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Help! Ground issue

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Old 07-12-2018, 08:37 PM
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Default Help! Ground issue

Please help! I have a 2000 blazer and just replaced all of my ground wires at the battery with 0GA wire. I'm using a sky high car audio aluminum battery terminal with set screws and a Kinetik side post adapter . Originally I was gonna use a Kinetik battery, but it won't fit and I can't use it. So I'm using the screw in post adapter that was gonna be used for it on my side post battery instead. Now I thought upgrading the cables was supposed to make it better . However, since I've done this, I have engine noise coming through the radio , fm stations have static, and things just don't seem quite right. Everything seems kinda weaker but works. I hooked up all of the ground points the same way I took them off. I don't get it. I mean, I still have the same voltage at every point including the battery terminal. Can someone please help?
 
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Old 07-12-2018, 11:55 PM
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I'd make sure that I had less than 5 ohms on all my ground wires and test them for backfeeding voltage.
 
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Old 07-13-2018, 08:46 AM
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How do I do that exactly?
 
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Old 07-13-2018, 10:53 PM
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you changed the grounds, what about the main power lead from the alternator to the battery?
 
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Old 07-13-2018, 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by blazen_red_4x4
you changed the grounds, what about the main power lead from the alternator to the battery?
I kept the oem wire and added a 0ga wire with it straight to the battery. I also disconnected the negative terminal, touched the negative terminal of the battery with the negative lead from my multimeter and touched the frame ,with the cable not touching it , with the positive lead of the multimeter and got a reading of almost 12 volts. Hope the way I said that makes sense . I didn't think you were supposed to get a reading that way .
 
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Old 07-14-2018, 12:49 AM
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When you disconnected the negative battery cable a no ground connection (open loop) is made. You completed the circuit when you added a jumper wire (your meter) from the empty negative battery post to the frame (chassis ground). You'd have to disconnect the positive battery cable as well to lose all voltage. If you test how many ohms of resistance there are from the disconnected negative battery cable to the frame it should be less than 5 ohms.
 
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Old 07-14-2018, 01:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Rusty Nuts
When you disconnected the negative battery cable a no ground connection (open loop) is made. You completed the circuit when you added a jumper wire (your meter) from the empty negative battery post to the frame (chassis ground). You'd have to disconnect the positive battery cable as well to lose all voltage. If you test how many ohms of resistance there are from the disconnected negative battery cable to the frame it should be less than 5 ohms.
​​​​​​I did. And it's like .3 at all connections . If the ground behind and below the battery wasn't tight enough, could that cause problems I'm having? I tried to re-do that connection and couldn't seem to get it tight enough to where I couldn't move the ground cable. As a result , I stripped out where that bolt goes and now it won't tighten up at all. Would it be ok to move that ground location to the bolt above it that bolts the battery tray? Also, I was thinking about running a ground wire from the battery to the front of the alternator bracket or between the alternator and bracket .
 

Last edited by Maverick338369; 07-14-2018 at 01:16 AM.
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Old 07-14-2018, 01:18 AM
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Make all your electrical connections the best you can. Loose wires makes fires.
 
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Old 07-14-2018, 01:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Rusty Nuts
Make all your electrical connections the best you can. Loose wires makes fires.
Ok. So the battery tray bolt would work? What's your thoughts on where to place the alternator ground? And I really appreciate your and everybody else's help.
 
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Old 07-15-2018, 07:16 PM
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So, update. I used the battery tray bolt for my ground behind the battery . I sanded around where the bolt goes on the body and both sides of the battery tray. I ran the ground cable there as well as the other wire that was grounded there. I also have the ground wire for the fog light HID relay harness grounded there. After doin that and makin sure it was good and tight, everything is back to normal . Except for one thing . My radio goes to 40 . If put a song on and pause it, then turn it up past 30, you can hear engine whine in the door and dash speakers . 30 and below and you don't even hear it, but I know it's there. It affects my fm reception too . Not sure why . I also ran a ground from between the alternator and bracket to the negative terminal . The engine runs normal now and doesn't seem to lag as much with the ac on . My next question is, what battery would be best to replace my stock one and what amperage alternator should I run? The Optima yellowtop seems to be about the only one that fits . But do I have to get the 75/25 or will the 34/78 be able to squeeze in there? I have 1600 watts rms for the stereo system, all HID lights including aftermarket fog lights at the bottom and the quad mod for the headlights . I've changed all other bulbs to led and also have an led underbody kit . I'm also running a capacitor next to my sub amp .
 

Last edited by Maverick338369; 07-15-2018 at 07:23 PM.
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