Build Your Own Electrical Grounding System
Jason Lancaster | Aug 22, 2008 | Comments 1
Jeremy, one of the top contributors on TundraNetwork, posted this article about adding your own Hyperground-type electrical grounding system to your truck on the Tundra forum, and we decided it was so good it deserved placement on the blog. Thanks a lot Jeremy for sharing!
By the way, Jeremy’s truck now idles at a lower RPM and his gas mileage has improved about 0.5mpg after adding this kit.
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Here is what you will need: (I found all the parts at my local megamart)
-Spool of 8 gauge automotive power wire – an amplifier install kit is best because you want oxygen free wire.
-Battery terminal with multiple ports or power distribution block with 4 or 5 output ports.
-Large circle crimp connectors.
-Liquid electrical tape.
-Zip ties or some form of securing the wires in place.
– Socket set, screw driver set, crimp tool, wire cutter.
I added extra grounds to both Valve covers, the ECU port, Exhaust, and the passenger side grounding point. After my first attempt at this project, I added a second line from the negative to the side wall ground where the main ground connects at. The way I rigged it the first time bothered me.
The exhaust ground is just to disipate any static build up in the exhaust. Does it really matter? I dunno. It doesn’t hurt, so why not? I am trying to give cleaner grounds to my electronics so the more the merrier.
Lay the wires out where you want them to go and cut them to length.
Strip and crimp the connectors on one end of each line. I had one line that went from the end of one, the passenger side grounding point, to another spot, the pass side valve cover, that one needed connectors on both ends. Paint liquid electrical tape onto the ends with connectors as to protect the exposed wires from outside air. It is ugly but it works, the liquid tape is probably not needed but I want it to work well for a long time.
The existing ground to the battery is hard to mess with so my solution was to take the GM battery terminal from my amp install kit and put it into the oem battery ground clamp then connect it to the new terminal and clamp via another cable that is bolted to the bottom of the GM terminal, it has a bolt protruding from it. The ground terminal I purchased had places for 4 ground wires and they all required a bare wire. Connect the ground back up to the terminal and tie the rest in after. Again, connect the exsisting ground first, then the rest. This will complete the extra grounding.
With this install, my truck now idles at a lower RPM and also gets about .5 better MPG.
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[…] is just idled down. The whole process to making a home made grounding system can be found here: Build Your Own Electrical Grounding System | tundraheadquarters.com It was a long article and I didn’t feel like retyping it […]