Grounding Amplifiers

How do I properly ground my amplifier in my car? I just bought a new amplifier and was wondering if I could use a smaller gauge wire to ground the amplifier than the actual power wire going to the amplifier. I installed it all up to my subwoofer and it bangs like crazy. If this is frowned upon, how does one properly do the ground setup? Help is appreciated. -Clayton S.

Answer:

Thanks for sending in the great question Clayton. An amplifier is a complex electronic component that needs a certain amount of power.

First of all, to get the right amplifier wattage out of your amp, your going to want MATCH THE GAUGES. Meaning you will want them to be the same as each other. Example being, if your amplifier calls for a minimum of four gauge.. you run four gauge to your amp for the positive and the negative.

These need to be the same because of how electricity works. In a home you would not run a certain amount of power to a section of rooms, then have a tiny gauge wire and just hope it works good.

This will put harm on that electrical setup, creating a nightmare of a story.. maybe a house fire, maybe the circuit pops.. who knows. I'll be honest, I am not a scientific nerd when it comes to electrical neurons and such. I just know the basic to car audio and that is about it.. so don't think I'm bragging while saying this.

As for "correctly" running the ground wire for a system, it is actually easier than many think. The key thing to remember is, the MORE contact the better. Getting as many subwoofer watt and wattage out of your amp will happen with a better ground. Too little of ground is bad too. It is probably better on your amplifier and watts to just not have a ground and not use the amp at all.. but I'll get into how to exactly do it now. Figuring out how many subwoofer watts and wattage can be found with methods out there too.

Once you have all the wires ran except the ground black wire, you are where you want to be for this begin.

1. Locate a good section of metal from the frame of the car. When I say frame, that can mean pretty much most of the metal in the trunk of a car. You will know from the way it looks if it is part of the frame at some point.

2. Sand the paint off of do what you have to do to get down to CLEAN metal that is bare. If the metal is half painted, your ground will.. SUCK. Easy as pie to understand.

3. Figure out a way for you to attach that ground wire to that metal. Something along the lines of a bolt and nut or a torque screw of some kind. We need something that is going to hold the wire down for good.

4. Once the wire is attached, you are good to go. Connect other end to amplifier.

I hope this write up helps you a bit man. Sorry if it was somewhat complicated at times.. I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Feel free to email me back any questions or post a blog comment below. Thanks for visiting!

How To: Toggle Switch

How do I run a basic 12V toggle switch to something in my car? I'm looking to run a couple of things off of a basic 12V source and want to be able to the sources off so that they do not drain my battery. Can you help me in going about doing this? I have no idea how 12V toggle switches work?

Sandra O.

Answer:

Thanks for sending in such a good question Sandra. Toggle switches are a huge deal in cars and can really help when it comes to having aux hook ups in a vehicle like extra lights, amplifiers, chargers, whatever it is that needs power from your battery.

This is going to be pretty hard to describe in words.. just because I'm not the best at english but I will do my best. I have decided to get on my paint program on my computer and make a rough picture of what you need to know to hook up a toggle switch.

Your going to want to start with running a wire from the positive terminal of the battery or else tap into some other positive source on the car. But remember that if you tap into something, that it already has enough juice and your not sucking it down and hurting the equipment if it doesnt have enough juice.

Run that wire from the positive to one of the hookups on the switch. Ill relate to the image I drew up right now.. it seems a good time to. Toggle Switch With Light Basic Toggle Switch : No Light The diagrams I drew up are not the best, but they do justice. And remember a lot of toggle switches out there have lights on them and it's actually a pretty cool feature. I always buy mine to light up.. because who doesn't like cool lights in your vehicle right.

When connecting the wire to the switch itself, your most likely going to want to get the right connectors. Different switches call for different connectors so just ask a store employee if you don't understand.

Also when figuring out the ground wire, remember to sand down to good clean metal. Too many people forget to sand the paint off the metal of the interior of the car. You will most likely be pretty proud of yourself after this installation. It's a great way to learn some cool things about electronics and make yourself feel a bit smart about a do it yourself matter.

We love to answer our visitor's questions. It helps to take a toll off of our writers and yet bring unique content to our sites. Thanks again and email me any questions you may have, or else just post on the blog platform below. All of us webmasters are involved in that as well.