Grounding head unit

[crghou]

Where is the factory head unit in a 03 SAN grounded? I need to pull the ground off my head unit and put it to the battery to help my ground loop issues. Should I pull if off the harness that is going from the head unit? Or should I disconnect it from where it is grounded on the boat? Dont want to pull it off anything that could affect anything else.

thanks

[crghou]

RE: Grounding head unit

well i tired to ground out the head unit this weekend. I figured the ground was off the back of the head unit then went into the wiring harness. So I split that connection off the harness and moved it to the amp. Welp, head unit would not turn on so I guess it needs that as well for something else....any ideas?

[EarmarkMarine]

RE: Grounding head unit

crghou,

Is it possible that a pin pulled out of the molex plug? Perhaps it was the wrong wire?

If you have a multimeter you can check continuity between the HU ground wire and HU chassis to verify. But first check that wire for voltage with the accessory and lights on to eliminate what its not and as a safety measure.

If you accessed the correct wire then what you described should have worked. Check the HU fusing and the supply voltage for the HU ign/access and memory. I'm positive you've overlooked something.

Hope this helps.

David
Earmark Marine

[Mikeski]

RE: Grounding head unit

Just a little peeve of mine. Boats don't have grounds, they have negative leads and positive leads. We frequently and incorrectly misuse the term. A ground is a conductor attached to the earth, we can't have this in a boat. I even see the term used improperly in manuals.

Tie the negative and constant positive leads to the amp wires, maybe upsize the amp wires while you are there too. I suspect this will resolve your noise issues.

[steve-o]

RE: Grounding head unit

Yep. Most HU ground loop will go away if you run the leads to the amp terminals.

[crghou]

RE: Grounding head unit

yeah that is what i did. I traced the ground off the head unit to the wiring harness and cut the wire from there. Then spliced in the wire, directly from the head unit then ran it back to the amp ground. When I turned on power to the boat the head unit would not power up. So then I re-connected the ground from the wiring harness to the head unit and left the extra wire from the head unit to the battery. So essentially I have a dual ground. It turned on this time. So I have no idea what happened. I dont think I pulled anything out b/c now it works. I didnt notice any interference but that is just a entirely other issue now. Changing in this new amp has caused all kinds of problems and I am going to tackle this winter. I am just tired of messing with it in the 90 degree heat so for now I am giving up until it cools down. I think I am going to try different approach and re-wire a lot of it.

Does anyone know if a clarion EQS746 will be ok in a marine environment? Some of my PAC's seem to be dying getting wet or in the texas humidity.....not great for amps and speakers.