Battery & inverter grounded to the same point on chassis?

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poot_traveller

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Do I ground the battery and inverter to the same point on the chassis, or two different points?

The battery grounding wire is 8AWG and the inverter grounding wire is 10AWG, I'm not sure if that information matters but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
 
A chassis ground is a chassis ground. Makes no difference if to the same point or opposite ends of the chassis.
 
8 and 10 wires seem extremely small for those two grounds. what's the watt rating of the inverter? how many AH is the battery? highdesertranger
 
an alternative is to purchase a terminal block and use it in the interior of the van. Connect all your grounds to it then run a single 6 gauge wire from the block to the chassis. Be sure to use a block rated for the amps you have. Terminal blocks make it easy to add more ground wires later on so you have flexibility for future additions to your setup. I have several terminal blocks in locations where I have clusters of switches and outlets, pumps, etc. then from those they feed with a single heavier wire to a primary bock where the single heavier guage wire goes to the chassis. The advantage is fewer wires strung around and a much tidier installation. I am make no claims to knowing everything but at least I did get some experience with building wire bundles and installing them on the jet aircraft at Boeing. So I know that organization is a key to simplifying the job. Of course a good clean surface on the chassis for the bond is also critical as are perfect crimps on the terminals at the ends of the wires.
 
B and C said:
A chassis ground is a chassis ground. Makes no difference if to the same point or opposite ends of the chassis.

That sounds good to me. I'm gonna connect both earth/ground cables to the same lug on the chassis.
 
highdesertranger said:
8 and 10 wires seem extremely small for those two grounds. what's the watt rating of the inverter? how many AH is the battery? highdesertranger

The inverter is 100 Watts and the battery is 100 AH.

I won't be able to find ring connectors big enough if I go thicker than 8 AWG.

Okay granted, I don't understand what ground cables are used for, but at least I'm making an effort to include ground cables in my solar panel system. Some people have no ground cables at all.
 
maki2 said:
an alternative is to purchase a terminal block and use it in the interior of the van. Connect all your grounds to it then run a single 6 gauge wire from the block to the chassis. Be sure to use a block rated for the amps you have. Terminal blocks make it easy to add more ground wires later on so you have flexibility for future additions to your setup. I have several terminal blocks in locations where I have clusters of switches and outlets, pumps, etc. then from those they feed with a single heavier wire to a primary bock where the single heavier guage wire goes to the chassis. The advantage is fewer wires strung around and a much tidier installation. I am make no claims to knowing everything but at least I did get some experience with building wire bundles and installing them on the jet aircraft at Boeing. So I know that organization is a key to simplifying the job. Of course a good clean surface on the chassis for the bond is also critical as are perfect crimps on the terminals at the ends of the wires.

I've only got two grounds, one for the inverter and one for the battery. I decided I don't need a ground for the controller.
 
ah ok you don't need a bigger ground for the inverter. and if that is the most load you will put on the battery then that is fine to. highdesertranger
 
highdesertranger said:
ah ok you don't need a bigger ground for the inverter. and if that is the most load you will put on the battery then that is fine to. highdesertranger

Great! I didn't really want to go and buy more cable, I've already done that three times now.

Time to do the wiring, I'm feeling lazy and would rather be watching movies right now. But the solar panel system isn't going to wire it's self, so off to work I go...

Thanks for the help:)
 
are we talking about the "chassis ground" for the inverter. or are we talking about the negative cable for the inverter. 2 completely different things
 
Gypsy Freedom said:
are we talking about the "chassis ground" for the inverter. or are we talking about the negative cable for the inverter. 2 completely different things

We're talking about the chassis ground for the inverter.
 
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