How To: DIY Ground Wire Kit

[Gro Harlem]

I just made and installed my own "Hyper Ground Wire kit"!! It cost me $48 shipped for the wire and terminals and about 1.5 hours to make and install the wires.

Here is the How-to write up:

http://www.protegenetwork.org/pro/1stgen/articles/howto/groundwire/

What do you think?

[L8R]

very interesting to read and look at. hmm i may think about doing it now. good job man. any noticeable gain in hp or torque? - chris

[dominoy2k1]

nice i will have to do this really soon....

[Murda]

Did you idle drop? By how much?

[Ryan]

very nice, i'll definately be doign this cheap and easy t0 do.

[Gro Harlem]

i'm not going to say anything about power without dyno'ing the car b/c I simply can't tell if its throttle response or a actual power increase. I can tell a differnece in how the car drives. It seems to pull harder in the midrange. I don't rev my car more than I have to because of its age and mileage, so I can't reallly comment on anything above 5000rpm.


The idle is the same, but it doesn't vibrate the steering wheel like it used to. It only does it when the a/c comp kicks on, but just breifly.

I also noticed my subs don't dim my headlights hardly at all if I turn it ALL the way up. Back when I first installed my system I used to blast the sub and my headlights would dim noticeably. I never do this to begin with so it isn't a problem for me, but its something to note if you have a insane stereo system. I had to park my car, and shine the lights at a building to see the lights dim, and even then, it was difficult to see.

My headlights seem to be about the same, i don't really know for sure if they are "brighter" but other people seem to have good luck with their lights getting brighter as a result of this mod.

[RX-KEVIN]

I would recomend doing this to any car I made one for mine for about 27 dollars using gold plated terminals and 10 gauge wire. I noticed a difference, engine seemed to work smoother

[Bijou-MP5]

where did you get the wires and terminals?

[Gro Harlem]

Originally posted by RX-KEVIN
I would recomend doing this to any car I made one for mine for about 27 dollars using gold plated terminals and 10 gauge wire. I noticed a difference, engine seemed to work smoother


Yeah i met you at the meet. I was the one asking you about your MSP right before we left. Your kit inspired me to make my own...but i used 4-gauge wire.


I bought all the shit off ebay. I already had the battery terminal from a different stereo install.


Just search ebay for "4 gauge amp kit" for the wiring, and "4 gauge terminals" for the terminals. I bought the $3.75 "stinger" terminals and a "blue/silver amp kit". But you can get red colored kits for about $5 cheaper if you look.

Make sure you compare shipping prices. They like to rape you on shipping for these amp kits. I paid $8.50 for shipping which is about right b/c it is heavier than most things you typically buy (like 7 lbs). A lot of the assholes on ebay try to charge $20 for shipping a friggin amp kit via UPS ground! Mine was shipped next day air for some reason.......:shrug:

[Gro Harlem]

I'm home now for Carlisle, and I just filled my tank up.

To my surprise. I travelled 172.2 miles on 5.412 gallons, which translates into 31.8mpg. The highest I've gotten prior to this was 30.9, so there is an obvious improvement in fuel economy as a result of these wires.

And just to clarify...when I travel home, I travel from an altitude of 1500 ft to about 50 ft which may or may not be a factor. I travel through mountainous valley's and crap, and always seem to get 2mpg better on the way home than the way up to school.

Also, I didn't have the a/c on...just my stereo at normal volume and my blower fan on at "1" blowing cool fresh air into the car. I was averaging about 65mph and wasn't driving hard at all during the whole trip.

I normally average 29.5 on this trip and about 28.5 on the way back up to school. I document every time I fill up with gas and keep track of my fuel economy religiously. I'll post any updates when I fill my car up next.

[Bijou-MP5]

thanks bunch Gro Harlem

[Bijou-MP5]

how about this one? http://pics.sell2all.com/hd/pbin4.jpg 14.95 each but $14.00 for delivery?

and for terminasl
http://members.aol.com/ricktw/8gring2.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ricktw/8gring1.jpg

[Bijou-MP5]

and this is what you have right?


http://ebay1.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_88dd12e7132fe295764a151ac7a8f4f5/i-1.JPG

[Bijou-MP5]

or get this ground wire kit for $35+shipping

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30056283/Images/gw-r1rd.jpg

[Bijou-MP5]

better picture

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/10056431/Images/ground_wire-red.jpg

[kidkorrupt]

cool how-to!

so thats what the fuss about ground wires is al about =D

[Bijou-MP5]

whats good about custom made kit and ground wire kit in ebay?

[Gro Harlem]

did you guys even read my how-to? It answers all your questions

[ShadowSE]

Would it be just as benificial to route the wires in replacement fashion to the stock wires? Or is the stock location part of the problem? Any components that I should attach ground wires to that wouldn't normaly see them?

[slenser]

I think Bijou-MP5 was asking if there was a benefit in making your own compared to the kits available from ebay.

I would rather run blue wires, but he ebay kits are very hassle free. There are no blue wire kits on ebay.

Has anyone done a dyno comparison on this?

[BlackMP5]

Doe anyone have any pics of the grounding points used in the P5? If not, how many ground points are utilized?

[exlax2145]

can you get a ground kit for the plugs + wires that dont have a distributer?- rum by computers- please help. any mods that help

[KYREDP5]

Originally posted by exlax2145
can you get a ground kit for the plugs + wires that dont have a distributer?- rum by computers- please help. any mods that help

Whether it has a distributor or not will have no affect on what kit you can use. Also here's a pic from another member.

[Gro Harlem]

that pic you showed of the ebay kit uses 8 guage cable.....completely worthless.

you can buy a 8-guage amp kit at walmart for 12 dollars and ghetto rig it with some shitty connectors if you wanted.

All the dyno results were done with 4-guage kits...so i'll stick with that. I have yet to see any proof that 8 guage is just as effective as 4 guage, it is all a matter of your opinion (and cheap-assness) if you want to save yourself 20 dollars by buying shittier wire.

[ditlihi75]

I just bought the wires at a local car audio shop. $50 for the wires cut to length with terminals attached. Just need to go home and install. Good price and 1 day turnaround! I'll post their info later tonight if anybody wants it.

[o.g.sk8er]

Originally posted by Bijou-MP5
better picture

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/10056431/Images/ground_wire-red.jpg

Bijou..where did you see this?
Any links?

Thank's,

Patrick

SUPER nice avatar,btw.:D

[Bijou-MP5]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2416495206&category=33574
here you go~! :)

[slenser]

Originally posted by Gro Harlem
that pic you showed of the ebay kit uses 8 guage cable.....completely worthless.

you can buy a 8-guage amp kit at walmart for 12 dollars and ghetto rig it with some shitty connectors if you wanted.

All the dyno results were done with 4-guage kits...so i'll stick with that. I have yet to see any proof that 8 guage is just as effective as 4 guage, it is all a matter of your opinion (and cheap-assness) if you want to save yourself 20 dollars by buying shittier wire.

Gro Harlem,

I think you did a great job on your how-to, but I think you are a little premature in cutting down the 8ga kits. I would wager, that you will have exactly the same results from them as you would a 4ga setup. I originally had a fairly nasty write-up because of your comments and took it personally.

I would have personally run a before and after dyno, but since it cost $100 here in Omaha, I'm not going to do it. I am tempted to get one done, though.

