Charging Systems 101 - Interested in learning how the components of your charging system REALLY work?

[snafu]

Then grab your favorite drink and check out the following video:

[BEEMDUB]

great video, wouldn't mind this bein a sticky

[Jessica]

Alright then. Just for the sake of asking. I have an old unibody car. I see a lot of users here say, ground from alt bracket and battery negative to strut tower (same for amps, to the strut tower). Now, here is someone who is trusted on this site saying contrary. and i quote;

I dont start running ground ref cables untill 6-7kw

Floorpan is plenty good enough for that power.

Huge!! Huge thing to remember here guys is..

Always use the actual floorpan, not a strut tower bolt or some secondary sheet metal, meaning no vertical panels.. Secondary sheet metal is only spot welded to the floorpan. And is mucho no bueno.

My .02

Now, I think, even though i am not running a substantial amount of power, i should;

1. Ground from alt bracket to battery negative

2. Then a dedicated run of negative from front battery to rear batteries.

Since, my current block ground should be sufficient for my car's usage, and the above two upgrades would be for the system's usage.

Or am i way off. I mean, i don't trust my 25 year old unibody to do the job. Lets face it, unibodies from the 80's were not really built like they are today. They were made a lot cheaper with less metal. Plus if i upgrade in the future I have more peace of mind.

Does that sound right?