Question for Q45Tech

[JoshIsSciFi]

Alright, I've been staring at these on ebay for a while, and want to know EXACTLY what it would do for my Q to put them on, I don't care if you fill 2 pages with equations and technical specs of electricity lol.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...33574

[aaronl]

I am not Q45Tech, but I am a CNC Machine Tech and have been an Audio and a Radar tech.

The technology behind the product is proven. Many industrial electronic/electrical systems use a "star" ground for electrical noise reduction.

What I would question is the quality of the product as offered. I don't like the aluminum components.

I don't know if it would be worth the effort to do this for your Q. Are you having wierd problems with your car? If you want to do it because it will look cool it shouldn't create any problems.

Watch out for Head resistance!

aaron

[JoshIsSciFi]

Well, my only problem is I don't get to listen to Sean Hannity or Phil Hendrie at night when driving lol. When I kick on my headlights, my am reception goes NUTS, some wicked interference from the lights, at first I just attributed it to the fact they are aftermarket bulbs(that I hope never die in my time with the Q), but I think that I have a bad ground somewhere. I can actually listen to my turn signals and brake lights through the am band. It happens worst right around 950am

[PoorManQ45]

The technology behind the product is proven. Many industrial electronic/electrical systems use a "star" ground for electrical noise reduction.

What I would question is the quality of the product as offered. I don't like the aluminum components.

This is not some new technology!!! It is a bunch of over-priced garbage. Why do you have to buy a special to ground out your engine/car/system? You do not, all that system contains is a couple of "pretty" copper wires, and what appears to be a common ground distribution plate. It is over priced, even for under $7!!!

If you are really concerned about your vehicles ground, go to your local hardware or electronics store and pick up 25~50 ft of 12 or 14 gauge wire. Both standard house wire and speaker wire will work. Take these wires and connect one end to various points around the engine bay, and connect the other end to the negative terminal on the battery.

I have no time right now, I will explain the technicals of grounding later. Stay tuned

[elwesso]

This is not some new technology!!! It is a bunch of over-priced garbage. Why do you have to buy a special to ground out your engine/car/system? You do not, all that system contains is a couple of "pretty" copper wires, and what appears to be a common ground distribution plate. It is over priced, even for under $7!!!

If you are really concerned about your vehicles ground, go to your local hardware or electronics store and pick up 25~50 ft of 12 or 14 gauge wire. Both standard house wire and speaker wire will work. Take these wires and connect one end to various points around the engine bay, and connect the other end to the negative terminal on the battery.

I have no time right now, I will explain the technicals of grounding later. Stay tuned

Oh the suspense is killing me.....

[Falkdesigns]

I don't think he's saying the technology is new, just proven.

[metaverse3]

The grounding system in your car was designed by engineers who took every factor into account. The most basic thing you can do is to go over all your grounding points with a wire wheel, sandpaper etc. etc. You will be surprised at what that will accomplish. Buying these kits will make you clean up your existing grounding points to install them anyway. Why not do them before you invest your money ?

As far as reception, check your antenna connector for your headunit. Nissan uses a diversity antenna...basically two antennas. One is the power antenna, and the other one is in the right rear pillar aptly named diversity. This is also where the factory cell phone antenna is located for old analog systems. Check to see if the antenna is connected properly on yourheadunit...a two-prong connector...this is most basic. If you have the FSM, you can check the diversity antenna as well.. Clean your grounding..that might fix these issues..

[aaronl]

Right. I didn't say new technology. What I didn't say outright and maybe should have is that I think this stuff is a bunch of junk and a waste of time.

Go through the car and clean up the existing grounds as others have suggested. No need for new wires, just clean contact surfaces.

aaron

[PoorManQ45]

Right. I didn't say new technology. What I didn't say outright and maybe should have is that I think this stuff is a bunch of junk and a waste of time.

Go through the car and clean up the existing grounds as others have suggested. No need for new wires, just clean contact surfaces.

aaron

Actually, there is a need for new wires to be ran. The Chassis(Steel or alluminum?) is actually a very poor conducter of electricity when condidered in respect to copper. I have stated before that chassis grounds are not really a good idea. I prefer to ground directly to the negative battery terminal via a 12 or 14 gauge speaker wire.

Also, when grounding to the chassis, there is always the chance that the chassis will cause a closed circuit. Which will cause a shock to anyone who touches the vehicle, and even worse, is the circuit remains closed, the battery will eventually explode!

For some reason, I can not find any information on the internet pertaining to what the purpose of a ground is. All I can find is information talking about grounds, but no one actually says why you need to ground electrical circuits. Also, I have a few electrical books that I looked through, they don't tell the purpose of a ground either . Does anybody know the real purpose of a ground?

