Electrical question- should be short thread.

[The_Tomato]

I anticipate having some electronics I'll be installing in engine bays in the near future on a few projects. My question is then, could I put a junction block on the firewall as a dedicated ground and then run a ground strap from that to the frame/body of the truck, or would that cause some sort of short or feedback?

 

[Wes Harden]

No dedicated ground is a good idea. All the new factory stuff is made that way. When I install a relay system in mine I add a diode on the coil to stop feed back keeping the relay on.

 

[The_Tomato]

No dedicated ground is a good idea. All the new factory stuff is made that way. When I install a relay system in mine I add a diode on the coil to stop feed back keeping the relay on.

Just to clarify, dedicated ground is good, or is bad? And a diode to protect equipment as a redundancy?

 

[Wes Harden]

is good. the diode make sure the flow through a coil doesn't back feed when a switch is opened

 

[Joel Wilson]

If you are running Ham radios, you better have dedicated grounds. I added an extra fuse block inside the cab just for my extra goodies. Just make sure you have good solid grounding points. Degrease, remove paint, add solder to the joints, etc.

 

[Truckman4life]

The more and better grounds you have the better things will work. Also make sure to clean paint off grounds.

 

[The_Tomato]

Got it. Just wanted to confirm before I did something stupid. Thanks folks!

 

[The_Tomato]

Do you fine gentleman have a preferred place to purchase electrical components other than Amazon?

 

[Fastereddie]

Do you fine gentleman have a preferred place to purchase electrical components other than Amazon?

I like Waytek

 

[Truckman4life]

Blue Sea Systems makes some nice stuff. My buddy had some buss bars from them. Terminal Supply Company has a nice selection. I've never purchased from them. www.Theelectricaldepot.com is another I found.

 

[Wes Harden]

I bought some Jegs branded 14g wire. The insulation was thick but flexible. Not to sure it was a true 14g, Blue 16-22g connectors would fit. I didn't check either so maybe the connectors are big.
I did like the wire, price wasn't to bad iirc.

 

[dyeager535]

I like Mouser for stuff like connectors, terminals and seals, but sometimes Waytek is a better option if I don't need a ton of stuff.

But I do generally like to buy that sort of stuff in bulk, especially once I know I'm likely to use it for other projects.

 

[Joel Wilson]

Anymore I find myself just buying my stuff local at Lowe's or Homeless Depot especially with mail delivery being some erratic anymore. Plus I get Veteran's discounts at either one.

 

[SnackPack]

Wait.... is this title a pun?

 

[The_Tomato]

Wait.... is this title a pun?

Finally hahaha