grounding
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jeff everson
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 8:10 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: SAINT CLOUD
grounding
i am proud owner of 2006 mac maiden voyage last weekend. power only.my inverter says to ground to boat grounding system .other than neg.battery post what is recommended?someone mentioned to the outboard motor but it wont be in water much.
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richandlori
- Admiral
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- Location: Living Aboard in Morro Bay, CA
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I can only tell you what I'd do and did...
If you have one battery (or one battery bank), then the outboard is wired to the negative terminal of that battery (bank). So, I'd wire the negative of every thing else on board to the terminal. You can run big wire where you need it, so you don't have to bring each and every ground wire all the way back to the battery.
I have two banks, but they share the same ground. Every battery's negative terminal is wired together all the time.
If you have one battery (or one battery bank), then the outboard is wired to the negative terminal of that battery (bank). So, I'd wire the negative of every thing else on board to the terminal. You can run big wire where you need it, so you don't have to bring each and every ground wire all the way back to the battery.
I have two banks, but they share the same ground. Every battery's negative terminal is wired together all the time.
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Chip Hindes
- Admiral
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- Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 6:13 am
- Location: West Sand Lake, NY '01X, "Nextboat" 50HP Tohatsu
On mine the installation manual said "connect to vehicle chassis," which is the easieset way to ground something and makes perfect sense if you're talking about an automobile, where the vehicle chassis serves as the ground for most of the circuits.
It makes no sense if you're talking about a fiberglass boat, which has no chassis ground per se. Since the DC negative busbar serves as sort of the fiberglass boat equivalent of the chassis ground, that's where I wired my inverter ground. This was also about the nearest thing I could find to wire into. I believe key concept #1 is that it be a permanent grounded connection; it cannot be switched. Key concept #2, since it is a small gauge wire, it is wise to keep the hookup as short as possible. It makes no sense to run it all the way back to the outboard.
Moe is probably the best guy to answer this one for sure. Calling Moe, calling Moe, you still out there?
It makes no sense if you're talking about a fiberglass boat, which has no chassis ground per se. Since the DC negative busbar serves as sort of the fiberglass boat equivalent of the chassis ground, that's where I wired my inverter ground. This was also about the nearest thing I could find to wire into. I believe key concept #1 is that it be a permanent grounded connection; it cannot be switched. Key concept #2, since it is a small gauge wire, it is wise to keep the hookup as short as possible. It makes no sense to run it all the way back to the outboard.
Moe is probably the best guy to answer this one for sure. Calling Moe, calling Moe, you still out there?
Chip got it right. Connect the inverter's chassis ground to the DC negative bus.
Keep in mind that although you may have the outboard tilted out of the water, the outboard bracket on the transom is probably still in the water. There should probably be a bonding wire between the motor and the bracket to ensure good connectivity between them. The greasy (hopefully) tilt tube doesn't do a very good job of that, nor does the ram cylinder.
Keep in mind that although you may have the outboard tilted out of the water, the outboard bracket on the transom is probably still in the water. There should probably be a bonding wire between the motor and the bracket to ensure good connectivity between them. The greasy (hopefully) tilt tube doesn't do a very good job of that, nor does the ram cylinder.
Bus bar? Bus bar? I ain't got no stinking bus bar!
If I did, then yes, that is the ideal place to "ground" everything...
I just ran most everything back to the closes of the negative battery terminals, which are all connected together with bag fat jumper cable wire...
Do you really have a bus bar? Where? Surely you're not talking about that little bitty ground strap on the back of the stock power panel... How the hull would you even connect to it? I think you can put one more spade-type connector on the opposite end, but then what? And that isn't a very good connection...
I think behind the stock panel, in between the liner and the deck, there is a grounding bolt, to which the stock grounds are all connected. That works fine for the stock loads.
But, I added a whole nother panel and three more batteries. So, I sure as hull didn't want to call that my boat ground. hull, that lamp cord they having running from there to the battery would give me some real low voltage for my higher power loads. Not to mention heat, etc... Actually, I wouldn't see a voltage drop so much as a ground rise... <--- Very bad in my book...
If I did, then yes, that is the ideal place to "ground" everything...
I just ran most everything back to the closes of the negative battery terminals, which are all connected together with bag fat jumper cable wire...
Do you really have a bus bar? Where? Surely you're not talking about that little bitty ground strap on the back of the stock power panel... How the hull would you even connect to it? I think you can put one more spade-type connector on the opposite end, but then what? And that isn't a very good connection...
I think behind the stock panel, in between the liner and the deck, there is a grounding bolt, to which the stock grounds are all connected. That works fine for the stock loads.
But, I added a whole nother panel and three more batteries. So, I sure as hull didn't want to call that my boat ground. hull, that lamp cord they having running from there to the battery would give me some real low voltage for my higher power loads. Not to mention heat, etc... Actually, I wouldn't see a voltage drop so much as a ground rise... <--- Very bad in my book...
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ALX357
- Admiral
- Posts: 1231
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2004 6:09 am
- Location: Nashville TN -- 2000 MacGregor 26X, Mercury two-stroke 50hp
Bus Bar Ground simplifies everything and makes it easier to wire new stuff in. Buy one, and you might find that a couple of separate positive bus bars are useful. I have a positive bus bar for each of the three batteries on my boat, and that makes it alot easier to allocate which ones are powering which accessories, wire the combiners, charger, switches etc.
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jeff everson
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 8:10 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: SAINT CLOUD
GROUNDING
THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO .THATS HOW I DID IT .SOMEONE TOLD ME TO PUT A GROUNDING PLATE ON.I M INSTALLING MY 198C CHARTPLOTTER AND VHF RADIO THIS WEEK.THEN IT GOES TO THE SHOP TO INSTALL MY CAMPING PACKAGE/BIMINI/DODGER. I LIVE IN ST CLOUD FLORIDA.NEAR ORLANDO. 
