How To: Ground Wire Replacement For Your Civic

[liquidfusion]

mr. lin, you were talking about frying yourself touching the positive terminal to chassis, its no biggie i've done it countless times (that battery tie down is a b***h not to contact trying to remove the positive terminal with a ratchet ) anyway don't worry about it the battery only carries a 12v current, not even enough to give you a decent shock It'll spark a little, but won't hurt you.

 

[child_racer]

Did you ground the intake manifold???

i also changed my Amps and other Misc. things that were wired up......thanks for tryin' to be a smart-ass

 

[green]

i also changed my Amps and other Misc. things that were wired up......thanks for tryin' to be a smart-ass

sorry, I wasn't trying to be lame at all, I've been searching and posting everywhere, on where to ground the IM, so i was really anxiously asking the question...oops.

 

[child_racer]

i guess we had a bit of a misunderstanding. For the most part....the factory ground locations are quite sufficient, but by changing the wire gauge and wire material (ex. pure copper) can help. If you have easy access to a dyno, you can mix and match ground locations and find the most useful areas or make an honest effort to get all of your grounds to touch bare metal for the best current transfer

 

[green]

i guess we had a bit of a misunderstanding.

sorry man, I shouldn't have put three question marks, hahah. Anyway, first I just replaced the stock grounds direct to the frame, I didn't gain anything, except a slightly smoother idle. I changed the setup, linked everything to one location (neg battery ground) and sent all grounds there, and man, my car feels totally different, I really believe I gained some tq/hp, my vtec feels like it pulls harder. You guys can call bs but I drive my car an hour a day, and I couldn't believe the difference it made. I'm very happy!

 

[Mahlmann]

alright, question. i know you connect the im and alternator and all that jazz. but where ON these parts do i bolt the wires to? i'll post pics is needed. let me know.

 

[red_EF9si]

sweet DIY thx for the info...I got bored yesterday and actually tried this for myself. I got 8 feet of 8ga. wire from the swapmeet for $1.00 a foot. so i have tons of wire left over. maybe ill ground some more s**t like fuel pump, intake manifold or whatever I could find. Anyone in the LV area hit me up...ill hook you up with some.
BTW I did notice a quicker start and smoother idle. Not bad for a $20-30min. mod.

 

[green]

alright, question. i know you connect the im and alternator and all that jazz. but where ON these parts do i bolt the wires to? i'll post pics is needed. let me know.

I've been posting everywhere trying to get this answer, I finally just picked a bolt on my IM, the alternator is a different story though, i just left it alone.

 

[Mahlmann]

I've been posting everywhere trying to get this answer, I finally just picked a bolt on my IM, the alternator is a different story though, i just left it alone.

exactly, i haven't found a place yet that has the exact details

 

[green]

I did find some good info on another thread, that your frame isn't the best conductor, and if you daisy-chain your ground wires to neg-battery ground, it makes a big difference over just replacing stock grounds to chassis. I did this and I noticed a huge difference.

 

[gabebauman]

If you daisy-chain your ground wires to neg-battery ground, it makes a big difference over just replacing stock grounds to chassis. I did this and I noticed a huge difference.

Yeah, so did I...I noticed that all of the aftermarket ground kits did this. As for the alternator, I used the bolt that is directly above the alternator (it's the bracket connected to the alternator and the block). If you look strait down right infront of the brake fluid resivoir...it's right there. And for the intake manifold I used the bracket towards the middle with two bolts right next to each other. I'll take some pics on Thursday if that would help. Good luck fellas.

 

[green]

Yeah, so did I...I noticed that all of the aftermarket ground kits did this. As for the alternator, I used the bolt that is directly above the alternator (it's the bracket connected to the alternator and the block). If you look strait down right infront of the brake fluid resivoir...it's right there. And for the intake manifold I used the bracket towards the middle with two bolts right next to each other. I'll take some pics on Thursday if that would help. Good luck fellas.

cool man, thanks for the info on the alternator, If I get motivated I'll ground it. I think I used the same bolt on the IM as you did. Did you feel any gains?

 

[gabebauman]

Did you feel any gains?

Not really sure...but car runs a bit smoother and starts up great...headlights don't dim as much at Idle.

 

[green]

wierd, my car feels completely different. more power.

 

[loccusst]

I am useing 4 gauge rockford grounding wire...benifits of working at a stereo place. I would like the pics of the alternator and im when you get em up gabe so I can finish the daisy chain. I think this will help my low idle problem. I have already upgraded some of the wires and it has helped so far.

 

[Mahlmann]

thanks gabebauman

 

[gabebauman]

My ground wire locations

My set-up:

From the negative battery terminal
Tranny and starter
Intake manifold
Alternator
Valve cover

Hope this helps fellas.

EDIT I removed the photos...ran out of file space on we-todd.

 

[loccusst]

Thanks for the pics...helps alot. I would maybe change the where the wires meet off of the battery terminal. I had the same problem and I am thinking of a negative ditribution block. Might look a little better and cool for show. Also on my car the ground is from the radiator brace to the power steering pump not to the valve cover...came that way when I bought it. Wonder if thats the way its supposed to be or if its supposed to be like yours. Other than that looks great. Thanks again.

 

[green]

thanks for the pics, I used the same IM bolt as you, and routed a wire around the back of my battery too! yeah. anyway, I think you'll experience better gains, if you route all your wires straight to neg-battery ground, instead of connecting to chassis :
(ie. starter -> tranny-> neg-battery ground and alternator -> valvecover -> neg-battery ground.)

That's what I did, and it was a big difference over just connecting to the chassis. Take it or leave it, my car feels GRRRREAT!

 

[gabebauman]

Thanks for the pics...helps alot. I would maybe change the where the wires meet off of the battery terminal. I had the same problem and I am thinking of a negative ditribution block. Might look a little better and cool for show. Also on my car the ground is from the radiator brace to the power steering pump not to the valve cover...came that way when I bought it. Wonder if thats the way its supposed to be or if its supposed to be like yours. Other than that looks great. Thanks again.

negative ditribution block? what's that look like and where should I get one from? I originally had the valve cover grounds hooked up to the power steering pump...you think that's better? I switched it up a few weeks ago. Do you think the alternator ground is in a good spot...I think I might move it down...I found another bolt that is closer to the alternator that is right under where I have it now. Thanks for the feedback.