Ground cable, ghetto-bling-tightass make-your-own style

I know Wyn has done a grounding cable DIY before. But I want to go at it, ghetto tightass style!

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk! If your car explodes or you lose your radio station presets which you forgot to write down beforehand because I did not tell you to, or in the worse case, lose your radio security codes it is not the fault of Ozhonda or me.:cool:

Aim: Everyone spends $120 or more for that capacitor grounding kit thing. Do they work? I have no idea. Do I want to spend $120? Maybe not (because I am tightass). Do I want to mess around with something ghetto? Hell yeah!

Required: Sockets that fit the bolts you want to take off. I used 10mm and 12mm, 4 gauge wire (why so thick? Because this is ghetto! Choose a colour you like), ring terminals/connectors for 4 gauge, negative terminal connector (optional), pliers, scissors, wire clippers (recommended), soldering iron & solder (optional), silicone spray (optional)

Steps:
1) Measure the length of cable that you require for a section. Let's start with the negative terminal to chassis since it is short and easy. Measure it and then mark it on the cable with a little snip.

2) This is the difficult part. Cutting it. Cutting 4 gauge wire using wire snippers is not easy..... Plus the cable is too thick to fit into the plier's wire cutter. Best would be to use a lock cutter. Had to use both hands to cut. Anyway, you know what a wire being cut looks like... right? Right?????

4) Ok, you've cut it somehow without accidentally snipping your pinky off (hey, it's the same thickness as a 4 gauge cable!). Now get your length of cable and your ring connector ready. Aren't they pretty?
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/8918/parts5on.jpg

3) Take your wire and strip about 10mm off the end using your scissors. Why scissors? Because the wire is too thick to fit into the pliers or wiper stripper! After this step, I fit the sheath of the connector over the cable, just so I don't forget and only realise it after crimping the connector on. But hey, if it happens to you, then it's ok. Why? Because it is ghetto! Just put the sheath in through the other end of the cable. But that's a bitch to do because the sheath is so tight..... oh so tight......
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/9...ipcable0fl.jpg

4) Now, this is an optional step but I recommend it. Soldering! It's fun to solder. Didn't you do this in your school's workshop/electronic classes? Except that you are not dealing with 1 strand of wire. You're dealing with a 4 gauge! So that puny soldering iron won't do. Time to break out the big guns!!!! If you don't have big soldering irons.... (well I didn't), then use a small butane soldering iron instead. Why do I solder? Because once you solder it, the tip is stiff, and when you crimp it the connector is less likely to fall off. Stiff tip, won't fall off. I am starting to like it already. http://www.acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/wish.gif The unsoldered cable is soft and the connector fell off after I crimped it. Soft is not good. Why do you think the little blue pill is selling so well?
http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/1...ingiron5zd.jpg

5) Get the tip very hot, and then put solder to the cable and heat them up! Heat heat and more heat! Make sure the solder melts and soaks in between the strands of wires. Oh, and don't burn your fingers or clothes. Burning flesh smells like roasted squid. Yummy! Oh.. and it hurts too.
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/9...rcable27sn.jpg

6) Let the hot tip cool down. Then take the connector, widen it a bit using pliers. Put the cable in and squeeze the bugger tight! Pay no attention to the ghetto scratches and the flaking gold plating.
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7...nnector0lw.jpg

7) I sprayed a bit of silicone lube onto the connector and exposed wire. Why? So that it slows down corrision. Well, at least I hope it will. Then pull the sheath over the ghetto part so that it is hidden and all you see is a professional job!
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9...edcable5du.jpg

8) Now, repeat for the other end if you need it for both ends. Once it is done, it's time to install it into your car! Now.... what stands out the most in my engine bay..... AH HA! That weak tiny cable from the negative terminal to the chassis. Look how dull and thin that 8 gauge cable is! Take it off!!! It''s connected to the chassis by a 10mm bolt.
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4...akcable3zn.jpg

9) Take the bling bling replacement and put it on. For the terminal I used, it accepts a 4 gauge cable without a connector. So just solder the end and put it in. Tighten down until you feel the pleasure... Then, take the other end and connect it to the chassis. Oh and watch the teensy weensy sparks too. Now... doesn't that look bling? Hmm, I should up the shine in photoshop....
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7...erminal2pv.jpg

10) What? Did I hear you ask if that's all??? Is that all? Is that all?? *Runs and prepares another cable* OOOoooh... let's ground that alternator. The alternator is fun, because there is an accessory belt nearby. If you have it the wrong angle, your nice grounding cable will be shredded by the belt. So make sure you plan your ground wire's location. I bent the connector so I could have the wire pointing towards the radiator. (ooooh, another heat source). There was one bolt on the alternator that seemed to hold the alternator to the block. So I just HAD to take it off! Hahhaa.. (no, the alternator did not drop off the block) It was a 12mm bolt btw. And a huge one at that. Of course the hole had to be too small for the shaft to fit in. In this case, there are no drugs to make the shaft smaller, so I used a dremel to widen the hole instead. Easy peasy. Look at how happy it looks now with a bolt through its hole.
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/8...ernator9vg.jpg

