💬 Why is good grounding important? | TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

[@RadDadisRad]

That orange bolt is something I’ve seen a few times as an industrial electrician. Your analysis of the ground is pretty spot on. I close loop grounded my entire analog electrical system. It decreases ohms per foot and also dissipates static saturation from high output electronics. I did star ground all of my digital signal devices.

[@haltech]

If you follow any online forum where vehicle wiring is discussed it won't take long before you come across a debate about the best way to ground your ECU. So today we are going to get our nerd on and look at the theory of electronic circuits and help you figure out the optimal grounding solution for your particular wiring application. Pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, grab that cardigan, pull up a chair and get grounded! Got a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave it in the comments section! ----------------------------------------------------------- Liked this video? Here are more like it: How Flex Fuel Works: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYLGk5SDfqadmdU How Dyno Tuning Works: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJzGineorMZ9eMk How Traction Control Works: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJzRZXWIrNp5iZI ----------------------------------------­---------------- Don't miss out on our next video - subscribe to our channel. ----------------------------------------­---------------- For more Haltech goodness check out our: Website: www.haltech.com Facebook: facebook.com/HaltechEngineManagement Instagram: instagram.com/haltechecu

[@lukebarnsley6710]

Couldn't you just use a metal blocks or something, since car's no longer have steel rails anymore?

[@westie4ageturbo.749]

As a comms tech we had no ends of problems with grounds. Just once the installer wired the earth to the battery without a fuse and the car / truck burnt down. This was due to the engine ground being dodgy and all that start current going through the radio which was bolted to the chassis. Nek minit flames and lots of them. Standard rule of thumb, same as the star topology, in the vid never ever ever put anything on the neg terminal of a battery unless it is a big cable going to a cassis or engine ground. Only ever connect accessories to the cassis ground adjacent to the battery unless you are unlucky and then can warm yourself by the nice car fire. It happens a lot. The voltage drop issue is something hard for people to understand as well. All cable is a resistor. The better the cable the lower the resistance the less loss the less voltage drop. Misfires etc are a bugger to find when they are due to wiring hiding in the car

[@c4prlm4st3r]

Learn something from uour comment. What about usage of pivot spark earth? One end need to be connected to battery -ve as well. 4awg cable will be different story?

[@michaelmounts1269]

outstanding! after years of hearing how bad “ground loops” were…you are the only person who could actually explain why…👍

[@RayHenry100]

❤

[@802Garage]

Super important topic. Well covered. Thanks mates!

[@thromboid]

Great info! Another consideration besides resistance/impedance is loop area: a large, open current path is going to act like an antenna, so it's generally good to minimise the loop area with dedicated grounds that run close to the outbound wiring (perhaps even twist them together if the increased inductance won't be an issue).

[@2slofouru]

Perfect explanation. I've tried MANY times to explain this to people on forums, and they don't seem to understand what happens when there are high current loads. Oems that ground the ecu at the block already know.

[@kylestyron5370]

Brilliant brother. I’ve been chasing a grounding issue for a few days. Work on my engine because I’ve had no luck with bringing to a shop. Great video. I have been schooled

[@dannewton8589]

This all made perfect sense, except for the star point. What I mean by that is; Do you need to run a wire from the battery negative to the engine rather than the chassis? And then make sure you have an epic ground strap to the engine for everything in the car to return to the battery via the engine? Please answer @Haltech as I'm in the process of wiring my 2jzgte into my Supra and I haven't grounded the coils yet!

[@Domas64]

Wow very good info. A lot of misconceptions in community in this area. Will have to watch video multiple times though to absorb it. A lot of voltage drops there :)

[@abdul-kabiralegbe5660]

Me too. Multiple Misfires. Will have to erase those error codes preventing me from fully understanding this. LOL!

[@zenkiis1473]

Video on EZ30R and EZ36. Would be good to see a video on these in the same format as the other engine videos.

