AutoMeter aftermarket setup - wiring question.

April 25, 2021, 04:34 PM

Russ59

I’m installing Autogauge 2391 cluster in a 1959 Bel Air. The three pod cluster (water temp, oil psi, volts) are all electrical connections.

Each pod’s electrical diagram show a 12v ground from battery and 12v from the ignition switch.

My question is- Can I run a single wire for the ground from the battery to the cluster, then take each negative wire from each pod and tie it into the lone negative wire? Similarly with the ignition source, one wire from the switch to the cluster which ties into all three pod positive wires?

What say ye?

April 25, 2021, 04:35 PM

Flash-LB

I say yes.

April 25, 2021, 04:39 PM

Balzé Halzé

I concur. Yes.

April 25, 2021, 04:46 PM

Shifferbrains

Yes. I would run a 10 gauge wire from the battery. This should reduce resistance and heat build up issues.

April 25, 2021, 04:57 PM

LS1 GTO

Yes. If you want it to look really cool, you can put together a bus bar for ground and another for switched power.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

"If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers

The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own...

April 25, 2021, 05:01 PM

Shifferbrains

quote:
Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Yes. If you want it to look really cool, you can put together a bus bar for ground and another for switched power.

Now you are just showing off.

April 25, 2021, 06:00 PM

shovelhead

My question is why are you running the ground wire off of the negative battery terminal? Body grounding should be fine for the gauges. Seems like a lot of unnecessary wiring and another chance for an electrical problem down the road. Lucas used to do things like that in British cars and motorcycles, unnecessary complications in wiring IMO.

I would run a couple of the braided copper wire ground straps between the body and the frame though.

-------------------------------------——————
————————--Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right time, even, usually, surpassing knowledge(E.J.Potter, A.K.A. The Michigan Madman)

April 25, 2021, 06:33 PM

Nismo

I ran my ground wires off a bolt from under the steering column.

April 25, 2021, 06:58 PM

cas

quote:
Originally posted by shovelhead:
My question is why are you running the ground wire off of the negative battery terminal? Body grounding should be fine for the gauges. Seems like a lot of unnecessary wiring and another chance for an electrical problem down the road.

Especially on a big ol' car like that where EVERYTHING is metal!

April 25, 2021, 07:15 PM

66tas

Yes you can tie all the grounds and switched 12V together. I would probably run one and then piggyback from one gauge to the next. Solder all connections and connectors to the wires. Finish with heat shrink tubing. Gauges are low amperage so no need to go crazy on heavy wiring.

April 25, 2021, 10:28 PM

Russ59

Thanks for the responses. I’ll find a suitable ground nearby vs the battery.

April 26, 2021, 06:38 AM

henryaz

quote:
Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Yes. If you want it to look really cool, you can put together a bus bar for ground and another for switched power.

Not just for looking cool, I used bus bars when re-wiring my FJ-40 with optional gauges and accessories. One big one (from Blue Sea) in the engine compartment removed a cable mess from the battery, with one large cable from the battery to the Blue Sea device. It took ATO and ATC fuses. I also used smaller bus bars under the dash, fed from the larger fuse block in the engine compartment. Using them both places makes cable management and trouble-shooting very easy.

And yes, on a car of that vintage a body/frame location for the negative is very easy to find. I grounded my battery to the engine block, frame, and body.

April 26, 2021, 08:11 AM

shovelhead

Adequate grounds between the engine, frame and body are important.

While the ground cables/straps may sound redundant as metal to metal “usually” works by itself there are instances that this method causes more problems.

Case in particular, we in GM parts received a TSB regarding repeated floor shift cable failures. Seems upon inspection of the alleged new defective cables that were sticking and snapping it was due to the ground straps between the engine/transmission and the frame missing. The path to ground was taking the path of least resistance through the shift cable. Arcing of the internal cable caused it to weld to the outer cable and for a ground path. Cable stuck, shift effort went up until one day the cable was weakened enough to snap it.

April 26, 2021, 09:04 AM

21bubba

quote:
Originally posted by shovelhead:
Adequate grounds between the engine, frame and body are important.

While the ground cables/straps may sound redundant as metal to metal “usually” works by itself there are instances that this method causes more problems.

Case in particular, we in GM parts received a TSB regarding repeated floor shift cable failures. Seems upon inspection of the alleged new defective cables that were sticking and snapping it was due to the ground straps between the engine/transmission and the frame missing. The path to ground was taking the path of least resistance through the shift cable. Arcing of the internal cable caused it to weld to the outer cable and for a ground path. Cable stuck, shift effort went up until one day the cable was weakened enough to snap it.

You are a old timer to remember those days.