11) And a very important thing to do is to make sure that the cable does not touch any hot surfaces. Even the metal on the radiator is mighty hot. So it is time to enlist the help of my leeeeetle friend... Mr. Cable Tie. Look at the pic! It's so stealthy that you can't spot the cable or Mr. Cable Tie!!! Well, they are there somewhere having fun. Just route the cable through and attach it to the same ground point on the chassis that you connected your negative terminal to. No point wasting extra cable if you are already using gooooold plated connectors (which are your only choice when working with 4 gauge cable because they are so bling).
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/414...edcable7rl.jpg

Well, that's it for today. After this, I'm going to ground my head to my block (to make me a blockhead) and then connect that to the transmission case which then connects to the thigh bone... I mean negative terminal.

Benefits: None that I could tell, but wasn't that fun? http://www.acurazine.com/forums/imag...lies/drunk.gif

Hope that I don't clog up your internet with the huge pictures.

haha good work buddy!....should do it in red or blue power cable for extra bling!

I had a choice of black or red.... Since I was in Sydney where I will get checked, I went for black to avoid questions.

good write up... stanely knife cuts through 4ga/ 0ga wire or for stripping the insulation, if you are after a ghetto alternative:)

I did the same thing only i just added to the current earths rather than replace them. And i didn't bother to solder as i'm not the best at that an i was lazy. I just crimped mine and wacked them on. I put on an extra 4 earths just in case. ;)

hey guys
you should not need to solder then crimp.
you should crimp it and then solder. you will need at least 30w iron to solder 4ga good.
this method is so the terminals is solid with the wire. no matter how hard to yank it it wont come out.
the method you used has alot of resistance between the 4ga wire and the surface of the gold plated ring terminal, even more resistance than not presoldering.

after a while it will still oxidise.

that is my 5cents
i hope you guys see the point im making here.

Yeah, I get you. Hmm, that is interesting. I'll try to measure the resistance between the copper cable (0.009 ohm per km from specs), and the resistance of the lead/tin solder material.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Limbo

I did the same thing only i just added to the current earths rather than replace them. And i didn't bother to solder as i'm not the best at that an i was lazy. I just crimped mine and wacked them on. I put on an extra 4 earths just in case. ;)

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If your chassis ground is limited by the cable, then the additional ground cables won't do much since the chassis ground depends on that short length of cable between negative and chassis. But then again, that cable is short and of good quality, so it should be ok. I just didn't like the WEAK thin cable! hahahah Ghetto me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by micka

good write up... stanely knife cuts through 4ga/ 0ga wire or for stripping the insulation, if you are after a ghetto alternative:)

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I hate stanley knives!!! They almost always cause cuts (statistics from uni here). We have a stanley knife exchange program. Bring your stanley knife to the safety officer and he'll give you a nice knife with a long blade and full-sized handle.

Arronng i put my earths in all different locations to make sure its gets earthed better. I just left the normal ones cos honda put them there and they must be working cos the car starts! ahahahahaha

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aaronng

Yeah, I get you. Hmm, that is interesting. I'll try to measure the resistance between the copper cable (0.009 ohm per km from specs), and the resistance of the lead/tin solder material.

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my method will increase current capacity.
say your stereo drains 200A.
the grounding should also support that much.
if ur ground is thick but the conection between the thick cable and the other conductor is poor you are NOT utilising the cable effectively.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iced

hey guys
you should not need to solder then crimp.
you should crimp it and then solder. you will need at least 30w iron to solder 4ga good.
this method is so the terminals is solid with the wire. no matter how hard to yank it it wont come out.
the method you used has alot of resistance between the 4ga wire and the surface of the gold plated ring terminal, even more resistance than not presoldering.

after a while it will still oxidise.

that is my 5cents
i hope you guys see the point im making here.

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Agreed. I don't see the point in what you did really. I thought you were tinning the wire when I first read through. With what you've done simply heat the connector and wire up again and if you've put enough solder on it will reflow and join. Might help to just touch a little bit more to it to help melt and add some more flux. Great write up though.

neat :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

i might give this a try myself. I might choose a different location for the grounding wire though heat shield and grounding wire arent mixing too well atm

Entertaining article,nice work!

However u might want to redo your ring terminals,as solder cold flows over time under pressure,so the wires will eventually become loose in the crimped connection,especially when vibration is present.
A quality crimped connection needs no solder & is a more reliable method,most things are mechanically connected these days.