[@Phos9]

If you want to make it really exciting you can ground to your radiator so your coolant does double duty as a liquid ground strap (weight savings!). Voltage depending on how many air bubbles you have, never a dull moment! Make sure your radiator and engine are made from the same metal, or else the electric current will eat a hole in something.

[@haltech]

I see you like to live dangerously!

[@dw2176]

radiators are not a wire

[@Phos9]

@@dw2176 Not with that attitude.

[@onlycryptofans]

Tremendous!

[@StreetDreamzTT]

I’ll have to watch this video multiple times 😂 I suck at electrical, it’s not your fault.

[@chrisparrinello4192]

I’m with ya there

[@vepster9191]

Could you please make a video in regards to the EZ30R and EZ36. Would like to see an in depth review of the EZ series from you Scotty! Like if you agree.

[@flinch622]

DC current does odd things, so the idea of star point grounding makes good sense and leave the [bonded] frames purpose of dealing with fault currents only.. If there's a weakness in some modern cars, it's that straps are undersized just a bit, and that can drop voltage under high current [such as cranking]. No harm in sizing up the negative side cabling, but leave the rest as designed.

[@Caleb5761]

I've really been enjoying these videos. Keep it up guys!

[@json8172]

Thank you for this vid - the star grounding helped my injector/sensor issue.

[@holly-jothompson3717]

Ive now watched a few or several i guess videos on grounding in vehicles. This was a great video and thank you for making it and uploading it the single point grounding system like mentioned in the video. I have a question which stems from a video i watched about wiring a track car which does also implements the single ground point, but takes it a step further by using 2 main ground points vs one, they use 1 ground for all low amp draw and a high amp draw ground The main concept or idea principle being having low amp draw componemts and high amp draw on same ground, (i forget verbatim wording of reason as to why you shouldnt but iirc the reasoning was similar to that stated invideo and it was just bad all the way round for signal integrity, cross chatter,(noise) ground loop and i think component health was possibly in there Is this coreect

[@evolusd]

Man this was way over my head 🤯

[@owlytv]

Thanks so much for the video.. if you're going to ground off the cylinder head do you still then need an earth strap from the motor to the body somewhere?? Do you have a practical install video of what grounding everything to the cylinder head looks like? I don't really understand then why your ign1a coils have 3 grounds in their diagram? Is there a practical wiring video somewhere to highlight star point grounding off a cylinder head?

[@piecartbox]

Fixed blowout and helped fuel issues in my GTO

[@VeteranTuner]

Hi, I use the technical current direction. What is the best wiring method if I want to use the engine as a Starpoint connection and want to locate the battery in the trunk? What should I do with the generator cables? (+) and (-) cable from the full bridge rectifier to the battery (+) and (-) and two parallel power cables back to the engine bay ? (-) to engine! Should I connect the chassis to the battery (-) pole or to the engine (-) Star point ? I want to use the parallel lines to avoid EMF, as far as possible. Kind Regards

[@davidqi8073]

I accidentally attached my throttle ground wire to the wrong location, it supposes to ground to the intake manifold but I hook it on the air intake vacuum line. the result was the car shaking after start-up and the dashboard gauge acting like its shortage somewhere. So I did some research and put the ground wire in the right spot, and the car runs back to normal now. So I m curious, why the throttle ground mistake can cause that shaking problem, or what exactly is the throttle grounding for? thanks.

[@92pmda]

Some parts use signal grounds and some use solid frame ground you might have mixed them by accident

[@4g63spdfreak]

Ok, awesome so do I bundle all the ground wires together and ground to the cylinder head for the Haltech IGBT high output coil or do I send ground reference back to the ecu?

[@peterrasmussen7414]

What is your thought on splicining ground wires. ie. 4 coil on plug set up. Instead of 4 ground wires you slice all 4 into one wire and then ground.

