Ship's Common Ground

zippy · 30-05-2006, 17:50

I am installing a chatplotter at the helm and was trying to decide if I should run the ground wire all the way back to the electric panel or take the shorter route to the battery ground, which goes to the engine block. I then read an article on islandnet.com that said that all grounding wires, including the battery cables, should go to one common grounding plate (a heavy bus bar). It said not to use the engine block as the ground and that using the engine block as the common ground will cause corrosion problems.

Should I run my ground to the battery, to the ground back at my electrical panel, or should I install a bus bar and send everything to it? How big would this bus bar need to be on a 30 foot boat?

30-05-2006, 17:50	#1
zippy Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 29	Ship's Common Ground I am installing a chatplotter at the helm and was trying to decide if I should run the ground wire all the way back to the electric panel or take the shorter route to the battery ground, which goes to the engine block. I then read an article on islandnet.com that said that all grounding wires, including the battery cables, should go to one common grounding plate (a heavy bus bar). It said not to use the engine block as the ground and that using the engine block as the common ground will cause corrosion problems. Should I run my ground to the battery, to the ground back at my electrical panel, or should I install a bus bar and send everything to it? How big would this bus bar need to be on a 30 foot boat?

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