I did mine this evening and didn't really notice anything different. Perhaps some part throttle response has increased, but I couldn't tell anything else.

A general rule of thumb, if it is under 10HP, you aren't really going to be able to tell without either timeslips or dyno runs. The butt-o-meter usually isn't that sensitive :D

Good luck on those that do this. If anyone has cheap access to a dyno, perhaps you can get some before/after results, be it 4ga or 8ga

[Bijou-MP5]

I got my ground wires from circuit city, it was $1.50 for foot

[Ryan]

Originally posted by Bijou-MP5
I got my ground wires from circuit city, it was $1.50 for foot

im with you and audio store will have access to this wire cheap :)

[melicha8]

I just did my own today. It may be the placebo effect but I thought I had a little boost in HP. I can't comment on other things like Radio quality or headlights. If there was no gain at all and it's psychological no harm no foul it didn't cost me much. Here is what it cost me:
6 ft. 8 gauge speaker wire 1.59/ft
Gold Plated 8 gauge ring terminals 11.99
Battery Terminal Connector 24.99
Heat Shrink Tubing 1.59
Total approx. 50.00

All parts except the shrink wrap were bought at Circut City and were by Tsunami. The shrink wrap was purchased at Lowes.
This was used in conjunction with the stock grounding system. I got a battery terminal with 2 8 gauge connectors and 1 four gauge connector(for stock ground system). One terminal was for the drivers side chassis ground, and the other 8 gauge terminal was for the daisy chain. I used the following ground points. Tranny, Manifold, Passenger side chassis, head, and drivers side chassis. Thanks for the how to. I will post pics tomorrow

[Bijou-MP5]

is there big difference between 4 gauge wires and 8 guages?
I'm just confused which one to buy...

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

there are more strands in 4 awg. that means less resistance. so there is more "flow" through the 4 awg. i would like to use like 1/0 awg but that might be overkill. i would highly suggest the 4 awg.

[Bijou-MP5]

thanks :D

[macklum]

I used 4 guage ,20ft in total + terminals ,came to 35Can. I would make your own kit ,It takes a few hrs to make and install .
These are my connections ,Battery to stock ground point (drivers side ) ,Battery to intake ,intake to fuel rail ,fuel rail to frame bolt ,Stock engine ground to frame (left side )engine to frame right side ,tranny to frame right side .
Everyone has done there grounding different ,as long as the contact is good ,they all shoud work. The whole point of doing this mod is to reduce restance .
The side benifits are ,better idle ,better throttle response ,lower rpms on the highway ,better starting . These are what I have noticed so far . As far as a good thing ,it doesn't hurt ,and its a cheap mod to do .

[KYREDP5]

Just curious, I would like to see where on the tranny you grounded yours, I think I'm going to re-do that one. Also anyone who grounded the alternator, where did you do that at? Thanks in advance. :D

[Bijou-MP5]

I just got my 15 ft of 4guage amp wires from tweeter.
I got it for $1.50 but original price was $2.50. they didn't have that wires in the system :D

[REMillers]

Sweet will have to check this out on the weekend.

[Bijou-MP5]

I didn't feel differeces...maybe I should relocated connections :)

[slenser]

Well, neither did I. I've got wires running so many places now, it's pathetic. I also still have my headlights dim when the a/c kicks on. Not sure if I have any benefit from this.

I also used 8ga wires instead of 4ga, but like I have said before...The butt-o-meter doesn't really register until around 10HP. Only dyno runs will truely show the differences. Any volunteers? :D

Sam

[got wake?]

wow, you all are spending way too much on this;) i get all my wire and accessories from knukonceptz. here's a link for 4 guage cable:
http://www.knukonceptz.com/search_results.asp?PAGE=2&txtsearchParamTxt=&txtsearchParamCat=6&txtsearchParamType=ALL&iLevel=1&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch&btnSearch.x=7&btnSearch.y=10
$.99 a foot, and several colors to choose from.
here's a link for the terminals:
http://www.knukonceptz.com/search_results.asp?PAGE=2&txtsearchParamTxt=&txtsearchParamCat=12&txtsearchParamType=ALL&iLevel=1&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch&btnSearch.x=5&btnSearch.y=10
on sale for $.99 a terminal:D
say you need 15 foot of cable, and 10 terminals. that's ony $25 for some very high quality products;) i'm doing my ground kit with the silver and black cable:D

[SilverProtege5]

I just ordered from knukonceptz, 15 feet of silver 4-gauge wire and 10 terminal clips for $31 shipped :D

[Coqui258]

Hey guys! I just ordered 15 feet of 4 gauge red wire for only $15!!! FREE SHIPPING for up to 20 feet! Here's the link...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3030292130

QUICK DELIVERY! I recommend them!

[happies713]

I have the DIY wire also. but i save you guys the DIY.

Exaple of a typical Grounding kit install. =)
http://www.purplenv.ca/misc/hyper3.jpg

here are the ground wire kits i am selling. 4 gauge wire 100% electroite copper, Oxygen free cable, low resistance, made in the USA wire. and gold plated ring terminals, crimped very securely by myself 40.00 shipped.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid60/p5569102f5bee8b90c205a5fa8e9971f4/fc50fa94.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid62/pab34cadcde8d5ca3c575351f262cc42a/fc214c87.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid59/p4e524ccfa31e99903d8018f0d9ef614b/fc5a86e2.jpg
http://jfesushi.com/marix422/PIX/wires.jpg

5 wires inclued

paypal addy: happies713@hotmail.com i take paypal or money order. please specify car model and color needed.
40.00 Shipped.

[pro5foote]

I went out to look for a cheaper way to do this, I first stopped at a stero shop, they wanted $1.50 per foot for 4gauge wire. Then I went to Home depot and found 4gauge wire for .30 cents per foot. Is this the same wire?? If so this is a hell of a lot cheaper, If not, I'd gladly pay for it done. $30 for materials and my time to make them or $40 for them to come in the mail ready to go... It's worth the $10 bucks to me. What do you guys think??

[MisterT]

I need a ground wire kit also. Where do you get that particular kit? Also, has any one had to upgrade power wire from alternator to the battery? I have a 2001 2.0 liter engine, and the alternator is hard to get to unless I can get under the car. Has any one tried this?

Thanks!

MiStEr T

[Gro Harlem]

Sorry for my previous post. I was kinda peeved that so many people just begin asking questions and assuming 8 gauge works just as good without reading my how-to which answers's all these questions. I took my time to do a write up on this, and nothing be criticism comes from it. You'd be peeved too.


The reason I use 4 gauge (amp kit wire) is becuase it has been proven to have the least resistance. ALl the magazine articles I read say that is partially where the power gains, and increases in throttle response/headlights/starting power, etc comes from. And all magazine articles i've read only test the 4-gauge kits.

The HKS kit DOES use 8 guage wires, but they use 8 wires instead of 5. I have yet to see this kit tested by any magazines, but it might work just as good with the 3 extra wires. ALL of the ebay kits i've seen (including the arospeed) use only 5 8 gauge wires.

I would assume if you want to use 8 guage wiring, do like HKS and use 8 or more to get similar results. Route the wires all over the engine bay. but with all the extra terminals and wire you'd need, it wouldn't really be saving you much money to go this route.

