Sub amp problems. Possible ground location??

**comatoast** · 12-21-2012

Just ran all the wire in my 06 gt. I'm gonna do some testing with the dmm tomorrow but and especially a DC test at the amp to make sure it's seeing 14 volts. But I grounded the amp the the black bar underneath the seat where the seatbelt bucks are attached to. Everything else on the car seems almost like plastic. So is that a decent ground spot , if not where did you guys ground too?

**LS1GTP** · 12-21-2012

Not sure if your car is the same as 97-03, but I grounded mine on the fuel pump access panal under the carpet. Working just fine.

**simbah** · 12-21-2012

Strut mounting bolts located on top of strut tower is a favorite grounding spot.

**comatoast** · 12-21-2012

Under the hood reads 13.86 volts. As well as at the amp. The remote/ground on the amp reads 13.35. Is that low?

**Fatboy501** · 12-22-2012

Nope. Not low at all.

**Bologna** · 12-22-2012

I ground mine at the seat belt bolts on the bottom, best ground imo.

Also if there is paint on your grounding spot it will not work very well. Take some steel wool to it and make it shiny.

Also, is your amp going into protect mode or not? (red light vs. green light)

**comatoast** · 12-22-2012

Originally Posted by Bologna

I ground mine at the seat belt bolts on the bottom, best ground imo.

Also if there is paint on your grounding spot it will not work very well. Take some steel wool to it and make it shiny.

Also, is your amp going into protect mode or not? (red light vs. green light)

No. It's all green. And the only reason I thought 13.8 was low was because amps are rated at 14.4 volts.

Also are you guys running lead or agm batteries

**jteske88** · 12-22-2012

seat belts post if by far the worst place to ground at. Go get your self some sandpapper and remove a strut bolt, then sand area so there is metal to metal, not paint to metal. Even know you will have some voltage drop when reading your points, it will show its true colors once you start playing on your set up hard. Voltage drop equals heat and that in turn fries the amp.

**jteske88** · 12-22-2012

And i might add that are cars voltage will vary from 12.8 to 15.00 depending on how the car feels lol i recomend getting a volt meter for sure

**comatoast** · 12-22-2012

Originally Posted by Bologna

I ground mine at the seat belt bolts on the bottom, best ground imo.

Also if there is paint on your grounding spot it will not work very well. Take some steel wool to it and make it shiny.

Also, is your amp going into protect mode or not? (red light vs. green light)

Hmmmm.

So how will I get voltage drop from moving the ground toa "better spot"? And I'm not on the seat belt bolt. I sanded down part of the black bar and drilled through that. I drilled through the part that curves up in about the middle of the passenger seat.

**jteske88** · 12-22-2012

Im just saying the seat belt post is not a good ground if your trying to pull more than 1k watts. I had originally did that and got to the point where there was too much drop. so i did the BIG 3 and relocated my rear ground. But then again all my power/ground wire 2/0 awg wire

**comatoast** · 12-22-2012

Originally Posted by Bologna

I ground mine at the seat belt bolts on the bottom, best ground imo.

Also if there is paint on your grounding spot it will not work very well. Take some steel wool to it and make it shiny.

Also, is your amp going into protect mode or not? (red light vs. green light)

I still think my alt is bad regardless. I got a new ac Delhi 750 cca 120 rc battery and when I went to autozone to test my alt they couldn't do it apparently because my battery was low. So how does it discharge that much in one day?

**comatoast** · 12-22-2012

Also post a pic if you have one of your power / ground wire and amp setup.

**jteske88** · 12-22-2012

whos setup you looking to see?

**comatoast** · 12-22-2012

Originally Posted by Bologna

I ground mine at the seat belt bolts on the bottom, best ground imo.

Also if there is paint on your grounding spot it will not work very well. Take some steel wool to it and make it shiny.

Also, is your amp going into protect mode or not? (red light vs. green light)

Originally Posted by JTeske88

whos setup you looking to see?

Anyone's. just wanna see how everyone ran their wires

**Bologna** · 12-22-2012

Originally Posted by comatoast

No. It's all green. And the only reason I thought 13.8 was low was because amps are rated at 14.4 volts.

Also are you guys running lead or agm batteries

They rate the amps at 14.4 because they higher the volts = more watts from the amp. Some car audio companies rate their equipment around 12.x volts to make it more realistic.

13.8 is perfectly normal. And I disagree with the seat belt bolt being a bad bolt. With the proper cleaning of it - I couldn't think why it would be bad. I've always done it from there

Also if your alternator was bad you wouldn't be able to drive your car because nothing would be recharging your battery. Check your battery voltage now and see what it says after driving it. Anytime from 12 down is bad imo

**comatoast** · 12-22-2012

Thanks man. At idle with heater and radio on low volume the voltage under the hood matches back at the amp. 13.8 volts or so. Just making sure it wasn't a bad alt battery or ground since sears napa and interstate suggested these cars use a agm battery and that if you used a lead acid you would have voltage drop

**Bologna** · 12-22-2012

Originally Posted by comatoast

Thanks man. At idle with heater and radio on low volume the voltage under the hood matches back at the amp. 13.8 volts or so. Just making sure it wasn't a bad alt battery or ground since sears napa and interstate suggested these cars use a agm battery and that if you used a lead acid you would have voltage drop

I would use agm, but the different type of batteries won't give you a voltage drop.

The reason people suggest agm is because if you have a lead acid battery in your trunk, you don't want it to fall over and ruin everything lol

I run/suggest XS Power Batteries - They have never been outperformed by anyone as far as I know