[Vwdiesel] WEIRD "GROUNDS" 86 GOLF

[Roger Brown]

> On 11 Feb 2005 at 10:54, Smith, Michael <Michael.Smith at rvh.nb.ca> wrote:
> 
> > Well I tossed a 2m rig (for you non-hams on the list, this is a two-way
> > radio) in the Golf last night; got it all wired up to what I thought was the
> > correct way but as soon as I turn on the lights, the 2m rig went out.  All I did
> > was parallel up to the lighter socket, which is wacky.  As soon as the
> > headlights come on, the wire which I believe is/was the ground diconnects from
> > ground and goes open.
> >
> > So...I say to myself...no sweat, I'll just run a wire stright to the
> > body/chassis somewhere.  No problem. I open up the little flap next to the
> > stick shift and find what I think is solid metal just next to the screw
> > which holds the console in place.  I put my ground to my radio there, but
> > still no dice !  Are there no grounds on this car, or is "ground" isolated
> > or what?  The parcel tray screws are not grounded either. SIGH!
> >
> > I ended up yanking the stereo (as it's not yet attached) and splicing into a
> > miniscule ground wire there to get ground for my 2m rig (which is just above it
> > on the dash.) which isn't the best idea, as the radio draws 12A on transmit....

I run my radio(s) off of a dedicated power and ground wire fed from the battery.  I have a fuse block up front and run the power
and ground wires (twisted) back to the cab and they work fine.  No noise and it is a very stable voltage. If you want the power
switched with the ignition, add a relay powered off the lighter or something similar to trigger the relay.

--
   Roger