About a week ago I installed a sub and amp into my evo. It sounds great with the factory stereo...i was really surprised! But here is my problem. I am not really wanting to scrape away paint to make a good ground. So I ran TWO ground wires from the bracket that holds the rear wiper motor in. Both wires are 8 guage wires running to the ground terminal on my amp. So I figured this would be sufficient enough to make up for the longer run of wire and not as good of a ground. But..my question is this...is there any good factory grounding points in the trunk area? Such as underneath by the spare tire. I am thinking about trying the seat belt buckle at the rear seat.

But what is happening is when I turn the stereo up to a somewhat loud volume....I mean above normal listening volume and the sub will cut out when a deep or loud bass signal passes through the amp. I am pretty sure it has to with the amp not getting enough power. It is pretty evident that is what is happening. I never ever had this problem with the same amp in my talon. I am pretty sure it isn't the power wire cause it is making excellent contact with the battery terminal. So the only other thing is the ground.

I will not buy a stiffening cap just for this problem cause it is fixable. If anyone knows of a good ground spot where I don't have to scrape away paint to get at it......please tell! Thank you!

 

i grounded to the seat belt buckle bolt and i have no problems. you may want to try that.

 

I know you said you didn't want to strip off paint, but I used the mount for the tire jack. I just sanded off some of the paint, drilled a hole, and mounted the ground wire there. It works perfectly and you're only sanding down the jack mount, which is the safest bet I think.

 

pull up the carpet, find a bolt underneath in your trunk (gas tank bolt, something there should be some bolt under there), unbolt it, sand down the metal real good, and bolt ONE ground wire to it. that is the only way to do it.

running two ground wires at longer length does nothing. keep your grounds to a maximum of 18" or less, 2 feet if you absolutely have to. ground it to the chassis in a CLEAN spot. improper grounding is the #1 cause of audio problems.

 

Cup, yes it does help....there is more metal making contact with the chassis of the car....I did take electronics for 2 years....also when I had only one wire run to the ground it would cut out even earlier.....so that there is proof to me that it is a grounding problem let alone that 2 ground wires do(not) help.....if I had the desire but I don't cause I said in my post that I DO NOT WANT TO SAND ANY PAINT AWAY!, I would run 3 or 4 short ground wires to various spots on the body(chassis) of the car, I did in my talon and it made a world of difference. Again It does help, due to more metal making contact with the body the better! But, as I said in my original post I do not want to sand down any paint, I want a natural factory ground spot such as a seat belt buckle bolt. I was just wondering if there were any in the trunk. I was not asking about an in depth reason on why things are not working right and how to hook things up correctly. I know why they are not working 100% correctly, I was just trying to keep things as 100% factory as possible. It was a simple question of is there a bolt already in the trunk that I can ground to that is a decent ground spot?

 

Without sanding, and possibly a star washer, you're not gonna get a great ground. Simple fact. You can run wires all over the place but if the metal is covered in paint you're not going to conduct electricity very well.

I'd suggest you use one of the backseat bolts, and sand down some of the paint where the seat belt bracket will still cover it. Then, use a star washer to help dig into the metal a little bit. It makes for a much stronger ground.

There's no need to reply to this if you're just going to tell me I've got my head up my *** and I don't know what I'm talking about, I'm telling you the simple, painless way to ground out the amp. If you don't want to sand, suffer.

 

I have never sanded for a ground! Simple fact! All my stereo installs have worked fine. I never once said anyone had their head up their A$$ either. I have been putting stereos in for ALLLLOOOONG time...and I don't believe in sanding the paint off of a car just for a ground...I asked a simple question....does anyone know if there are some good grounding points from the factory?...and everyone being the know it all they are has to give some in depth answer on why I am wrong and they are right, and why I should do it this way. It will work just fine with a large bolt going through the chassis of the car. I have never sanded and never will.....rust can oocur from the inside out too, due to moisture entering the car or trunk. THAT IS WHY I DO NOT WANT TO SAND. I just paid 33 grand for a car and want to keep it in stock form...I didn't buy a 15 grand lancer. Call me a A$$ or whatever you want, but I think if you spent that same amount of money on a car you'd be hesitant to do anything to it whether you can see the spot or not.....maybe not!

 

use the seat belt bolt, but take out the factor out and put in a star washer in, there, factory look, no sanding, no rust, good ground, within your requirements.

 

if you ground in multiple spots you are gonna get a ground loop. did you learn that in your 2 years of electronics? by the way i'm not impressed, i'm an electrical engineer by profession.

why do you care about sanding down the metal UNDERNEATH the carpet? sure it MAY work if you don't sand, and you run more wires and crap, but that is not the RIGHT way to do it. and anyways, if you want more metal contacting, why would you run more wires? why not just get bigger gauge? that is also the CORRECT way to do it, if you are running a longer ground you should run a larger gauge, more wires is less effective because you have more resistance.

and anyway, by putting a stereo in you already deviated from stock. what's the difference if some paint underneath a bolt underneath the carpet in your trunk is slightly sanded away?? nobody is talking about ruining your paintjob, just lift up the bolt, sand the part that is underneath, ground your amp, and bolt it back on. if you talk to ANY person that has installed any sort of electrical device that needed a ground, they will tell you the same thing: clean contact spot, short ground length, ground wire should be the SAME GAUGE as the power wire, and ground everything to the same spot.

 

lol I was gonna say that cup Anyways my friend. Your problem is not one with ground it is one with power delivery. The Lancer has 0 power delivery and if you amp has a voltage protection circuit it will shut off when your voltage drops too low and your car goes into danger of shutting off or battery drain. If you want this problem fixed get a new alternator and battery or be smart and take out your stereo system because obviously you're worried about warranty and having it installed is voiding it. They will blame your system if something goes wrong electrically in the car. So I recommend again that you remove it since you are so fearful of keeping the car stock. I am a firm believer in one thing when it comes to electricity; if you're going to do something DO IT RIGHT. That means if you want to ground something do it right sand scrape or wirebrush and make sure contact is good make sure wires are properly sized make sure delivery is sound and make sure all connections are secure and protected. I could go on and on and on, but that is $. 02 take it as you will.

 

exactly

 

This is an earth diagram for an Evo VII, so it may not be exact for your car but it should be very similar. The diagram kind of sucks spacially but hopefully it helps give you confidence in your choice of earth points.