I am just surprised to see so many of you so eager to find a way to do this cheaper, when it isn't even expensive to make your own 4 guage kit to begin with!! You all can afford to buy $20,000 cars, and won't pay another $20 to go from 8 to 4 gauge????? Doesn't make much sense to me.


And that home depot wire will work, but it isn't nearly as effeicient as amp wire. It might have 200 strands (tops) of copper wire, compared to amp kits which have well over 1400 and sometimes over 2000 strands. The resitance will be much higher with home-depot wire.

[slenser]

I will say, that I don't have 5 wires like the ebay kit does. I have 8, I think. I have some extra wire and connectors, so I'm going to be adding them as well. Man, I'm going to have wires running EVERYWHERE! LOL

Gro is also correct about the amp wire being better. Some of you may or may not know, that electricity flows on the outside of a wire. That means that more individual strands is going to mean more surface area for electons to flow. Hence, less resistance.

Good luck to all that do this!

[t3ase]

I just finished reading the how-to.. Very good write up.

Does anyone else have any pics of their completed ground wire setup? I'm a bit confused as to what points I should run the wires to. I've read where some people use 5, some use 8, even 13. Is this a case of more = better or more = overkill? Do you just start randomly attaching them to bolts whereever you find them?

[got wake?]

Originally posted by pro5foote
I went out to look for a cheaper way to do this, I first stopped at a stero shop, they wanted $1.50 per foot for 4gauge wire. Then I went to Home depot and found 4gauge wire for .30 cents per foot. Is this the same wire?? If so this is a hell of a lot cheaper, If not, I'd gladly pay for it done. $30 for materials and my time to make them or $40 for them to come in the mail ready to go... It's worth the $10 bucks to me. What do you guys think??

the wire at home depot has got to be coarse wire. it doesn't flow as well. electrons flow on the outside of each strand of wire, so the smaller the strands in the wire, the better the flow. knukonceptz has some of the finest strand wire available, and killer prices;)

[slenser]

I started with the basics...chassis ground from the battery, to the motor, etc. Then I got creative and just started running them to different areas. Just keep clear of moving parts. I pretty much just tried to tie everything together with a ground. I need to get some strip ties (wherever I put them) and secure them and make it look nicer. There may be some overkill in it, but if it works, it didn't cost too much anyway.

[smithers_0990]

Just go to Home Depot and get 4awg welding cable. Im pretty sure its the same stuff that Best Buy sells but a hell of a lot cheaper. Welding cable is very flexable not the stiff stuff. I will probablly work on finishing my grounding later tonight.


Later

[JustMe]

Could anyone tell me how thick is that wire ? I dont understand that 4 guage thing ( I'm Estonian so dont be suprised :P )

[uclap5]

4 gauge = 1/4 of an inch, 8 gauge = 1/8 of an inch, etc.

[Gro Harlem]

Why buy the wire kits from Best Buy?

Wal-mart sells scosche kits for $25 (4-ga) with a RCA cable and 24 feet of wire! Or you could get a 8 guage kit for $20

[slenser]

Originally posted by uclap5
4 gauge = 1/4 of an inch, 8 gauge = 1/8 of an inch, etc.

NAH! That can't be right. I'm going to have to check this, but I'm sure 8ga is bigger than 1/8 inch.

[slenser]

Yup, just checked... it's 3/16" Sorry can't help on the 4ga stuff

Sam

[got wake?]

8 guage is a little under 9/32" or a little over 1/4"
4 guage is 3/8"
1/0 cable is 5/8"

course it all depends on the thickness of insulation.

[slenser]

Are you measuring the shielding as well? I measured only the wire itself.

[uclap5]

Originally posted by slenser


NAH! That can't be right. I'm going to have to check this, but I'm sure 8ga is bigger than 1/8 inch.


get some 16 gauge steel and its 1/16 of an inch, some 4 gauge aluminum... 1/4 of an inch. that be the way it werks in sheet metal...

in wires... who knows, i dont deal with insulated wires much. :D

[ChopstickHero]

hard to see my wires cuz i have too much red in my engine compartment! :rolleyes: anyways, you can see that the terminals are covered with yellow rubber boots. i used 8AWG wire.

http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/uploads/post-18-93414-DSC00333.jpg

http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/uploads/post-18-93483-DSC00334.jpg

http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/uploads/post-18-93572-DSC00335.jpg

[got wake?]

Originally posted by slenser
Are you measuring the shielding as well? I measured only the wire itself.

yeah. i figured that was what they wanted to know. i measured knukonceptz, street wires, and quest wires. all high quality fine strand cable with thick jackets;)

[Melvin P Nerdly]

Alright............ So.. Yesterday, I went out and bought all my grounding kit goodies and I started at it, I grounded everything I could think of.... Today I worked on the yard and thought I'd go out for a midnight snack and much to my surprise, my battery is dead! Any suggestions what I did wrong? I'm assuming its the wires and not some strange phenomenom that caused it. (by the way, my stereo is broken, but that's a different story) :_(

[got wake?]

post pics of each spot you grounded, and the battery. the only way for the grounding kit to cause your battery to go dead is if it's tapped into a hot wire, or the positive battery terminal;)

[SilverProtege5]

Just did my kit yesterday, immedietly I noticed it was idling smoother, and felt a little more punchy through the RPM's definatly a good mod.

[Melvin P Nerdly]

Originally posted by got wake?
post pics of each spot you grounded, and the battery. the only way for the grounding kit to cause your battery to go dead is if it's tapped into a hot wire, or the positive battery terminal;)

Oops. You mean I'm not supposed to run it back into the positive terminal? hehe. Just kidding. I don't have a camera, but I'll double check my wiring. It might be my amp cable, I let it loose for a while and haven't bothered unplugging it.... Thanks for your help.

[p5sundevil]

hey this kit would work right? I wnated blue and this is an HKS style kit with the circle main plate that supposedly helps a little. Anyway it is 27 plus 11 shipping on ebay so 38 aint bad for a kit.

Of course I might be able to make it myself cheaper at home depot but the time it would take to find all the parts is worht the extra.

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/aimspot2000/GWHKS8B3.psd.jpg

[MisterT]

I installed my own groundkit using 4 gauge wires and gold plated rings, and even got new battery posts. It didn't help the least bit with the lights dimming when the bass hits. I even rechecked things, added a couple more grounds and redid some things to insure a good ground. Every thing is sanded and bolted on good. I did it to help with the dimming problem, but it didn't do shit but make the engine bay look nice. This is not to say that it doesn't do any thing, I just either did some thing wrong or it just didn't remedy the problem I was having.

MisterT:(

[fLyPiNoY7]

from chopstick's pic, i was wondering if this place on the transmission is suitable for mounting some grounding wires on it...i havent seen it get grounded in any other pics so im not sure about that...
http://68.64.220.199:8001/images/ground.JPG

[FrigginGLI]

Does that tiny oil breather help. People over at the Mazda 6 board are trying grounding everything to help throttle response.

[Coqui258]

Originally posted by fLyPiNoY7
from chopstick's pic, i was wondering if this place on the transmission is suitable for mounting some grounding wires on it...i havent seen it get grounded in any other pics so im not sure about that...
http://68.64.220.199:8001/images/ground.JPG

I grounded mine there... nice spot, directly on the tranny. I went from my cylinder head down to the tranny at that location.

My grounding setup...

