Irony
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 09:52 AM |
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How to attach multiple earths to chassis
Finally got round to doing some serious wiring loom research last night. My part built car came with a wiring loom pre built but I want to make sure
I understand all the aspects rather than just connecting them up and hoping for the best.
There are three earth points on the loom. Front middle and centre. The Front one for example has at least 5-6 wires taped together and mark up front
earth point. What is the easiest way to mount 6 wires into the chassis so the connections are safe, secure and nicely weatherproof?
Cheers
Kev
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Davegtst
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 10:01 AM |
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I drill and tap an M6 hole in the chasis then bolt them down.
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Bluemoon
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 10:01 AM |
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I have used wired earth connections on all the returns. The chassis is only then earthed in one place, this is only used as a return for a few
unimportant items (horn I think). The earth was a brass nut and bolt in the foot well area next to the battery; out of the area where it will get wet,
covered in Vaseline to stop corrosion used crimped/soldered ring type connectors to connect to the bolt.
I might be tempted to do something similar I would consider extending the earth wires back to the battery area. Earth currents though chassis are a
problem waiting to happen and the kind of faults that are very confusing to fix..
[Edited on 24/5/11 by Bluemoon]
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ashg
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 10:33 AM |
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riv nut is the best solution
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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deezee
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 10:38 AM |
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I just welded an M6 bolt to the chassis in certain areas, then crimped rings on to the earth wires and popped them onto the bolt.
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RichardK
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 10:49 AM |
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As above
Gallery updated 11/01/2011
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 10:55 AM |
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Technically it's a bad idea to have multiple ring crimps on a single bolt. In many/most industries this would not be permitted as the large
thickness of copper pretty much guarantees the creep will cause loss of clamping pressure over time with associated corrosion and poor contact issues.
In a real car loom you would typically see either multiple wires being terminated into a single crimp, or multiple wires being terminated to a single
larger wire within the loom itself (with a type of butt connector) and the larger wire being terminated with a ring.
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nick205
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 11:27 AM |
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Crimp all the wires together in a suitably sized ring terminal (probably the Yellow ones) and then weld a bolt to the chasis to secure the crimp to.
Smear of pertoleum jelly to protect from moisture should be sufficient.
Don't forget to earth the engine/box to the chasis as well with a suitably sized braided strap. The rubber engine mounts insulate it quite well
otherwise! (hope I'm not stating the obvious to you).
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big_wasa
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 11:35 AM |
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riv nuts are bad bad bad for earths in my opinion. Multi earths to one point are also not ideal. I have a 50x3mm bar that is the steering column
bracket. I have a dozen or more bolts welded through this. Where I can I use seperate earths.
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Bluemoon
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 12:04 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
riv nuts are bad bad bad for earths in my opinion. Multi earths to one point are also not ideal. I have a 50x3mm bar that is the steering column
bracket. I have a dozen or more bolts welded through this. Where I can I use seperate earths.
Earth bus bar, sounds good to me, I must admit there are a few to many connections to the one bolt (not as bad as you might think though) just have to
make sure it's tight from time to time 
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Irony
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 12:50 PM |
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Thanks for all the replies guys. I think I am going to have to go with the Rivnut idea. I agree that a welded bolt would be a better option but I
don't have any welding facilities at all. Would a Steel rivnut or a ally one be better? I am leaning towards ally as it conducts electricity
better than steel.
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nick205
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 12:59 PM |
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Steel over Ally as the ally will react (galvanic corrosion)with the surrounding steel tube and end up producing a poor/failed earth connection. Make
sure the hole for the rivnut is clean inside and out before you set the rivnut.
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Macbeast
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 04:34 PM |
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NO !! As said above, rivnut is no good. Especially aluminium to steel. And multiple ring terminations on one stud are bad too.
I would use something like this:-
[
[Edited on 24/5/11 by Macbeast]
I'm addicted to brake fluid, but I can stop anytime.
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Irony
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 06:44 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Macbeast
NO !! As said above, rivnut is no good. Especially aluminium to steel. And multiple ring terminations on one stud are bad too.
How do I attach it without welding???
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McLannahan
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 06:49 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Irony
quote:
Originally posted by Macbeast
NO !! As said above, rivnut is no good. Especially aluminium to steel. And multiple ring terminations on one stud are bad too.
How do I attach it without welding???
Could you not drill through and bolt it on?
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blakep82
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 06:57 PM |
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bolts ^ or drill and hold down with self tapping screws. probably need a seperate earth for everything that way (or groups of 3 or 4? don't know
really)
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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MikeR
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 07:08 PM |
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So where do you buy one of those from?
(and whats a good price)
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martyn_16v
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 07:53 PM |
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VWP sell the multiple spade earth blocks, only a couple of quid. Or free from your local scrappy, they're on plenty of cars.
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Irony
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| posted on 24/5/11 at 08:58 PM |
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Surely if I bolt these on I might as well have used a Rivnut?????
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Daddylonglegs
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| posted on 25/5/11 at 09:53 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Irony
Surely if I bolt these on I might as well have used a Rivnut?????
I think the issue with Rivnuts is that they can corrode where they meet the metal and you will never see it, unlike a bolt which you will see if the
connection is getting crappy.
It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......
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