Running a ground at the center console is the easiest route for me. Can anyone think of a good reason not to run ground off one of the bolts used in the hand brake assembly? I would think all should run to the frame, and the surfaces are unpainted. It also gives me plenty of room, and won't interfere with the handbrake mechanism.

I don't think I am, but am I missing anything?

 

I mentioned this to you in another thread, yes this will work just fine.

Moderators: I would merge this thread into the main one for his installation so info is all in one place. :-)

 

Moderators: In fact, if you want to merge all the threads I've posted in ICE under the main thread, that would be great. I'm buttoning everything up now, and will update/post pics based on all these conversations.

 

Grounds in modern vehicles are rather elusive. I own two non-Honda vehicles where the main or master ground is NOT the frame. They both are using the body. On one of them I added a towing wiring harness attaching the ground lead from the plug to the frame in the rear. It took a while to figure out what the problem was. It turned out that the frame was NOT electrically connected to the body. I have not researched the Honda Fit to see exaclty what they are using.

I suggest that you follow the negative cable from the battery and see where it is attached. If it is attached to the body and NOT the frame, Then any other attachment to the body would be an acceptable location for your new ground connection.

 

Easy way to tell integrity of the ground is to ohm between the point you are connecting to and the negative of the battery. Close to 0 ohms as possible indicates the frame is connected.

 

Bass,

You are correct, you had mentioned this.

So to check after n9cv's post, I removed the plastic trim in front of the parking brake lever. The bolt that I used for ground can be seen with this trim piece removed, and is just in front and to the right of the base of the parking brake assembly. With the car running, I used a multimeter to take a reading from the positive (center) of the 12VDC outlet in the center console armrest, and negative to the bolt used for ground.

I got a reading of 15.4VDC, so it looks like I'm good.

 

Are you sure of that voltage? Thats pretty high with the engine running. Unless it was cold out (@ around -20 Celsius) I'd expect around 14.4VDC.

Check to make sure your battery is not overcharging the battery cooking it.

 

I will double check, but I think that is the voltage I remember seeing with the car running straight off the battery; I want to say it was 13.5ish VDC not running.

Are there any tech manuals that would list this as a spec?

 

Basic battery basics, unless its real cold out the alternator should not be beyond 14.5 volts, 15 volts and higher would be boiling the water inside the battery ruining it. Could be an alternator problem or a weak battery.

 

I think your voltmeter is reading about a volt or so high. A 12V lead acid battery would not generally have a 13.5V reading when it's not being charged, and certainly not after sitting for awhile (a couple hours, say).

 

Bass/DrewE, thanks. Let me try a different multimeter and see if I get a different result.