Grounding Kit
11-11-2005, 12:51 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Mike is a Liar!
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OK.. here is the deal about my write up.. it is a basic guide on how to make a grounding kit.. for any car.. with pics and such.. That said after reading this you will have a general idea on how to make some nice lookin grounds to your hearts delight..
Here is my list of materials:
Phoenix Gold 4 Gauge ground wire, $2/ft
Ring terminal for 4 gauge wire $.30/ea
4 ft 1/2 inch 3m shrink tubing $3.65
Tools:
Hammer
Centerpunch
Razor blade
I bought 20 feet but we are using that for two cars and I will have plenty left over.
I put it in my car.. just two grounds for now since I was pressed for time.. and already my Trailing coil code went away..
ok so first things first.. decide where you wanna put the grounds.. maybe some people in here can chime in and give other good recommendations as to where to add them.. then if you are adding some to the battery be sure to buy a battery terminal that will allow you attach the wires to it.. or some nice auto sound type ones will do.. and will look way better than the honda style one I bought.. haha
Like i mentioned i added just two today and I noticed a smoother deceleration and the trouble code for the trailing code went away. the two i used were:
Negative Battery post to strut tower
Stut tower to UIM mounting bracket(same one where the wiring harness grounds to.)
so get your wire and strip it, about maybe 1/2 inch but that will depend on the terminals used. I used a razor blade but a sharp knife will work just as well. it helps to roll it on the ground or a flat surface while cuttin into it.
now slide the connector on, if the cable is all frayed after cutting it try twisting the ends to help get it in the end of the ring terminal.
Now I used non insulated ring terminals since i am using the shrink wrap, so I use a center punch to crimp them on. I do that by tapping two nice big dents into the terminal with my trusty hammer.. I find that thats a good secure way to work with the 4 gauge connectors.. large crimping pliers will work just fine.
the connectors i bought allowed me to put the 1 1/2" sleeve of 1/2" shrink tubing over the wire after being crimped on. If you could not get the shrink tubing around your connectors then you have to plumb them through before crimping, or from the backside of the wire where it has not been crimped yet. this would also be a nice time to solder the terminals if you choose to do so. Then heat the shrink tubing with a lighter or a heat gun to get it to fit nice and tight.
The shrink tubing gives a nice finished look to the wire. This is a pic of my OEM Negative battery cable cut to fit my new Battery terminal.
So now comes the fun part.. you could be a retard like me and just make em on the fly.. by positioning the cable on the battery terminal with one finished end.. and then routing it to where ever you want(in my case the strut tower) and roughly guessing and cutting it. leave some slack if you do it like this.. or you could use some other cable or rope or whatever to measure the distance and mark it then cut the 4 gauge wire accordingly. leaving slack is always a good idea though.. then trim it down once positioned, double check then remove it and crimp the other end just like the first one..
Like I said.. its a generalized guide.. but it helps.. no measurements were given since some people will want to route them differently, or attach them to different places. heck maybe use smaller wire. Here are more pics of the wires and an engine shot.. as well as a shot of the dc4 teggy belonging to my buddy that I made a wire for.. lol.. just one for today .. no time..
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Here is my list of materials:
Phoenix Gold 4 Gauge ground wire, $2/ft
Ring terminal for 4 gauge wire $.30/ea
4 ft 1/2 inch 3m shrink tubing $3.65
Tools:
Hammer
Centerpunch
Razor blade
I bought 20 feet but we are using that for two cars and I will have plenty left over.
I put it in my car.. just two grounds for now since I was pressed for time.. and already my Trailing coil code went away..
ok so first things first.. decide where you wanna put the grounds.. maybe some people in here can chime in and give other good recommendations as to where to add them.. then if you are adding some to the battery be sure to buy a battery terminal that will allow you attach the wires to it.. or some nice auto sound type ones will do.. and will look way better than the honda style one I bought.. haha
Like i mentioned i added just two today and I noticed a smoother deceleration and the trouble code for the trailing code went away. the two i used were:
Negative Battery post to strut tower
Stut tower to UIM mounting bracket(same one where the wiring harness grounds to.)
so get your wire and strip it, about maybe 1/2 inch but that will depend on the terminals used. I used a razor blade but a sharp knife will work just as well. it helps to roll it on the ground or a flat surface while cuttin into it.
now slide the connector on, if the cable is all frayed after cutting it try twisting the ends to help get it in the end of the ring terminal.
