Hey guys,

Where are you guys grounding your amp in the back?

Thanks.

 

I do not have an aftermarket Amp in my car, but I will tell you this, since the battery is on the back, ground right to the Neg Terminal.

You can not get a better ground, the battery acts as a giant capacitor to keep you from getting alternator whine.

 

I wish my battery was in the back. It is Justacoopa.

Anyone else.

 

Oh, ok then look around for a factory grounding point, BMW (the Germans in general) are known for having multiple solid grounding points. But try to keep the wire as short as possible.

If you absolutely can not find a point, find a decently thick piece of metal near you amp, sand to bare metal and put a screw in it, and then coat with paint or white lithium grease.

 

like he said

pull up the carpet

sand/grind off the paint til you see metal.

drill a small hole and insert a small sheet metal screw

hook your wire

paint over with POR 15 if a perfectionist

replace carpet

done

****
the entire body is the ground path for the chassis . . . you just need to get past the paint.

90% of the time, just drilling the hole and using a stainless screw provides sufficient metal to metal contact .. but for an amp I might go farther.

 

I know what a ground is. LOL.

Just wanted to see if I can just utilize pre existing knowledge of ground point in Mini for those who walked the path already instead of stripping the paint and driving a sheet metal screw.

Just for those who are reading this thread, there is a factory ground point in the rear quarter panel compartment on the driver side which you can access from removing the cover off for the brake light bulbs.

 

I do not think anyone was trying to insult you and say that you did not know what a ground was, as it was obvious that you do as you were asking for a grounding point. "We" were merely giving you a possible alternative, and one that would provide a good ground and not induce noise.

I did note in my post that I was sure there would be a factory grounding point near the rear (remember that thing about the Germans?) and as I stated you found one. One thing I would check with a grounding point that is used by the brake lights is for 'pop' with the stereo one and set at a low volume slowly tap the brake pedal and listen to see if you get any noise if not, then Rock On.

 

LOL. Like I said, I just wanted to see what other people are doing on their Minis so I don't reinvent the wheel; more less I was asking for a precise location.

I would think ALL modern vehicles have ground distributed throughout their chassis. Otherwise it would be a huge waste, miles and miles of electrical wires, thousands of miles of them when mass produced. For a fact I have not owned a vehicle that only had front or just rear ground point. Moot point.

Thanks for the tip on the common ground on the brake light, I will be sure not to use them.

How did y'all route wires from the front to back? Don't feel like pulling panels and break plastic inserts/clips.

 

I personally do not have an aftermarket system in my car, I have the HK system and a MediaBridge I use to connect my iPhone to play podcast and music, and I rarely use that I prefer around town to listen to the motor. I only use the Stereo on the highway.

My experience on car stereo comes from years of working in the mobile electronics field being a certified installer, IASCA Competition Member, and later a IASCA Judge.

I have done many custom installs in everything from P.o.S.'s that the stereo cost more than the car, to brand new Ferrari's to cutting holes in 100k$ boats that still have the plastic wrap on the hull and have never even seen water yet!

I no longer do that work, but chasing alternator whine will always happen as the mobile environment is not one that is very suitable to the playback of music and powering amplifiers.

As to running the wires in my car, I am a bit OCD, and I like to have ANY integration of my aftermarket parts appear to be totally factory, as an example; I ran the wiring for the MediaBridge from the factory CD Changer connection in the boot, behind the panels, removing each as I went and tie strapping off about every 18 inches of so, the wires are wrapped in a cloth tape that matches the factory wire-loom. Once they reach the front of the car it runs up the column area by the passengers foot well again being strapped to other factory loomed wire, and running along a factory loom that travels behind the passenger-side dash panel. The final termination of the MediaBridge control module is placed on top of the factory radio, taking care not to introduce any noise from other electronic control modules (and there are alot in these cars).

It worked out well, my next project will be to install a Howerton Meth/Water injection system and the gauge that goes with it. To do this I am going to have to wire in the control module, which connects to the MAP, the Fuel Injectors, the B+, Ground and Switch and has fail-safes and many other connections.

BUT the biggest hurdle is going to be the gauge integration, for this I am going to build a 3 pod gauge cluster using a factory A-Pillar and using Fiberglass and Gel coat to make it again look factory. I am going to add a Boost/Vac Gauge and a AFR Wideband in the cluster. This project is going to be expensive and take a good bit of time.

Well you put in a dime and got a quarters worth on this post!

 

I suggest running a load of pylons back to your house. It's the only way to be sure.

The heated rear window should have a reasonable GND, as may the lights. There may also be a GND for the boot lid. So long as you are not trying to shove 60A down one it should be fine. Think about a star GND or GND loop isolator for your audio or you will be at risk of alternator whine.

 

LOL you sure do like to talk about yourself.

I sure have received a quarters worth of information about you.

Thanks.

I will let y'all know what I have been up to when I am done with it.

 

I used the bolt between the rear seat backs that holds them down. I put a connector on the wire, backed the bolt out and bored it back down. My neg wire is about 6 inches long.