I haven't seen this topic come up before.
So, my Maxima is now 7 years old. Still runs like new, no funny sounds, just a few squeaks from the interior on cold days. I'm still very happy with the car...que "time to change something music".
I'd been thinking about adding a grounding kit, figuring that there was probably some parasitic loss in grounding over the years (dirt, old wires, etc). I got a kit from a car board I frequent that has excellent build quality for 1/2 the price of the other brands (Stillen, Nismo, etc).
Kit went on easy enough. One strand from ground to starter, one strand from ground to negative terminal, one strand from ground to engine block, one strand from ground (firewall) to upper intake manifold, and one strand from ground to timing chain housing/heads.
I didn't really notice anything. I keep the car (and engine bay) spotless and try to give everything a good degreasing and dress once a year with protectant.
Now the weirdness...when the engine is cold I'm getting a tapping noise at low RPM. I know I've done nothing other than ground the engine, so I'm sure it is either a loose bolt from the kit or a vibration/pulse being transmitted into the firewall. The tapping is rythmic and increases with RPM. It has a somewhat raspy sound to it. Once I get to work, I can barely hear the noise, which tells me the engine bay is now hot and the bolts/wires have expanded.
I went back over the install in detail yesterday evening. I had a 6th ground attached to the alternator on the bracket that secures the OEM ground. Thinking that was the only thing turning with the engine, I removed it. I also tightened all the bolts, adjusted wires that were in contact with anything, and used a zip tie on any wires that were loose. This morning the raspy tapping was still there. I'll be pulling the wires off one by one this weekend trying to track it down.
So, anyone have any experience (good or bad) on grounding kits?
So, my Maxima is now 7 years old. Still runs like new, no funny sounds, just a few squeaks from the interior on cold days. I'm still very happy with the car...que "time to change something music".
I'd been thinking about adding a grounding kit, figuring that there was probably some parasitic loss in grounding over the years (dirt, old wires, etc). I got a kit from a car board I frequent that has excellent build quality for 1/2 the price of the other brands (Stillen, Nismo, etc).
Kit went on easy enough. One strand from ground to starter, one strand from ground to negative terminal, one strand from ground to engine block, one strand from ground (firewall) to upper intake manifold, and one strand from ground to timing chain housing/heads.
I didn't really notice anything. I keep the car (and engine bay) spotless and try to give everything a good degreasing and dress once a year with protectant.
Now the weirdness...when the engine is cold I'm getting a tapping noise at low RPM. I know I've done nothing other than ground the engine, so I'm sure it is either a loose bolt from the kit or a vibration/pulse being transmitted into the firewall. The tapping is rythmic and increases with RPM. It has a somewhat raspy sound to it. Once I get to work, I can barely hear the noise, which tells me the engine bay is now hot and the bolts/wires have expanded.
I went back over the install in detail yesterday evening. I had a 6th ground attached to the alternator on the bracket that secures the OEM ground. Thinking that was the only thing turning with the engine, I removed it. I also tightened all the bolts, adjusted wires that were in contact with anything, and used a zip tie on any wires that were loose. This morning the raspy tapping was still there. I'll be pulling the wires off one by one this weekend trying to track it down.
So, anyone have any experience (good or bad) on grounding kits?
Last edited:
