Is that an actual TRD kit? I almost bought one the other night simply because I want to stick with TRD everything. But i'm a little hesitant because they're like $15.

 

Anyone ever actually solder the wire to the ring connectors? I'm planning on doing this tonight and instead of having to mess with crimping figured I'd just solder the rings to the wire and save a ton of hassle, then shrink wrap as usual to insulate the contact.

Just wondering as I haven't specifically read that anyone soldered vs. crimping.

 

i did both i crimped 'em and soldered 'em and heat shrinks the ends gives it a nice clean look

 

Solder will work. It's actually better. I just don't like sniffin' lead. lol

 

I did this last night. The instructions were great and very straightforward. Unfortunately, I'm one of the people who saw little-to-no difference. The only discernable difference was when the car was warmed up it idled ever so slightly lower than w/o the ground wires. I removed them all in about 5 minutes, restarted the car to confirm and the idle was approximately 50-75RPMs higher than with the ground wires on.

Thanks, again, for the great write-up.

 

just what ground wires do help improve the ground connections even improves the facotry ground connections too

 

Make sure you get thin ring connectors because if you dont they will not be able to wrench down inside the coil pack. I tried to buy a longer bolt to bolt it down from auto zone but I guess that metal was crap because it broke inside the coil pack threads and I can't get it out.

Also I was wondering if anybody knew if that would mess up my car. The coil pack just sits in there so it shouldn't be a problem. But if the crappy bolt starts to melt or break inside the threads of that coil pack it isn't going to mess anything up is it?

 

yeah theres no noticeable difference with the grounded coil packs so i took mine off

 

Tony...you really need to get that bolt out....try putting the pack in a vice and use a hammer and punch to walk the broken bolt out. It really needs to be secured to the motor....

 

^^^^ Im sorry but I didn't understand what you meant above. Could you explain it a little better. I tried to get it out but it wouldn't budge I thought about taking it to a shop and seeing if they could drill it out but I didn't know if that was possible. I have actually been driving with it like that for about a year and havent had any problems so maybe it isn't that big of a deal.

 

You might be right then.....

But what I was thinking of was to remove the coil pack and gently putting it in a vise, take a small punch and hammer and tapping it off certer to either"walk" it back out or on thru the unit....kinda like a screwdriver....

 

Puttin this on tomorrow. Thanks for the write up.

 

Forgive me, but I'm just trying to get a grasp on the physics of this whole concept. In the setup described here, we're daisy chaining the ground points, linking the body to the engine to the battery to the body again. This, of course, is in addition to the factory ground wire run, I believe, below the right headlight. Wouldn't the ideal situation be to have one unified ground point? In no way am I claiming to be an expert. Heck, I don't have much of a clue, but if someone who understands the science behind it could explain the difference between the daisy chain vs. one ground point approach, I'd appreciate it.

Also, on these kits that you see on eBay, the ones with the disc and the multiple mounting slots for wiring, is that designed such that, in this case, you'd mount that metal disc one the bolt on the body and run all the other grounding wires from their origin to the disc? I can't figure those things out.

 

Does this also help eliminate ground loop problems (hissing audio)?

In particular, I'm getting a lot of noise (from the alternator?) when I plug in my iPod to the AUX jack as well as the cig lighter for power. I heard it's due to the cigarette lighter jack having a different resistance to ground compared to the audio system's ground, so that current flows to/from the cig lighter ground to the audio ground. Not sure how improving the grounding in the engine bay helps, but these things are quite over my head already so I thought I'd ask

 

dand, you might want to run a ground from the alt to the body as well.

 

I put this on and noticed the idle is smoother but I am getting shocked by the drivers side door when I get out now.

 

now i took advanced electronis in school a while ago, so dont quote me on this

but im pretty sure its the same thing. the negative on the battery being the common pointwhen you do this, you aresending current to the point you have it at, as well as having that point act as ground for the next part in the sequnce. and of course it all ending back up at negative. the only thing i see different with the ones on ebay are A LOT more wires needed. plus it says you gotta mount that disk and crap, sounds like a pain. this is a very simple solution.

great write-up BTW

 

now i took advanced electronics in school a while ago, so dont quote me on this

but im pretty sure its the same thing. the negative on the battery being the common pointwhen you do this, you aresending current to the point you have it at, as well as having that point act as ground for the next part in the sequnce. and of course it all ending back up at negative. the only thing i see different with the ones on ebay are A LOT more wires needed. plus it says you gotta mount that disk and crap, sounds like a pain. this is a very simple solution.

great write-up BTW

 

thansk for hte DIY! did it today! saved me some $$$!!

 

Anyone think this will make a difference on an xB with 400 miles on it? Should I do it now, or wait until performance deteriorates (like I could tell over time), and do it then for the peace of mind that it did something.