Battery ----> Driver side stock ground
----> Cylinder head
------> tranny
------> Intake manifold
-------> Injectors
-------> Passenger chassis

[fLyPiNoY7]

well, i finished hooking it all up and it seems like my car has a little more pep in its step!

[sal002]

I used the stock battery terminal when I installed mine - does using a new battery terminal make a difference?

[fLyPiNoY7]

i used the stock terminal on mine too...it looks a little screwed up so i might end up changing that with a new terminal...

[MisterT]

I redid some things to my ground kit so that my aftermarket terminal is using all three grounds: one to the stock ground location, the other to the intake manifold, and the third is in a daisy chain throughout the engine. I also hammered a terminal ring since wires were loose on the ground wire that is grounded to chassis from the stiffening cap. I am praying that my lights won't dim as much. I don't have any expectations though. Every time I redo something, nothing works!

MisterT

[xxxcool21]

installed a 4gauge ground kit in my MSP and so far smoother idle, better throttle response....still have hesitation:( waiting for some numbers on gas mileage but i recomend it car runs much better

[MisterT]

I don't notice any difference in mine unless I did mine wrong, but from the looks of the pics of other people's engine bays, I did mine in the same locations. I used 4 gauge with gold plated terminal rings. I did not for smoother idle or extra hp (which I hear can give a 1 hp boost, although not Dyno'ed to my knowledge), but did in order to help with the dimming of headlights. My amps are pretty good sized amps, but no monster system. I have a 1.5 farad cap on top of that. (pics on SoundDomain). The problem is mainly using the Class A amps one (the sub amp) is in "high current" since I am pushing 2 DVC subs at 1 ohm load. I am thinking of pulling one sub out of the equation to help out. I tried running one VC per sub (2ohm load) and switched the amp in "high power" which not only draws less current, but puts out 200 less watts, and lights still dimmed almost as bad. This thing has become a huge pain in the ass.

I tried running one sub at 2 ohms and still dimming persists. I guess this is normal for every one with a 3rd Gen Pro. I talked to guy on SoundDomain who has only 180 watts going to a single 10 and it dims on his car. These cars suck as far as electrical systems are concerned.

MisterT:mad:

[MisterT]

Thanks to Got Wake, I have a big battery that juices up the system and put and end to the dim of my headlights.:D Now I don't feel like an idiot with his headlights dimming to the beat of the music.

MisterT

[INGREXCO]

from the standpoint of an electrical engineer, the number of strands has jackshit to do with the resistance of a wire..... because those strands in amp wire are alot thinner as aposed to those from homedepot the only difrence is easy of use. when you have a few thousand strands the wire is very flexable and easy to work with. the fewer the strands the harder it is to work with. resistance is the same

[MisterT]

When posting that response, I did so too soon. My lights are still dimming and am need of upgrading wires from battery to alternator. Mazda wiring sucks. I never had this sort of problem with any other vehicle with identical set ups.

MisterT

[PeaB0dy]

What are the wire lengths for the grounding kit if I was to make my own..

The link on the first page is not working..

[zmepro]

linky not worky (sad2)

[twilightprotege]

yep it dont work because protegenetwork.org is no more

[zmepro]

well, that sucks

[Mazdacub]

i anyone needs some custom grounding ideas i have some pics in my folder.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289591723

[MisterT]

I don't know them off hand, but your best bet is to find out where you want to ground them. From one point, then trace it to the next with measuring tape. Continue until you get the amount that you desire. The car in the HOW TO is an older model (2nd Gen maybe) Protege, so you don't want to come up short.

[Bijou-MP5]

ask 1st MP3 in NH, he will be glad to help you out :D

[twilightprotege]

what misterT is exactly what i did....except i used string and then measured the string

[1Canuck2]

Hey Mazdacub, Nice photo collection.

What are those spacers you installed? They widened your wheels somewhat? Is this a safe thing to do?

I have never heard of it before but I certainly like the look.

What's involved and what do you need to buy? If you want to start a new thread "showing them off" I have some questions and I'd rather not steal this thread.

Thanks

Robin Smith

[seakrait]

my local protege club had a ground wire install meet today. here are the instructions.
copied and pasted from a post by niv, one of our members on mpsport.net:

Ground wire Install:

Kit:
• 1 - 8mm x 20mm bolt
• 1 - 8mm washer
• 1 – 8mm lock washer
• 12 feet of 4 gauge wire
• 10 - 4 gauge terminals (to a 10mm bolt hole)
• 2 – 4 gauge terminals (to a 5/16 (8mm) bolt hole)
• 1 – 4 gauge terminal (to whatever bolt fits a 17mm nut)*if you do the
optional right side of engine ground
• 1 battery terminal (11-3501-4 – $3.42 w/tax @ Canadian Tire)
• 20” of heat shrink tube
• zap straps (to make it nice and neat)

Tools:
• Razor blade (box cutter)
• Wire Crimper
• Wire Snippers
• Ratchet set (well you only need the 10mm, 13mm, 17mm and an extension)
• Wrench
• Heat gun (sure you could use your g/f or wife’s hair dryer, but do you want to
suffer the wrath when you’ve wrecked it?) maybe the stove-top element
would work. I dunno.
• Scissors

How To:
1. Cut wire to needed lengths - you’ll need 6 lengths. (these add up to 11 ¾”,
so if you want to put that extra ¼” on one of them I’d do it on #4 or #5 wire.)
a. 1 = 22”
b. 2 = 7”
c. 3 = 23 ½ “
d. 4 = 33”
e. 5 = 35”
f. 6 = 20”
2. You can use the terminal to decide how much wire to strip off the end of
each length. (I did one and it was just a bit more than a ¼ inch)
3. Crimp your 10mm 4gauge terminals to one end of the lengths.
4. Lay out the wires like where they are going to live when you are done, and
attach the Point A’s - the this step is optional but it’ll make your life easier
when you have to put them in for real .
5. You’ll have to cut the factory wires from the terminal ring and put a new
10mm 4 gauge terminal on. (it’s the black wire with the yellow stripe that
disappears under the battery. Cut this as close as you can to the terminal
ring as you’ll need all the wire you can get)
6. Once your wire is lying the way you want, add the rest of the 10mm 4gauge
terminals to the remaining wires except for # 1,4, (5/16th) and 6 (17mm).
Make sure the terminal is lying the way you want as well, then crimp.
7. Put the 5/16th terminals on #1 and #4. and the big one on #6
8. Cut shrink wrap to 1 ½” lengths and place over terminals and wire. Now is the
time to use that heat gun!
9. Put the new battery terminal on. (I don’t know if it matters which way you
orient it, but if the terminal attachment point side is toward the left strut
you’ll probably have an easier time attaching #2 wire.
10. Attach the rest of the B points now.
11. For #6 B point – if you remove the bolt holding the power steering fluid
reservoir, you’ll be able to get at the bolt for #6B easier.
12. Zap strap the wires into place, all nice and pretty.

Note* I didn’t have an alarm on the car at the time of the install, and you are disconnecting the battery so you will reset your ecu and have to reset all your radio stations, as for the alarm I don’t know what you’ll have to do. Turn it off when it starts beeping I suppose.

http://www3.telus.net/nicap/nivspeed/mapped%20wires%20reduced.jpg

http://www3.telus.net/nicap/nivspeed/6wirecloseup.jpg

sorry for the ultra-big picture but it'll help those who are lost.


result?:
idle rpms down and gas mileage up! :p butt dyno tells no tales. :(

EDIT: 5/16th bolts, washers, lock washers should be 8mm.

