Grounding the amp

[Razzman]

Ok so i got one of the Orion amps in today and while reading the owners/install manual is says do not ground amp to the negative battery terminal, why is that? Of course this is exactly what i was going to do So if it's a no-no them i'll have to run 3 times the wire back to the motor and ground to the block i guess (of course anything to make it harder ) What's the big deal anyway?

[Domsz06]

i have never heard that, I always do.

[Domsz06]

i always ground back to the battery when ever I can, the more grounds you have the more chance you get for the "Buzz/whine" sound by having too many grounds. even a quick google search confirmed my thoughts on this.

[spharis]

That is in regards to a car environment. It will in most cases introduce noise into the system at some point along the lead, so the manufacturer suggest this. In most competitor systems, you will see the lead grounded all the way to the battery banks. Manufacturers will suggest you keep your ground as short as possible. Most of it has to do with just keeping it simple for the installer. Ground to you battery.

[Jeff T]

Assuming you have one battery grounded to the other, can you ground your amp off either battery, or does it need to be grounded on the same batt from which the amp draws power?

[Razzman]

Thanks SP, as usual!

[lee]

Assuming you have one battery grounded to the other, can you ground your amp off either battery, or does it need to be grounded on the same batt from which the amp draws power?

All grounds should tie into each other somehow/where so it should not matter.

[spharis]

And remember, the ground is just as important as the power lead......which way to electrons flow, hmmmm?

[Domsz06]

What I was saying exactly SP, thanks for the backing up

[my86stanggt]

I run a buss for the negative and a buss for the positive to keep the clutter off my battery and makes them easier to remove. It's the same as connecting directly though.

[Razzman]

I run a buss for the negative and a buss for the positive to keep the clutter off my battery and makes them easier to remove. It's the same as connecting directly though.

I'll be running a Rockford four out fused block for the positive and a four out ground block for the negative. I'll run one power & ground wire to each amp and power and ground to a split power/ground bus terminal under the dash for all the other stuff to keep it clean.

[Jeff T]

Lets say you are going to run 1 power to dist block, and in that power wire, you are installing an inline fuse. How important is it to have a fused dist block?

[lee]

Lets say you are going to run 1 power to dist block, and in that power wire, you are installing an inline fuse. How important is it to have a fused dist block?

You should be ok with a standard distribution block.

[my86stanggt]

Fused dist block will allow you to tell which line has the problem but it's not needed. The best thing to have close to your battery is one main inline fuse or even better a circuit breaker with auto reset.
I have a remotely switched circuit breaker so I can kill power to the audio system while the boat is not being used. I feel better when I don't have energized cables.

[spharis]

Fuses are more applicable in an automobile where the entire chassis is grounded. You don't have the same situation in a boat, unless you are on a carrier or something.