Ebay Grounding Kit question...

[kergilman]

I reciently bought a Grounding Kit from Ebay to hopfully fix my light dimming issue in my 99 GS. I bought a new battery 2 months ago to replace my dying one but I still have my issue where my headlights will dim when the sub amplifer is pushing out wattage and also I will see my headlights lights sort-of "Blink" when I apply the brakes. It's one of those kits I'm sure most have seen before on Ebay: Ebay Grounding kits

Looking at the kit and in the directions I see all the terminations to replace and they all make sense, except for the headlights. I have not yet attempted to trace the ground terminations for the headlamp grounds, but I assume they would terminate locally to the chassi. And if I were to replace this ground route for the headlamps, wouldn't I need 2 ground cables from the battery plate to each lamp...? Or would I use a ground junction on a termination terminal in the middle of the bumper and split to each headlamp...?

Also my new battery is about 50 cranking amps smaller then the one I replaced...is this a big deal..?

 

[assault187]

If your running a sub, the lights are going to dim regardless of the grounding kit. You may notice a very slight difference if your lucky. Best things to do is check the output of our already weak alternators, replace, or upgrade to a higher output one, or add a capacitor for the amp. Most people will upgrade to a red/yellow top optima or deep cycle dry cell battery as well.

 

[GabedsmT]

i have the ground kit n the stabalicer or whatever is spell ..... ## rpm go up quicker.. at least on my car and the lights still dim(i have a powerful sub n woofer) but a lot less... deff worth it plus it looks sick.

 

[kergilman]

OK, Thanks. I'll look into another alternator but how would they classify them on size...? Just by amps...?

Also, has anyone installed one of these kits and figured out where you replaced the headlamp ground paths...?

 

[MrBoxx]

I have a Ralliart grounding kit that I bought off ebay some years ago. It looks nearly identical to those kits that come up in the link previously mentioned, except a plastic cover on the common ground disc that says Ralliart on it.

A few words on it:

1: The aluminum negative ground terminal has a round post that has a threaded hole and a screw. The common ground disc bolts onto this round post. The bottom of the post has a thin threaded section that screws into a recessed flat spot on the negative terminal block. This threaded section on the bottom of the post is VERY fragile. If you tighten the post onto the negative terminal block too hard, it WILL snap like a twig.

2: I never did the grounds for the headlights, since the headlights' wires are all in bundles and I didn't feel like ripping apart the bundles, cutting wires, splicing them into a larger gauge wire, etc. Instead, I replaced the regular ground wires that were on the car from the factory, then daisy-chained the rest of them around the engine bay. I put a ground on the firewall, on the intake manifold, on the motor driver's side motor mount, on on the strut tower where the battery tie-down bolts on, and one under the air filter. I tried to use existing bolt holes that were either empty, or had enough room for an extra ring terminal to be under an existing bolt.

3: If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn't. I'd just get some thick gauge wire, put on some good terminals, and forgo the common ground disc. I did notice a few mpg increase after installation, but the whole headlight dimming/blinking thing never went away. I don't think there's anything that can be done about that, however. If you decide to do the headlight grounds, let us know how it goes.

 

[gsgoingT]

Just wondering, how thick are those wires? Are they 0/1 gauge? thx

 

[MrBoxx]

They're either 2 or 4, if I remember correctly.

 

[gsx951]

If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn't. I'd just get some thick gauge wire, put on some good terminals, and forgo the common ground disc. I did notice a few mpg increase after installation, but the whole headlight dimming/blinking thing never went away. I don't think there's anything that can be done about that, however. If you decide to do the headlight grounds, let us know how it goes.

A bunch of wire from PartsExpress or your favorite car audio vendor and some lug terminals FTW.... I used 4ga. to the firewall and starter.

As far as the diming lights thing goes, some common sense in system design goes a long way. If you put in an 85bd/1w./1m. sub, you are going to need a ton of power, even with a class-D amp.

A 10 db increase in speaker efficiency means you need ten times LESS power to achive the same output!

 

[drewvr4]

get a capacitor