Btw,most sparkies rely daily on the good ol stanley knife.

awsome DIY dude

did ths help at all withthe headlight dimming prob ??

ive done the exact same thing with my eg civic
volts were running low.
about 13 volts while the car was running with everything on, eg, headlihgts a/c, desmister it would drop to 12.5volts.
also the temp gauge would fluctuate.
i tried replacing the battery, alternator, and it still wouldn't charge properly, i checked my earths, and they seemed fine... SEEMED
but i decided to change the earthing cables anyways, too very fat 2 gauge cable.
fixed my problem. now charging at 14.2 with everything on, about 14 volts.

nice job~! aaron!!! but nah :P going to stick with my Pivot stabliser idea HAHAHA check the engine bay, neat and clean :P

cool read tho:D

Back. Time to anwer questions.

#1 issue. I tinned it so that the wires were stiffer. You might be right that there could be more resistance from the lead/tin solder, but from researching around, copper has a resistivity of 0.000000017 ohm/meter, while lead has 0.00000022 ohm/meter and tin 0.00000011 ohm/meter. As you can see, it will only come into play when you are playing with long lengths of cable. Since most of the ground cables that you will use in the engine bay would be less than 2 meters, increased resistance from the solder is not an issue.

With the cold flowing, I don't have any doubt about it, so I will check my crimping every few months.

Benefits? None that I could see. My lights still dim, and when cold starting, it still starts the same. Warm starting has seemed to improved a bit, but I'll have to keep a record first of how many struggling warm starts I have ever since upgrading the cables before claiming that it helps.

For electrical purposes, the common ground that all the sensors, ignition and electronics use is located under the intake header cover. I am going to run a cable from this point to the chassis ground and see if it improves anything.

If there is resistance by that minor amount then just add another earth to make up for it

I made my own too. Cost me $5.

soldering between the wire and the terminal is essential...not only for physical strength...but because it greatly reduces oxidation...what is oxidation...

if you haven't soldered...you may see a greenish residue on your cables...this residue if dripped onto the many rubber pipes that are in your engine bay can eat through them in no time...

gez i had mine on for ages not a single sign of oxidation, but then i think my earths have gold plating cos i got them from a sound place.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roar

soldering between the wire and the terminal is essential...not only for physical strength...but because it greatly reduces oxidation...what is oxidation...

if you haven't soldered...you may see a greenish residue on your cables...this residue if dripped onto the many rubber pipes that are in your engine bay can eat through them in no time...

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The green residue is typically formed from the reaction due to heat between copper & the plasticisers,flame retardents,etc found in the insulation of mainly older styles of PVC insulation,not the oxidisation due to lack of solder.You will see it mostly in under rated cables used in elec installations using the first generation of PVC cables.Tell me how much green goo youve ever seen dripping out of the ground strap between the rocker & the radiator support?How corrossive is it? I'm not sure,but i've had it all over my hands for hours before,& its been described to me as non toxic on many occassions.

As for the strength,when copper is heated to solder it becomes brittle near the edge of the solder joint & more likely to snap due to constant vibration or mech movement,i've fixed alot of these examples in my time.

Back with an update! Been trying out warm starts, where the Euro really struggles (there was a thread complaining about this), I find that with the GGC (ghetto grounding cable), the car starts without any problem now. Cold starts are still the same, needing about 1 second of cranking. But warm starts are pretty much less than 1/2 a second. So impressed!

Thank God for GGC! I might do this myself when I get my suspension fixed up!! woot woot. GGC FTW!

Once I finish my uni work, I'm going to ground the sensors, ECU, VTEC system and ignition system.

1+ rep now do it to my car

I have measured cables using a clamp meter. Current does flow through them.

where are the locations for the factory grounds on EG / B16 ?? got the valve-cover one and the negative battery terminal..

nice write up, whats the best cable to use, standard battery cable or the oxygen free amp power cable?

I used oxygen free copper (OFC) 4 gauge cable. Not too expensive. Only 5.95 for 1 meter if purchased in small amounts. If you get 4 meters at a go (which you should if you want to fully ground each point), then it's cheaper.

BTW, I just grounded the ignition/sensor/ECU point directly to the -ve terminal. Seemed to pull harder but I'm sure it's my imagination. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VT3C

where are the locations for the factory grounds on EG / B16 ?? got the valve-cover one and the negative battery terminal..

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WHERE ARE THEY ??????????

I know that the JDM Del-Sol has 7 earths, and the EG6 has 5 engine earths.. is different between models etc.. but WHERE are they all located ?

found the one on the gearbox/subframe..

dont forget the drivers side gearbox ground wire , and thermostat too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bennjamin

dont forget the drivers side gearbox ground wire , and thermostat too.

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Got that Gearbox one.. but where's the thermostat ? under the IM I assume ?
isnt there one off the alternator also ?

If your standing at the front of the car facing the engine. The thermostat is located down where the head meets the block on the top left corner. A ground does come off that one, but it goes back into the the wiring harness. The main ground I would worry about is the one coming off the battery, the one coming off the starter motor(Acts as -tve for it too work) One off the Gearbox and 2 off of the valve cover.