When grounding equipment in a DC circuit, you want the ground to be as close as possible to the negative potential of the circuit. On cars, this is usually negative 12volts. Also, in some older vehicles, the ground is wired to be as close as possible to the positive potential of the circuit(positive 12 volts). These older vehicles had a system that is refered to as "Positive Ground". Both Negative and Positive ground systems work very well. As long as the two battery terminals are not connected without a resistor of some sort, there will not be any problems.

I Created a thread awhile about converting your current electrical system to a positive ground, but it got "moved" by one of the Mods. Can you tell me why?

[AZhitman]

There's a great thread on this in the G35 forum, whereas there was almost universal support for the grounding kit (or a homemade facsimile).

It does indeed have an effect, probably not much but noticeable in many cases.

[DAEDALUS]

I Created a thread awhile about converting your current electrical system to a positive ground, but it got "moved" by one of the Mods. Can you tell me why?

We don't need bad information floating around on here. When you get your own car running you can do whatever you want. No one else should suffer because you're an idiot. Hope no one believes the crap you just wrote.

[PoorManQ45]

We don't need bad information floating around on here. When you get your own car running you can do whatever you want. No one else should suffer because you're an idiot. Hope no one believes the crap you just wrote.

What? What are you talking about? If my information is indeed incorrect, then why don't you either delete it or tell why it is wrong and give us a better explanation of it.

If you are going to criticize, do it in a constructive way!

[Q451990]

Here we go again...

The purpose of grounding something is to have a return path to the negative battery terminal - or to dissipate any static electricity that may be generated (e.g. ground straps from exhaust to chassis). The idea is to not have anything arc...

Heath

[PoorManQ45]

Here we go again...

The purpose of grounding something is to have a return path to the negative battery terminal - or to dissipate any static electricity that may be generated (e.g. ground straps from exhaust to chassis). The idea is to not have anything arc...

Heath

You should have put negative/positive terminal in your explanation. A ground can be to either the positive or negative terminal.

Most people think that this^^^ is wrong because they think that electricity only flows from positive to negative, but that is not true. Electrons flow from positive to negative, but Current actually flows from Negative to Positive, also, positrons flow from negative to positive.

[DAEDALUS]

What? What are you talking about? If my information is indeed incorrect, then why don't you either delete it or tell why it is wrong and give us a better explanation of it.

If you are going to criticize, do it in a constructive way!

I can't delete it because I'm not a mod in this forum. Just don't waste your time posting such crap in online mechanic. I'm not responsible for your stupidity; I just feel compelled to warn others who may actually believe an untrue statement you make.

[PoorManQ45]

You're doing it again! Tell me why my post is incorrect and I will delete it myself

[squeefoo]

We don't need bad information floating around on here. When you get your own car running you can do whatever you want. No one else should suffer because you're an idiot. Hope no one believes the crap you just wrote.

Are ad hominum attacks (idiot) permissible by a "moderator"?Does this set a good example for the regular user?Shouldn't an apology be offered?Shouldn't one have been offered immediately?What if anything will the moderator(s) for this forum do about this?What about the implied threats about posting on other forums that don't meet now admittedly subjective guide lines?Are there published guidelines for "moderator" behaviour?Is there a grievance policy for actions such as this?

[SUITE E]

The vehicle itself needs to be grounded within itself to complete the various circuits, including the chassis. Does not matter neg or pos ground. The vehicle itself is never 'grounded' as in to the earth. That is why sometimes you feel a staic discharge when exiting the vehicle. You ground yourself and the vehicle finds a route to ground through you. This is why a car or truck is the safest place to be doing a lightning storm. Much more safe than your own living room. Grounding kits have been shown to smooth out the idle, but I have not seen credible evidence of a power increase.

[aaronl]

The subject quote from one of my Marine Corps electronic instructors is needed here.

How this applies is that what we may call ground by convention is not really ground in terms of power distribution or stationary equipment. That is just what we have come to call the return circuit and the voltage reference point in an automobile. As noted earlier it could be positive or negative. (I owned a 47 plymouth that was + ground) In automobiles the reference is to the chassis, so we call it ground. And for auto use it is fine to call it ground. What is important here is for all electrical components/circuits to have a low resistance RETURN path.

The purpose for the statement from my electronic instructor was to teach all of us that knew a little about electricity from working on cars etc. that what was important when working on circuits was the reference point not earth ground. I often have to explain to customers of mine in the machine tool world that when measuring the 3 phase incoming voltage to equipment the phase to phase measurement is what is important. Phase to ground is not important. Or when measureing other voltages in equipment measure across power supply points not from one point to the chassis or frame of the equipment. The return/reference point may or may not be grounded. In Autos the return/reference is the chassis and we call it ground by convention not because it is really ground.

so, to all of you many happy and low resistance returns.aaronl

[zinkie13]

I am actually using something like that on my car at the moment. I was planning on doing a normal install in the engine bay, but once I moved my battery to my trunk I just put it in there. I bolted it up to existing bolts in the trunk and so far I haven't had any trouble!