[jcywong]

can anyone pls tell me which is the alternator??
can you reference to the last post

[1Canuck2]

Where's 5B? Same spot as 6A I assume, but just checking...

[benzero]

Originally posted by p5sundevil
hey this kit would work right? I wnated blue and this is an HKS style kit with the circle main plate that supposedly helps a little. Anyway it is 27 plus 11 shipping on ebay so 38 aint bad for a kit.

Of course I might be able to make it myself cheaper at home depot but the time it would take to find all the parts is worht the extra.

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/aimspot2000/GWHKS8B3.psd.jpg

i bought that kit. no instructions. how the hell does the whole circle earth thing work? i was just going to run it like everyone else. anyone have any instructions on where that circle thing goes?

[niv]

Originally posted by 1Canuck2
Where's 5B? Same spot as 6A I assume, but just checking...


lol.. thanks for that question.. i forgot to put that in. now added in eye-sore magenta!!! :)

they aren't the same site.. and now you'll see

sorry bout that....:eek:

[niv]

here's a better view of the battery setup

[1Canuck2]

So wait now Niv, aren't you missing a wire? Don't you need one from 5B to 6A? I am confused. I thought the whole point was to bring things back to the stock ground location. How does wire 6 get back there.

In your previous wires, one end of each cable joins to another, right?
1A and 4A on same bolt
5A and 3A on same bolt
3B, 4B and 2A (on neg battery terminal)
But things go from 5A to 5B and end. Then 6A and 6B are off in no mans land. Poor wire 6, no friends and no "real" grounding :(

Correct me if I am wrong (which is highly likely).

I am ready to pull the trigger on doing this, I have located 4 gauge red amp wire for $1.50/foot (Canadian, like $1.10 US) and am just looking for cheaper ring terminals ($3.50/pair for gold-plated - that's ~$2.50 US).

Niv, your photo is the best I have seen so far, thanks for the effort, I just want to make sure I get it right.

Thanks

[jcywong]

what is pint 6B is it just a body earth?

[niv]

Hey Robin,

I should point out first that i'm not the expert on this.. just one of the guys at the install meet who took some pics and remembered the process. :)

no wire is missing now with the updated picture. i didn't show 5b ending.. now it is...
wire 6 is a replacement of a existing factory wire (as you probably have noticed on your own engine), and provides a stock engine & grounding point.
I'm not too familiar with the precise electrics of this theory. But it shouldn't matter if you don't go to a stock location on 5 or 1 as you are merely providing a point of good grounding as opposed to looking for some kind of grounding circuit. As you'll notice attachment point 3A and 5A isn't a stock point.

I think as long as you are providing a route from engine to a reasonable ground point 5B not being stock is ok.

:D thanks for the compliment on the photo. just wanted to make it easier for others to be able to do the same mod.

pm me with an email addy, the guy who set up our meet had already put together the kits with the ring terminals.... he might be able to give you some info on where to find it...

Originally posted by 1Canuck2
So wait now Niv, aren't you missing a wire? Don't you need one from 5B to 6A? I am confused. I thought the whole point was to bring things back to the stock ground location. How does wire 6 get back there.

In your previous wires, one end of each cable joins to another, right?
1A and 4A on same bolt
5A and 3A on same bolt
3B, 4B and 2A (on neg battery terminal)
But things go from 5A to 5B and end. Then 6A and 6B are off in no mans land. Poor wire 6, no friends and no "real" grounding :(

thanks

[niv]

Originally posted by jcywong
what is pint 6B is it just a body earth?

6B is a stock grounding point. yes, right on the body. same for 1B,2B, and 5B.

[jaytee]

y isnt the link working?

[speed-dog]

The instructions do not come up. Any other addy for them?

[speed-dog]

Does anyone know what brand CAI is in KYREDP5 .jpg attachment of the 5/20/03 post? That yellow looks awesome.

[Poseur]

niv: Just want to say, you're awesome. My heartfelt thanks to you, and your club for taking the time to document and take some extra poking and prodding and guesswork out of the equation for the rest of us. I'm personally stepping up to big power for my stereo soon, and am trying to get everything else in line electrically to make it possible. The information is greatly appreciated.

[niv]

hey.. no prob.. i just documented it, really, it was someone else's idea ;)

the next thing our club is doing (this sunday, actually) is painting the valve cover and heat shield. so i'll be posting that on our bcmazda.com forum too :)

[duMb KeoLa]

link no workie...need again please

[niv]

what link are you talking about? the pics? they work fine!

[1Canuck2]

I think he means the original How To page which has been dead for ages...

[niv]

lol.. oh that...

oh yeah.. how'd your wires turn out robin? did you post pics?

[1Canuck2]

My wires turned out fairly good. I am quite happy, mostly for the engine dress-up and the smoother idle (and the fun of another car project...).

I posted pics in a different thread, but here they are:

Battery (http://www3.sympatico.ca/robin.smith1/Battery-Ground.jpg)
Right-side (http://www3.sympatico.ca/robin.smith1/RightSide.jpg)
Full engine shot (http://www3.sympatico.ca/robin.smith1/Engine.jpg)

Thanks

[niv]

Looks Tres Good :)

[duMb KeoLa]

the how to link...the first post on this thread...the link does not workie

[cervy]

is there anyway you can bring back the page with pics ? or anyone else have a link with step by step instructions? im interested in how to do this although im not sure if i should buy a kit or do it myself but i would like to see a how-to

[ddogg777]

Before anyone posts saying the link doesn't work, go to page 6 and scroll down, there's a great kit write up.

[1Canuck2]

Before anyone posts saying the page is wrong, he means page 5. The first page article is no more, and appears will never be no more as its been gone for a long time.

There's plenty of help further and pictures throughout the thread including many pictures and the aforementioned write up. Read the whole thread before posting a question!

[ddogg777]

Dang, I knew I should've doublechecked.... (silly)

No wait, it is page 6!! Scroll down to the bottom.

[1Canuck2]

There's only 6 pages in this thread and this one is page 6 (unless there is someway to change the default # of posts per page).

[hawaiiannights]

So whats good about ground wires and what wires are you actually changing? Sorry I didn't want to read through all the pages. i don't understand the purpose of ground wire kits.....please help a dumb ass out!! Thanks!

[1Canuck2]

You are joking, right?

[ddogg777]

Originally posted by 1Canuck2
There's only 6 pages in this thread and this one is page 6 (unless there is someway to change the default # of posts per page).

There is a way, but I have never messed with it. Mine shows 8 pages to this thread.

[hawaiiannights]

Originally posted by 1Canuck2
You are joking, right?

no

[ddogg777]

Your engine needs electricity to run, the stock wires are not good and especially after a few months. Grounding wires improves the electrical conductance and improves EVERYTHING!! Like mileage, throttle response, etc.

[hawaiiannights]

Ok then why don't all cars come with thicker wires?

[twilightprotege]

cost (yeah $1), and because they couldnt give a sh!t

[ddogg777]

Multiply $1 by 1,000,000 cars a year sold and how much money did they just make by skimping corners?

[twilightprotege]

exactly. it all adds up.