Now I used non insulated ring terminals since i am using the shrink wrap, so I use a center punch to crimp them on. I do that by tapping two nice big dents into the terminal with my trusty hammer.. I find that thats a good secure way to work with the 4 gauge connectors.. large crimping pliers will work just fine.
the connectors i bought allowed me to put the 1 1/2" sleeve of 1/2" shrink tubing over the wire after being crimped on. If you could not get the shrink tubing around your connectors then you have to plumb them through before crimping, or from the backside of the wire where it has not been crimped yet. this would also be a nice time to solder the terminals if you choose to do so. Then heat the shrink tubing with a lighter or a heat gun to get it to fit nice and tight.
The shrink tubing gives a nice finished look to the wire. This is a pic of my OEM Negative battery cable cut to fit my new Battery terminal.
So now comes the fun part.. you could be a retard like me and just make em on the fly.. by positioning the cable on the battery terminal with one finished end.. and then routing it to where ever you want(in my case the strut tower) and roughly guessing and cutting it. leave some slack if you do it like this.. or you could use some other cable or rope or whatever to measure the distance and mark it then cut the 4 gauge wire accordingly. leaving slack is always a good idea though.. then trim it down once positioned, double check then remove it and crimp the other end just like the first one..
Like I said.. its a generalized guide.. but it helps.. no measurements were given since some people will want to route them differently, or attach them to different places. heck maybe use smaller wire. Here are more pics of the wires and an engine shot.. as well as a shot of the dc4 teggy belonging to my buddy that I made a wire for.. lol.. just one for today .. no time..
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11-12-2005, 12:41 AM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 248
grounding my help out alot. it would run like *** and then stumble at 3800... i put 2 huge grounds from the negative to the strut tower... 1 on upper intake, 1 on lower intake, tranny, and block... runs awesome and doesnt stumble...
11-12-2005, 10:22 AM
#3
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Boston Ma.
Posts: 1,420
Thats one of the most overlooked things on the Civic/Integra.
I wouldnt bother to ground everything to the same point. Just ground to the nearest part of chassis. I remove paint and rust from the area under the bolt first to get a good contact.
I wouldnt bother to ground everything to the same point. Just ground to the nearest part of chassis. I remove paint and rust from the area under the bolt first to get a good contact.
11-12-2005, 02:15 PM
#4
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Originally Posted by RONIN FC' post='777780' date='Nov 12 2005, 08:22 AM
I wouldnt bother to ground everything to the same point. Just ground to the nearest part of chassis. I remove paint and rust from the area under the bolt first to get a good contact.
grounding in various points compromises the effectiveness of the grounds.. that doesnt mean that you should put all the connections to one ground.. but make sure at least you ground the battery to the chassis with good wire so that then any subsequent grounds made to the chassis elsewhere will get good ground.. and if you have many grounds in one area that can be put to the same spot, it is better.
oh heres a pic of the bettery terminal i bought for the negative post.. its a cheapy but it works.. it was like 5 bux i think..
11-13-2005, 05:18 PM
#5
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: El Paso, TX
Posts: 485
I grounded my 4 guage grounds like this: from negative battery terminal to front ignition to rear ignition, to intake fuel injectors, to firewall, to starter. It did a little help. Soon i'll do the ecu to get rid of that damn stumble but i'm lazy right now so maybe when i do my clucth and flywheel next week i'll do that too.
11-13-2005, 05:57 PM
#6
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Join Date: Aug 2002
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Originally Posted by donhayes' post='778094' date='Nov 13 2005, 03:18 PM
..but i'm lazy right now so maybe when i do my clucth and flywheel next week i'll do that too.
Yeah.. this is a good point.. if you are doin a bigger job you would be able to get in there alot better and route them much nicer when things are dissassembled and out of the way. rather than trying to go around everything..
11-15-2005, 11:14 AM
#7
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1
Originally Posted by 75 Repu' post='778109' date='Nov 13 2005, 03:57 PM
Yeah.. this is a good point.. if you are doin a bigger job you would be able to get in there alot better and route them much nicer when things are dissassembled and out of the way. rather than trying to go around everything..
11-16-2005, 09:26 AM
#9
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: fredneck MD
Posts: 4,107
Also, for a weathertight, non corrodable finish, get end ring terminals that are closed on one end, and dump a butload of liquid hot solder in there.
Then insert the wire and srink wrap. super clean and wolnt rot out on you over time.
Then insert the wire and srink wrap. super clean and wolnt rot out on you over time.
11-20-2005, 10:08 PM
#10
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Join Date: Aug 2002
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also like I mentioned in my first post, this is just to give you an idea on how to make the wires.. some might think 4 gauge is overkill.. but thats no problem just get different smaller wire, terminals and the proper shrink tubing but doin it this same way will look just as nice..