[@filipprucnal]

I'd like to know this as well. Since you'd be grounding your coils to the cylinder head, those 3 short wires won't make a big difference but I'd still like to know. The only thing I can really think of is using adequately sized wire for this common ground (since it's carrying 4 times the current)

[@ArcanePath360]

Thanks. I now know enough to know that I know nothing and should probably just give my bike to a mechanic. Pretty sure I have a grounding problem. When I turn on the power; 1. I hear the fuel pump making erratic noises, and it never shuts off, which I'm sure it used to. 2. My voltage on the display starts of at about 7v and rapidly rises to 11.8 and slowly levels off to 12.1, which is incorrect, as separate multimeter readings show it's about 12.8v with no load and a load test brings it down to 11.6 3. My tire pressure sensors also take longer and longer to get a reading 4. Sometimes my electronic suspension gets stuck in one position during extreme cold 5. My servo motor for the exhaust flap does not do a self check at startup 6. My starter motor sometimes turns once and the battery dies and my display does a factory reset. But then it's suddenly fine and there's plenty of power I've taken the starter apart and it's fine. The battery seems fine. All terminals have been cleaned up with fine grit paper (there was a bit of corrosion) but I'm still getting the problems, and am compensating by putting the battery on charge every night which on the bike. Having real problems in learning what I should be looking for as I find electricity very complicated and mysterious to get my head around. Just when I think I know it, I get curveballs.

[@konstantin-big]

Did you find a solution to your problem???

[@ArcanePath360]

@@konstantin-big No, it just sort of stopped being a problem so much. I think the battery health is just a little below par. A surface charge usually helps. I also think the solenoid on my particular bike as an issue where it can sometimes get stuck.

[@konstantin-big]

​@@ArcanePath360 Ok

[@jorgegonzales878]

I install 6 relays on my Polaris ranger for sound system light bars and different accessories and I run all the grounds straight to the battery. Is that okay or should I put everything in the chassis??

[@rustynail6363]

Tis the little things in life that are usually the most important.

[@yusufkarriem1074]

Thanks Matt, learning everyday

[@kik0013]

So question . If you connect the battery ground and Ecu ground to the back of the Cylinder Head and the Ignition coils to the front of the cylinder head would that be okay since the head is a star grounding point ?

[@JoeWrenches]

Good info guys! I appreciate the knowledge!

[@trentmeyer23]

Would love a practical video.

[@dr.z3426]

So ground everything to the same spot?

[@danielalmendarez1878]

I own a 1946 Chevrolet truck with a 6v system. It has a new battery & the generator & starter have been checked & cleaned. My battery negative cable is connected to starter bell housing. I installed a 2nd ground cable from the motor to the frame also. Problem is when the truck has been driven for awhile and I turn it off it is hard to restart until it cools. Suggestion please.

[@streetstyle9200]

On a vehicle with body on frame is it better to ground engine to frame or engine to body ?

[@elmercortez744]

Since current was moving through the ground (Means Engine / Car Body), The Gasoline fuel was not affected? Does not cause any ignition on the gasoline fuel? Thanks in advance for response.

[@Ztuned88]

So what if my battery is mounted in the trunk of the car? Do I still run a short length ground strap off the battery right to chassis in the back and then a separate ground cable off of the head? Or am I running the negative battery cable it all the way up to the engine and grounding on the cylinder head along with the ecu ground, and the knock sensor and coils? A little confused.

[@hairyscary8511]

Being the worst auto electrician ever well almost, very useful information ✌

[@SkyLinMegas]

What about having more than one start point ? .. say two how spots .. One in the rear for cabin elecs and one in the front for engine elecs .? I have been told that it's ideal and also that that's a No no ..

[@speedking72]

Great info thanks!!

[@Bradley0beaver]

Hello guys, quick question which someone might be able to help with. When measuring resistance between the head/block and body/chassis with the car off I get 0.01ohms (200 scale on multimeter) - which is the same as as just touching the multimeter leads together. However with the engine running it’s reading 0.40 or more, the more rpms the more resistance! What is the issue? Can someone help? My ecu is grounded to the head of engine

[@panasonicchrome7915]

I have the ground cabel on the block to the chassie and this i oem on my car. And its better to take this of and replace whit a new one to the engine head instead?

