Multiple grounds-ground loop?

[WalkaboutTed]

Okey Dokey, folks, the conundrum of the day:

I was under the impression that I could have more than one ground to the chassis, to save me from having to run the negative wires all back to the center of my electric world. I was going to ground the stuff on the starboard side of the chassis to that side and the stuff on the port side to the port side.

Now, I just read something about ground loops.  So I go off to look for more info and pretty much everything is written at an electrical engineering level.  And I'm not there.  

And to confuse the matter, there is already a ground on each side, with a bigger ground wire on the side where the stock inverter is located aft.

So, am I harming anything by having two grounds, and if it would be bad, did Nissan do it incorrectly?

Or maybe I should just just stop over-thinking it all?

Once again, thank you in advance. I don't know what I would do without you guys!
Ted

 

[SternWake]

My known ground loop issues were related to a humming in the stereo when charging my previous MP3 player.

It was solved with this.

https://www.amazon.com/PAC-SNI-1-3-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DQZ6PHW53WAVFTNA3M9J

I'd recommend not overthinking this unless you are going to be powering a ham radio or some high fidelity stereo.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Cool. Thanks!

Next question-I was going to use the same locations for the house wiring as the pre-existing grounds for the engine battery system. I figured that since I was grounding to the same chassis with the house batteries, that using the same locations was fine. The cable running from the alternator to the battery bank is grounded to the same block, so no biggie. Logically, that seems okay, but electricity often behaves according to its own logic. Especially since my own logic is pretty convoluted at times.

 

[Gary68]

i am going to do the same thing,use the stock rv ground for stuff on that side,just looked it up and there was a few t.v.'s humming but looks like if they do you just add an isolator and problem solved

 

[SternWake]

As long as the steel the original grounds are mounting to are thick steel, where you can stack multiple ring terminals, and get them good and tight, without fear of stripping the threads, You should be good.

These surfaces that these main grounds will get torqued against, should really be free of all contamination, including the bolt threads. If they are really oil free, after torquing, you can paint on some liquid electrical tape in a few layers which will prevent corrosion and prevent the bolt from backing out, and can still be peeled off at a later date without much issue.

While the bolt itself is not really supposed to carry any of the current, one could go overkill and find some silicon Bronze fasteners to perhaps reduce resistance even further. But this is well into the overkill arena.

http://www.aaronssiliconbronzefasteners.com/

 

[DannyB1954]

With ham radio I ground everything to a central point and not to each other. In a vehicle this would be the chassis. I would not ground item #1 to the chassis, and then run a jumper to item #2 from item #1. Each unit gets it's own ground.

You can also place a Ferrite Choke around your power wires that feed audio equipment. This helps clean out interference from outside sources, (the power wires can act as an antenna and pick up radio frequency signals such as static from motors etc.), https://www.amazon.com/ferrite-choke/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:ferrite choke These just clamp around the outside of a wire. Ever see on some computer cables a lump in the line? That is a ferrite choke.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I am under the impression that ground loops are only a problem with AC current, not simple 12 volt dc.

If I'm wrong, well, it wouldn't be the first time . . .

 

[Gary68]

i have an existing large gauge 1/8" or more thick solid copper ground wire and was thinking something like this
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Morris-P...36495&wl11=online&wl12=34792130&wl13=&veh=sem

or this and bend the main ground wire
http://www.discountmarinesupplies.c...h_Cover.html?gclid=CJygypnB5NECFcRgfgodQeULaA

and then adding water pump,tv and maybe a light ground to it

????

 

[blars]

In practice, I find ground impedance to be a more likely problem than ground loops. Make sure your connections are good, and the ground wire should be at least as thick as the power wire. (When using steel, much thicker.)