: the benchmark for electrical ccts.

Why is a continuous path of copper better then copper-> steel -> copper -> aluminum? geez no idea. The plan is to link to a universal ground point. This is quite a simple theory.


I guess the best thing for you to do is research grounding and bonding on your own time. You are making this waay harder than it needs to be.

[Ryan]

Well if thats how its going to be, I suppose I will. I apologize if asking sincere questions makes things hard, I hadn't figured that one out. I guess thats not what forums are for.

Yeah, I'm being a smart a--. I'll post my learnings for others to decypher.

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

no.. a smart a$$ would have understood.

[Ryan]

My intuition doesn't border on psychic. You're also mixing up smart a-- and intelligent a-- I'm still looking, and from what I gather so far:

The worst case scenario is having a low current component having the path of least resistance, and then you fry that component.

The difference in potential between seperate ground points is what causes the loops/bad stuff. Makes signals travel backwards and such. The potential difference difference is caused by differing resistance values between them and the absoulte ground (IE neg bat terminal)

Ideally everything would connect directly to a battery terminal, but that doesn't make sense. Next ideally, everything would connect to one (or two adjacent) points, like on the firewall. You can make a 'multi-tap' or sorts and solder everything to that, and connect those to the respective terminals... The idea of the points being adjacent (or the same) is the idea behind the grouding you guys speak of. In essence, you're actually grounding the engine like stock, but you're grounding the ground points as well in order to keep the potential difference down.

All in all, I can't imagine how much of a difference this makes, grounding the grounds vs. using the common chassis ground like it was designed with, Or just grounding the engine with a single, fat, very conductive wire... That I suppose one day I'll learn via experience.


Cheers man