[Poseur]

my local protege club had a ground wire install meet today. here are the instructions.
copied and pasted from a post by niv, one of our members on mpsport.net:

Ground wire Install:

Kit:
? 1 - 8mm x 20mm bolt
? 1 - 8mm washer
? 1 ? 8mm lock washer
? 12 feet of 4 gauge wire
? 10 - 4 gauge terminals (to a 10mm bolt hole)
? 2 ? 4 gauge terminals (to a 5/16 (8mm) bolt hole)
? 1 ? 4 gauge terminal (to whatever bolt fits a 17mm nut)*if you do the
optional right side of engine ground
? 1 battery terminal (11-3501-4 ? $3.42 w/tax @ Canadian Tire)
? 20? of heat shrink tube
? zap straps (to make it nice and neat)

Tools:
? Razor blade (box cutter)
? Wire Crimper
? Wire Snippers
? Ratchet set (well you only need the 10mm, 13mm, 17mm and an extension)
? Wrench
? Heat gun (sure you could use your g/f or wife?s hair dryer, but do you want to
suffer the wrath when you?ve wrecked it?) maybe the stove-top element
would work. I dunno.
? Scissors

How To:
1. Cut wire to needed lengths - you?ll need 6 lengths. (these add up to 11 ¾?,
so if you want to put that extra ¼? on one of them I?d do it on #4 or #5 wire.)
a. 1 = 22?
b. 2 = 7?
c. 3 = 23 ½ ?
d. 4 = 33?
e. 5 = 35?
f. 6 = 20?
2. You can use the terminal to decide how much wire to strip off the end of
each length. (I did one and it was just a bit more than a ¼ inch)
3. Crimp your 10mm 4gauge terminals to one end of the lengths.
4. Lay out the wires like where they are going to live when you are done, and
attach the Point A?s - the this step is optional but it?ll make your life easier
when you have to put them in for real .
5. You?ll have to cut the factory wires from the terminal ring and put a new
10mm 4 gauge terminal on. (it?s the black wire with the yellow stripe that
disappears under the battery. Cut this as close as you can to the terminal
ring as you?ll need all the wire you can get)
6. Once your wire is lying the way you want, add the rest of the 10mm 4gauge
terminals to the remaining wires except for # 1,4, (5/16th) and 6 (17mm).
Make sure the terminal is lying the way you want as well, then crimp.
7. Put the 5/16th terminals on #1 and #4. and the big one on #6
8. Cut shrink wrap to 1 ½? lengths and place over terminals and wire. Now is the
time to use that heat gun!
9. Put the new battery terminal on. (I don?t know if it matters which way you
orient it, but if the terminal attachment point side is toward the left strut
you?ll probably have an easier time attaching #2 wire.
10. Attach the rest of the B points now.
11. For #6 B point ? if you remove the bolt holding the power steering fluid
reservoir, you?ll be able to get at the bolt for #6B easier.
12. Zap strap the wires into place, all nice and pretty.

Note* I didn?t have an alarm on the car at the time of the install, and you are disconnecting the battery so you will reset your ecu and have to reset all your radio stations, as for the alarm I don?t know what you?ll have to do. Turn it off when it starts beeping I suppose.

http://www3.telus.net/nicap/nivspeed/mapped%20wires%20reduced.jpg

http://www3.telus.net/nicap/nivspeed/6wirecloseup.jpg

sorry for the ultra-big picture but it'll help those who are lost.


result?:
idle rpms down and gas mileage up! :p butt dyno tells no tales. :(

EDIT: 5/16th bolts, washers, lock washers should be 8mm.

The original pic looks to have been trimmed down. I've been really interested in thsi since I first saw it, nad saved the initial pic, hopefully you guys don't mind, but I'll re-post it in it's full glory.

[FLSilverP5]

where did u buy the 4 gauge wire terminals to connect to the screws?

[Poseur]

Hardware store, my man... Actually this reminds me of something. Get terminals that are CLOSED ended. This way when you shrinkwrap over the seam, there will be NO wire exposed to the elements that will be succeptible to rust.

[FLSilverP5]

If i want to ground it to the right side as well do i need more then 12 feet of wire?

[Wingman21]

5. You’ll have to cut the factory wires from the terminal ring and put a new
10mm 4 gauge terminal on. (it’s the black wire with the yellow stripe that
disappears under the battery. Cut this as close as you can to the terminal
ring as you’ll need all the wire you can get)
I dont understand this statement !? Why do we need to cut the factory wires; can we just pull them out !?

Thanks

[Poseur]

I dont understand this statement !? Why do we need to cut the factory wires; can we just pull them out !?

Thanks

That's the ground for some of your car's vital components. I suppose if you wanted to chase that wire down, you might be able to replace it, but it would very likely serve no purpose.

[Wingman21]

That's the ground for some of your car's vital components. I suppose if you wanted to chase that wire down, you might be able to replace it, but it would very likely serve no purpose.
OK so you just cut it and re-use it somewhere !?
Also, is this the only factory wire (under the battery) you have to cut 'cause there is an "s" at the end of "factory wireS" !??

Thanks

[eting_pro5]

link won't work.....for me

[chuyler1]

Planning my stereo install and I figure I'll do the grounding kit at the same time...but answer this...

Isn't it a 2-way street in electron-ville? I mean, what good is adding all these ground wires w/o beefing up the power wires to the alternator and other things? I haven't opened my hood yet to investigate but my guess is that one or two power wires could be upgraded to 4 or 1/0ga for an added benefit. Has anyone considered this?

Also, does anyone have any proof of better gas mileage or higher hp. I'm not expecting anything (I just want the battery to look nice for my install) but this thread has no documentation of benefits.

[ddogg777]

Before I did mine I was consistently in the 27mpg range, now I have never gone below 28mpg. Very slight..

[1Canuck2]

I noticed a smoother idle, but not much else. My idle dropped 200 rpms or so and was a lot more even. Other than that, it sure looks purdy, but probably isn't worth much else. No regrets though.

[mp5smuggler]

bump

[ddogg777]

Uhm, why are you bumping this thread?

[mp5smuggler]

so i dont have to search for it again and itll count as a post lol

[1Canuck2]

See the "Thread Tools" link at the top of the thread. Click it and one of the options is "Subscribe To This Thread". This is a much better option that posting meanless stuff to a thread thus causing everyone else who is subscribed to get a notification.

Plus upping your post count with posts of this nature is nothing to be proud of. Too much of that action and people will get PO'd. I don't have as many posts as you (but then, why does post count matter?) but I am pretty sure the majority of them have been either asking or answering something of value in a thread instead of falsely upping my post count.

[macklum]

If you dont want to lose the thread ,bookmark it in your favorites ,thats what I do when I want to vist a thread on a regular basis .

[Khoifather]

How come 6A doesn't connect to 6B? It connects to the power steering reservoir bolt, and not where 6B is that.

[1Canuck2]

Uh, 6A does connect to 6B. The picture with the green markup is just showing you where the Power Steering reservoir bolt is for some reason. If you look at the circled 6B, you can see it is a bolt with a ground wire connected. That's the place to mount the wire 6.

You can see my groundwire pics here:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/robin.smith1/Battery-Ground.jpg
http://www3.sympatico.ca/robin.smith1/Engine.jpg
http://www3.sympatico.ca/robin.smith1/RightSide.jpg
The Right Side shot shows where the red wire (called 6A - 6B in the other pic) goes.

