Do all my amps have to have a common ground?

[indianamike]

hey guys I mounted my door speaker amp under the passenger side front seat , then I mounted my sub amp on the rear quarter panel on the drivers side, I also have my cap on the rear passenger side by my ql logic box, my question is do my amps and cap all have to go to the same ground or can I just ground them to the body where they are so I dont have to run lots of ground wire all over my truck? thanks for the help !

Mike

 

[CQ7String]

Common ground is usually best (imho) because the more ground wire you have the better your chances of getting alternator whine.

That aside - power doesn't care where it's ground comes from as long as it's there. So you can ground your stuff to as many different ones as you'd like. Just try and keep your cable lengths as short as possible.

 

[indianamike]

thanks for the quick reply I will try and ground everything locally by the amps and if I have any noises I know what I have to do then

Mike

 

[mhn3773]

hey CQ how come u are more likely to get alt whine if u ground in different spots?

=) i know im slow..im gettin it...slowly

 

[phoenixlt]

alternator whine

what is alternator whine?

 

[Fhantazm]

what is alternator whine?

If youve never experienced it, consider yourself lucky. Its a nasty, high pitched, sound that increases as you press on the gas. Very annoying.