[@signant]

can you have multiple star points? I have a main ground from the battery negative to the chassis by the suspension, where i have non engine sensors and ECU ground too, and then a star point on my head where engine sensors ground with a main path to the chassis star point. is this ideal?

[@AlfaOmega2201]

Hi.. I have a problem with my vw lt 35....after i have rebuilt the engine when i connect the coolant sensor my engine goes mad...... Really goes mad...... Now i have disconnected the cooland sensor and all good..... But.... I need to know the coolant temp.... Also i have replaced the coolant sensor and is doing the same..... Do i have to ground the cylinder head as well? .

[@ianharrd]

Could haltech do up some basic wiring diagrams including wire gage for popular car builds like the twin cam VL Calais rb30 turbo with battery relocated to boot usind haltech elite, mechanical fuel pump and prp trigger kit👍🇦🇺

[@WickedTRX]

I actually have a big problem on my EFI converted bike, I’m using ls2 coils and have both coils and ECU grounding to the engine. During cranking, sometimes the engine kicks back, or the crank stops. Can’t find the problem, tried coils crank triggers and multiple sensors, both hall and vr

[@fyshlearnstoskate]

Timing?

[@markavramovic111]

Did you ever solve this problem? It was happening to me.....The battery itself was too small (insufficient CCA) and the voltage whilst cranking was only 2.5 volts (data log verified) Put a bigger battery in and the kick backs went away. Wasted a new starter and bent something in my engine before I realised WTF was wrong.

[@basshead1451]

Hi @Haltech. So, in conclusion, does this mean every electrical component in the car should be grounded to the engine? Thanks for the great video!

[@2slofouru]

Nope. Only the ecu, because it requires precise voltage measurement for its sensors.

[@Grimnest]

I'm still a little confused, tbh. Hopefully someone can tell me if my setup is ok. I relocated my battery to the back of the car. I then ran 1/0 welding cable from the negative to the chassis frame and another 1/0 cable from negative all the way up front to a bus bar. Then from the bus bar I have a 1/0 cable going to the chassis frame, another going to the head, another going to the block and an 8awg cable going to a small bus bar inside the car which is where my ECU, gauges and EFI relay gets it's ground from. I've been running it like this for 3 years without issues. Is this correct? Maybe overkill?

[@djfrankieflowers]

I wired a piggyback to the 4efte Starlet ep91 ECU and something weird is happening. Check engine light is turning on on boost after 4500rpm. I figured out that attaching a ground wire from an external device port to the chassis the phenomenon doesn’t happen but engine doesn’t go down 650 rpm but stays around 1k instead. It is def a ground issue but what could be wrong? The device is wired to the ECU computer ground. Maybe the wire is bad? There are 3 computer grounds on the main ECU connector. I would like to know where they go. I need help.

[@wachus1]

What's means "The ECU ground to "sit higher" than the engine ground ?

[@delcampbell9246]

Do Haltech ECUs have internal diodes?

[@carnivorebear6582]

Please do a technically speaking on piggyback ECUs

[@lawrencecavens5760]

One minor error - Power flows from the Negative to the Positive NOT the other way from Positive to Negative / This is why Grounding point are SO critical to be kept Clean and in good shape...

[@w0bblyd0inkb0ink]

Would star point grounding = parallel and not series?

[@MyMomSayNoDota]

so, grounding kit, is it good or bad? how to do it correctly?

[@jrgeiler]

Can you do a technically speaking on how to use an Elite 550(for example) as a piggyback? Similar to what mighty car mods did with the prius.

[@capnthepeafarmer]

Honestly, I'm still a little confused. I'd love to see a practical demonstration of the problem. Maybe a volt meter in different places?

[@haltech]

We have a full wiring vlog on this channel that shows plenty of hands-on examples.

[@keithgrant4288]

Thank you appreciate it..