[YelPro03]

I got the wires and 24K gold plated terminals today and I made the wires. Plan to install them on the car over the weekend. I'll take some more pics when done.

Here are all the wires and a close up of the wires and 2 of the connectors. They are crimped, shrink wrapped and then have the rubber covers over the connectors.

[YelPro03]

Sorry about the size of the pictures. I'll remember to use smaller pics next time.

[Gen_One]

do you need to remove the old connection when doing this grounding?

[Enamelboi]

I've read this whole thread, many times actually, but I have yet to find out how to crimp the terminals to the wires or the battery? Sorry if this is a stupid question but I have never done this before and would like to do it right. Ane another question how do you wire everything if you have an amp kit already connected to the battery terminal?

[FLSilverP5]

i just used one of those huge clampers that is attached to a table, and a hammer. My crimpings aint going no where. But doesnt it seem weird the the screw at the front of the engine block is grounded to 2 places or am i wrong?

[niv]

as long as you are cutting of the right amount of the wire sheath (about 1/4 inch - depending on your terminals) all you do is insert them and using a crimping tool, crimp that bad boy down.

re: amp kit.. couldn't youjust undo the amp kit and attach that? i'm thinkin you probably wouldn't have to though seeing as you want to connect to the ground (neg) which your amp kit won't be attached to.

in the pic the amp kit is wired to the left side.
the right battery terminal is where the original ground is attached.

second pic is closeup of ground terminal.

re: the 2 points from the front. i believe the whole point is to provide grounding points. 1 going to the body (shorter) 1 going to the battery terminal ground. (longer) i'm no expert but it would seem that these are two quality grounding points. sure you could do just one. but you could also do two.. lol... (yeah like that schpiel was a BIG help.. lol)

[Big Dog]

I just made and installed my own "Hyper Ground Wire kit"!! It cost me $48 shipped for the wire and terminals and about 1.5 hours to make and install the wires.

Here is the How-to write up:

http://www.protegenetwork.org/pro/1stgen/articles/howto/groundwire/

What do you think?
What is the Purpose of a Grounding Wire for?? I have read some of the threads and I don't understand how a grounding wire can increase HP or Tourque, please help and submit any web links for kits already made:)
Big Dog

[03MSPRO]

the link on the original post no longer works!!! Could someone tell me the grounding points?

[1Canuck2]

<BOV>
Bloody hell, does no-one read a thread through before posting?

There are so many posts in this thread saying, the original link doesn't work, yet all the info you need is in this very thread as everybody so helpfully added all the info from the original link and more throughout.

I suggest you read all the posts.
</BOV>

[lazyme]

i bought that kit. no instructions. how the hell does the whole circle earth thing work? i was just going to run it like everyone else. anyone have any instructions on where that circle thing goes?

Same question here. How to install this? Where does that circle thing do? Can anyone help us out?

[Stormtrooper77]

Just bought some wire and terminals for this DIY. Holy hell are the terminals expensive! 10 cdn for 4!

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

Same question here. How to install this? Where does that circle thing do? Can anyone help us out?
from my undestanding (so take this with a grain of salt) it works like this

your car is one big ground..
every electrical device in your car is grounded to the chassis (i.e: ecu and all sensors for the ecu[keep that thought in ur head)....
if you connect all the grounding points you will have better grounds and i have been told your sensors will get better more accurate readings and less electrical "noise" through the system.

when i did this used monster cable 4 gauge grounding wire, connectors from auto zone (i'll explain how the wires are connected to the connectors i.e: crimped in a second) and a terminal from auto zone.

connections: i dropped a ball of solder (i dont think i spelt that right) in the connector, slid the wire in the connector, then heated up the connected so the solder melted to the wire/connector, then i put the connector in a bench vice and made a VERY good crimp onto the wire, i did this to all but one of my wires and that one has come out recently and was dangerously close to being in my belts (eep) i cna only imagine what a 4 gauge wire would do to a rubber belt.

[NJMP3]

Hey guys i just wanted to know what are the best points to attache the ground wirres to ?

And where you guys saw the most gains ?


Thanks alot !

[Stormtrooper77]

The grounding points should be mentioned in this thread.

After doing this mod I saw no gains whatsoever, this didn't even cure the dimming headlights. The only thing I noticed was smoother idle.

[Moonman8]

I just picked up some 8 awg ground wire from KnuKonceptz for this ($0.37 per foot for 8 awg, $0.49 for 4 awg). I am also using Monster 200 series ring terminals with sealed ends to eliminate any corrosion inside the wiring ($3.50 per pair from local electronics store and I bought 8 pairs). I will be using the KnuKonceptz positive battery terminal (which I already had for my amp/sub) and a negative battery terminal from Stinger ($11.50 with shipping bought on ebay). The surprising thing was that the Monster ring terminals were more expensive than all the wiring and the neg. battery terminal combined. It's because they are "Monster" but it was all I could find that were sealed off.

As recommended earlier, I will be soldering the ring terminals onto the wire to eliminate any chance of wires coming loose. Also, every ring terminal to wire connection will be protected further with heat shrink tubing. Basically I'm trying to reproduce 1sty's famous kit (except I opted for 8 awg wire while his was 4 awg).

What do you guys think of me doing another full write-up when I do mine? It's a pretty straight forward thing to do, but supplying info like lengths of each wire and specific contact points might come in handy for the DIY-ers.

[NvigR8]

I just installed a DIY ground wire kit and now my check engine light is on. Has this happened to anyone else? Its error code P0031 - there is low voltage to the front O2 sensor.

[samm5149]

has any one in ft. lauderdale done this? i can't seem to find any one who sells 4ga wire by the foot

[Moonman8]

has any one in ft. lauderdale done this? i can't seem to find any one who sells 4ga wire by the foot

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productMaster...20Kable (http://www.knukonceptz.com/productMaster.cfm?category=eKo%20Kable)

Nothing but good experiences with them. I've placed several orders and never once had any trouble. Shipping is blindingly fast, too. Cheapest wires, terminals, RCA's, etc I've found anywhere in town or online.

[sam1]

I just installed a DIY ground wire kit and now my check engine light is on. Has this happened to anyone else? Its error code P0031 - there is low voltage to the front O2 sensor.

make sure all your fittings are nice and tight. when i made & installed my ground kit, my new battery terminals weren't tight enough & it wouldn't even start (stupid bosch terminals look good, but really suck, btw). went over everything & re-tightened all my connections and it was good as new...

[NvigR8]

I checked all connections - good. Still had the light on. I took all parts of the kit off of the car and the light is still on. Two more things:

1. When I originally installed the kit, I connected one end of a grounding wire to the little metal bracket at the right front of the engine block which happens to have lots of other things wired to it stock. Thinking that might be the problem, I moved the connection. Didn't help but perhaps caused some lasting harm...

2. The O2 sensor is bent a little, but it was that way long before I installed the ground kit.

Any ideas?

[samm5149]

i hate to act stupid......what do you use to crimp the terminals on to the wire? nothing i have is strong enough

[chuyler1]

Put them on your garage floor and use a hammer.

[samm5149]

Put them on your garage floor and use a hammer.
OOOOOOOOOOO... and some how i didn't think of that....thanks!

[chuyler1]

Nor did I until someone pointed it out to me. Those 4ga and 0ga crimps are no match for hand crimpers...You'd need something along the lines of a bolt cutter to do it that way! Just not enough torque in my fingers I guess.

