Grounding point around the battery area?

Hi! I’m new to DIY stuff, just cuz I dont really want to mess anything up with my truck, and I like the peace of mind that comes when you bring your toy at an autoshop, but I think this much I should be able to do at home. Here’s the issue:

I felt the halogen that comes with the tacoma is way too dim, so I decided to get the morimoto HID kit. I have watched videos regarding the installation, but still not sure where to ground it? Is there a ground point around the battery I could use? Any advice would definitely help me. Cheers!

 

Just connect the ground to the battery. Ran my kit for 3 years, no problems.

 

PSA for anyone running the HID relay harness.

TLDW: run a name brand fuse.


https://youtu.be/nELwmfAOz_I

 

I like using Lincoln fuses, and if I ever need spare change I can just grab them.


*Lincoln = Abraham Lincoln - Pennies

 

So I just connect the red wire to the positive, and the black to the negative?

 

In back of and just above the negative post.

 

Thanks man! I was not sure if I could do it there because of the paint, but looking at the picture it seems fine to ground the black wire there.

 

Yes, very simple and easy

 

One more quick question, do I have to disconnect the battery before installing?

 

The best ground near the battery, is the battery

 

It's bad practice to ground to the negative at the battery, unless it's a floating/isolated ground. Even then, if there is a failure of the insulation and grounds out....

https://www.w8ji.com/negative_lead_to_battery.htm

 

Older cars you could use the negative terminal, but it is not recommended with newer cars. Here’s another website that has good information on grounding.

http://www.k0bg.com/wiring.html

 

We can always tell a DIY install based on the ground wire.

Do not ground to the battery, ground to the chassis ground right beside it.

 

When it comes to electrical I'm a dummy, so hopefully you guys can clarify for me.

I read the above articles and watched this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuCIC1HjHVA
But I'm still confused on what if anything should run a negative directly to the battery.

I currently have 3 accessory connected directly to both the negative and positive battery terminals (Everything else runs to the switchpros and is grounded to the frame/chassis)
1. Warn Winch (technically 2 negative wires, one large from the winch motor and one small from the solenoid)
2. ARB twin Compressor
3. Switchpros

Both the winch and compressor came with long negative cables that I thought were supposed run to directly to the negative battery terminal. Should these be grounded to the frame instead? Or am I correct with this all to the battery? Also, the winch has 2 negatives should I ground the small winch wire to the frame and run the large to the battery?

The switchpros specifically states to ONLY run the NEG directly to the battery. So I'm guessing that I'm good there.

Thanks for the education.

 

Are the negative wires isolated floating? If they are, shouldn't be a problem.
The problem occurs, if they are not and there is a failure in chassis/engine block jumpers. Large current will seek your non-isolated negative and fry the wire and/or accessories.
This is more likely to occur at the battery with cobbled together connections.

 

Thanks for your response. Excuse my ignorance, but when you say isolated floating, do you mean that the winch and compressor are ONLY connected to the battery and not grounded anywhere else? Because that’s how I have them. POS and NEG both to the battery and no other connections.

 

In a matter of speaking, yes.
But, I'm willing to bet at least your winch case is grounded. Whether it's bonded to negative inside...? Maybe that's why it has two negatives/grounds.

 

I grounded my CaliRaised hidden light bar to the chassis ground, right next to the battery. I don't ground to the battery. Had a bad experience with that on my 2004 GTO.

 

Before reading this thread, I thought I had positive and negative all figured out...I am more confused. The video gave me a migraine. So thanks for that. lol

 

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the ELI5 explanation.