[@Unique_kaydee]

So how do you ground the coils

[@markthompson1134]

i have a ford galaxy with grounding fault its in limp mode do i etend a ground wire to clinder head to all earth points on chasie

[@teerawattang5071]

Thanks for the information. Here I have a scenario; my bus RV has a 24Vdc starting battery system which is negative grounded as usual. Now, if I want to add an off grid solar system which has solar panels and 48Vdc battery bank and through an inverter generates 120Vac for AC electrical appliances. I also add an isolated dc to dc converter to convert 48Vdc from solar battery bank to 12Vdc to run 12Vdc appliances. Here, I’ll have solar panel, solar inverter with 120Vac output, 48V battery bank, and 12Vdc from converter. If I were to connect all these to chassis ground, would that creates any problem or interference. Or could I just leave all these ungrounded ? Any advice is appreciated.

[@EricPham-gr8pg]

Add on zener diod and capacitor to keep ground safe from hacking hysteresis effect

[@droboyjr]

I have a k24 swapped sw20 mr2 running hondata v4. Having issues that I’m thinking are pointing to incorrect grounding like mentioned in this video. If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it.

[@larryrock8142]

Hi, a car owner trying to learn about grounding here, not an electrician. I speak U.S. english: are you saying ACU (air conditioning unit) here or ECU (Electronic control unit)?

[@haltech]

This channel is pretty much all about the Engine Control Units (ECUs) so you can safely assume it's ECUs not ACUs we're talking about:)

[@usalbert]

I'm experiencing low voltage when ac fan is on, my car is an e30 BMW 1988

[@incolink]

So what knock sensor has an isolated earth ?

[@bilko6169]

Grounding off a iron engine block would be better. Forgot to.mention about stray current ??

[@waynepraetz]

Awesome video really good info big 👍

[@geisensei5379]

Hello sir I had a question about my grounding wires that connect to my car battery.

[@geisensei5379]

A ground wire connects to the engine to the battery and another ground connects to the car metal in the negative side is that correct

[@owlytv]

Hi Matt is there a practical.. how this is done in reality on a car..

[@panzerwaffen2873]

From negative to the car chassis ?

[@thegettingoveritguy7266]

Nice video

[@SmitherinesRacing]

If possible can I have some help applying this to the Nexus?

[@haltech]

Sure! Please contact our support team via our website www.haltech.com/support

[@SmitherinesRacing]

@@haltech thanks guys. Just signed up on the forum. Will flick support a quick one.

[@fs.audi.8p]

Can you make a video Demonstrating its still hard to understand even watched more then once

[@stuh4645]

holy shit this is a great video!

[@haltech]

Thanks:)

[@shanemorgan6616]

Never been the first to view before.

[@haltech]

Congratulations!

[@ricepony33]

Visually the engine graphic looks too much like an ECU. I’d recommend a V8 style icon to make it easier to identify.

[@shabazhussain8101]

I'm more confused now than before 🎉😮😅

[@vidiaugrafree]

Feedback. You spoke to us all the technical knowledge. Even a graphic. But you failed to show us what TO do. Mostly you said what can go wrong. Show us the right way. Almost a useless video. "Be careful, you might break it."

[@chriscordell6973]

He did... Perhaps you need to read a DC Theory book!

[@trentcrompton9527]

What a head f###. I hate wiring, I can’t get my head around it ☹️. I just hope my PS2000 has the right ground 🤞

[@BryanChance]

Need better diagrams.. I'm confused. :-)

[@artyfuffkin7805]

Ah .....say what , DC current flows from the _____ to _____

[@artyfuffkin7805]

When you go to a manufacturer electric ftraining course they loose the term ground it's neg side ,this person thinks DC current flows pos to neg. Get a amp clamp the starter eats up 2/3 s of the amps so the to starter will have 90 amp draw the out side 30 amp. Do that test

[@A46648]

Its easy battery to car body and on that point all your ground cables from engine..never go direct from engine to battery can cause fire