[samm5149]

DONE!!!.....looks good waiting to test

[chrisrbl]

it seems as though the link is bad...at least i cant see it? How do you do this agin?

[boostdprotegelx]

i bought a grounding kit off of ebay..but i'm thinking i want to do this whole grounding kit myself. cut the wire and everything. i would look through the whole thread and shit, but i'm at work and don't have time. I"m sure someone has already mentioned what to buy and how much and blah blah. i'm just wondering from one of the quesitons i read, should we cut the stock harness, and upgrade the alternator/battery/power wire, to bigger wire, while doing this also? i think it might help..any ideas? ALSO, what are the grounding points? thanks.

[pasadena_commut]

There seem to be two types of wiring kits out there. One has a big connector with 7 or 8 connectors on it that sits on the negative battery terminal. The other has fewer connectors and those wires are daisy chained out across the engine compartment.

The first type I more or or less understand - it's a single point ground. That's usually the best you can do to get the noise out of an electrical system since the current flowing down one wire doesn't affect the ground provided by the next wire. The gauge of the wire shouldn't be all that critical so long as the resistance is pretty low (less than the path through the chassis). The downside is that all 7 or 8 cables need to be routed to their attachment points.

Conversely, the daisy chained grounding kits are certainly easier to route but could have problems because the current from one point on the chain will affect the ground voltage seen by other points on the chain. The way to minimize that is to use very low resistance wire, since V=IR, the smaller R, the smaller the change in V seen elsewhere along the chain when some other point injects current I.

But I'm just talking out of a textbook. Does anybody know of a reference where they actually measured how well these grounding kits actually work? I'm not talking about the effect on the car (idle, hp, smoothness,etc.) which near as I can tell tends to be reported subjectively, but actual amps and volts and watts going through the grounding kits, and delta-Voltage between the various points that have been grounded.

[pasadena_commut]

Does anybody know of a reference where they actually measured how well these grounding kits actually work?

I still have not tracked down exactly what I was after and I'll keep looking. But this link is pretty useful:

http://www.stealth316.com/2-wire-resistance.htm

It provides tools for calculating voltage drops across various wire sizes for various currents. It also gives various specs for wire power ratings for various loads. Anyway, punch in 4' for length and 1 amp for current gives a voltage drop of 2.6mV with 8AWG and 1mV for 4AWG. Neither is very large but if that 1 amp was noisy the resulting 2.6mV of noise feeding into the wrong place might make a difference. The power dissipated in both cases is neglible, P=IV, so 2.6 mW and 1 mW respectively. Still, what temperature rating for the wire insulation have you folks been using? The ground current probably isn't going to melt anything but the heat from the engine sure could.

If we assume that once a good grounding kit is installed all of the current back to the negative battery terminal passes through its wires, roughly how much current would one expect from the various ground points? The starter motor must be the biggest draw, followed by what, the A/C clutch, the radiator cooling fan, headlights, ignition, um, headlights, and ???

[pasadena_commut]

Here is the How-to write up:

http://www.protegenetwork.org/pro/1stgen/articles/howto/groundwire/



The original link is long dead but here is a copy of it complete with pictures:

http://www.clubprotege.com/wil/howto/groundwire/

Now that I've read a bunch of these grounding kit articles, including the original, I'm becoming more and more dubious about the value of most of the grounding points that are employed. Assuming that the car's original grounding system is intact the only parts of the car that are likely to benefit from removing a few millivolts of ground noise are all electronic: some of the sensors, the ECU, and the stereo. (I'm thinking that if any of the sensors read by the ECU are that touchy then the leads betwen that sensor and the ECU probably need to be shielded as well, better grounding might not be good enough.) Things that won't care: the motor, parts belt driven by the motor, the manual transmission, all of the nonelectronic parts of the electrical system (the wires, switches, electrical motors, fuses and bulbs). This suggests that the key grounding points to address, if anything good is to happen at all, are on or near the sensors, ECU, and radio, and of course the primary ground near the battery. This is discussed most clearly here:

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/grounding.htm

I found this a particularly good reference since it shows how to clean up the existing grounding connections, and explains why some of those might be degraded over time, at least on an RX7.

I'm also a bit leery of the wire and connectors people are using for these projects. The core doesn't matter much, 4AWG is 4AWG, but the insulation does matter, and most posts don't indicate any spec at all for the insulation. It should probably be SGX, SXL, or some other high temperature automotive engine compartment grade insulation. In fact, they (including most kit makers) don't say anything at all about the insulation. If the insulation melts, abrades, or fails in any way it might result in a ground to something that should not be grounded or greatly increased corrosion of the ground wires. As for the connectors, these really need to be attached better than the crimp used in normal electrical practice. What works around the house or office building is not necessarily going to hold up for long in an engine compartment, where it is subjected to constant vibration and extreme temperature variations.

[mazdaspeed777]

would this gold plated MTX Thunderstuff 8 gauge battery terminal work for the terminal part of the kit??

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q82/mazdaspeed777/da47_1.jpg

[musiclikscreams]

y don't u just save the time and get it on ebay for like $25?

[DarKrID3r]

i dont know why but i dont see those for sale anywhere now?

[Blackp5owner]

Has anyone installed this grouding kit?

http://www.racinglab.com/hygrvosywico.html

I bought it just recently but the instructions where for general points in the
engine compartment.(bang)

I much rather see it on the protege5 2003 2.0L.(p5black)

Any pics(pics) and suggestions(hitit) would help.

I have a total of 6 wires and the voltage system which come with the negative and positive terminals.(attn)

[DarKrID3r]

omg did you really purchased that $330 kit?

send it back and get a refund !:P

[Blackp5owner]

omg did you really purchased that $330 kit?

send it back and get a refund !:P

Well this money was part of my tax refund.

I also bought the injen CAI, hydro shield, greddy cat back evo 2 exhaust
and of course the grounding kit.

The greddy and CAI sound and feel beautiful on the MP5!
I can defenitely feel gains. (cabpatch)

I just figured that this would be a better quality product than just making your own from cheap materials.

That is why I don't mind that I spent the money. But I want to install it correctly.

[Blackp5owner]

Here is the lowdown on this thang!


http://www.sigmaautomotive.com/HVS/hvs.php


http://store.racinglab.com/cysphyvosyuv.html

[DeadGeneration]

WHOA! The original posters link is advertisement and pop ups! WTF! remove that crap please...

[Blackp5owner]

I installed the damn thing myself and I got to admit it looks and feel good.

I will post pics as soon as I get the engine bay clean.

Hyper GT grounding system kicks balls!!(nuts)

Peace.

[Lil Freek]

$330 for a grounding kit?!!!?!?!?

you can make your own for like $40. $290 profit!! i need to get in that biz.

[Blackp5owner]

Yeah the $40 kit does not come with the voltage system..(rei)
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r286/silvano_album/100_0455.jpg
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r286/silvano_album/100_0464.jpg
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r286/silvano_album/100_0483.jpg

[sm4rtf00d]

bump for updated instructions? Anybody got any. Link doesnt work for me. TIA

[Vocko]

Instructions ?
The link doesnt work as stated before.

[mightyray]

http://www.clubprotege.com/wil/howto/groundwire/

[HKPRO5]

http://store.racer-union.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/SFV/32388/vpid/5550934/vpcsid/7722373/rid/126363

Here is a cheap set...lol