5 wire Grounding Kit for ML
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Thousand Oaks
03 ML500
5 wire Grounding Kit for ML
The 5 wire gounding kit is very popular lately and I like to know if anyone purchase or made one to installed on there ML?
Does it make a difference in V8?
What are the good gounding points for ML? Thanks!
Does it make a difference in V8?
What are the good gounding points for ML? Thanks!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 288
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From: Thousand Oaks
03 ML500
This is what I'm talking about
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 288
Likes: 0
From: Thousand Oaks
03 ML500
Got it installed on my G35 3 days ago
AlBoston, I test it out with my G35 and it does what it intend to do. Its feel smoother and more reponsive. its idle like Lexus now and engine starts effortless not like there is any problem before but its just get from good to better 
As far as HP gain, its more responsive so I guess its feels more powerful but it not at least that is what I feel from my butt dyno but of course my butt is not calibarted
:p 
I'm in the process of requesting a custom made grounding kit for my ML500 but it seem to me that Mercedes and BMW are harder to do cause the engine is so well cover up and the battery is harder to reach. So, I'm not sure if anyone will be willing to find a ML and test fit for me since most of the maker is not locally available. Also, I'm not really a hand on guy myself and just by looking at the engine bay of my ML its give me the white flag already. I'll update this thread when I have any update of it.
As far as HP gain, its more responsive so I guess its feels more powerful but it not at least that is what I feel from my butt dyno but of course my butt is not calibarted :p I'm in the process of requesting a custom made grounding kit for my ML500 but it seem to me that Mercedes and BMW are harder to do cause the engine is so well cover up and the battery is harder to reach. So, I'm not sure if anyone will be willing to find a ML and test fit for me since most of the maker is not locally available. Also, I'm not really a hand on guy myself and just by looking at the engine bay of my ML its give me the white flag already. I'll update this thread when I have any update of it.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Las Vegas, NV USA / London, UK
GL320CDI / C63 Edition 507 Coupe (EDP) / E63 S (on order) / G500 / Smart Brabus
After reading the posted article, I have some comments. My experience is limited to having some Electrical Engineering background (I am actually ME but as a hobbiest I do circuit design). Other applicable experience is with wiring for audiophile systems, and I'm well aware of the sorts of "snake oil" tactics used by marketers.
The reason I mention the audiophile background is because a lot of marketing weight is given to "skin effect" and why it makes a particular brand of wire better than another. The "skin effect" is listed as a reason for improving the grounding system on a vehicle. Generally, the skin effect, while given a name and defined in principle, is not very well understood. As a matter of fact, in the article linked, some contradicting points are made in regards to skin effect.
The author mentions that high frequency signals tend to conduct on the skin of a conductor; this is true. Then he discounts the usefulness of gold plating, stating that it is only a "few thousandths of an inch" thick. Well, this is precisely where skin effect takes place, and the better conductive qualities of gold will help. The author then goes on to mention that copper is fine and any oxidation is only on the surface... well, the surface is where one's high frequency signals travel. And copper oxide is not a good conductor.
For someone about to design a new grounding kit for the ML, it might do some good to look at the grounding cables that already exist on the ML. Like most Mercedes, the batteries are not the central point for wire harness termination. The wires are generally grounded at grounding points which are tied together (and to the battery and charging system) by large capacity cables. These cables are engineered for raw current carrying capacity, not to carry signals or other data. By examining the networks present on the car (the various CAN buses), one can see that Mercedes employs a differential networking technique, meaning the signal is sent by making a difference in levels between two wires, not a single wire and ground. If there is a failure in one of the wires, the system will fall back to a single wire compared with ground; but Mercedes documentation states that this signaling will be at much lower speed.
So generally, the ground harnesses are not used to carry any data. Therefore, the skin effect probably does not affect the ground system on the ML.
If one wants to improve power transfer by increasing the efficiency of the ground, this may have some effect. I would like to see the tested and documented change (not "seat of the pants") that such a system provides... otherwise, it is still "snake oil" (or "green magic markers" for those of you that remember that...)
-s-
The reason I mention the audiophile background is because a lot of marketing weight is given to "skin effect" and why it makes a particular brand of wire better than another. The "skin effect" is listed as a reason for improving the grounding system on a vehicle. Generally, the skin effect, while given a name and defined in principle, is not very well understood. As a matter of fact, in the article linked, some contradicting points are made in regards to skin effect.
The author mentions that high frequency signals tend to conduct on the skin of a conductor; this is true. Then he discounts the usefulness of gold plating, stating that it is only a "few thousandths of an inch" thick. Well, this is precisely where skin effect takes place, and the better conductive qualities of gold will help. The author then goes on to mention that copper is fine and any oxidation is only on the surface... well, the surface is where one's high frequency signals travel. And copper oxide is not a good conductor.
For someone about to design a new grounding kit for the ML, it might do some good to look at the grounding cables that already exist on the ML. Like most Mercedes, the batteries are not the central point for wire harness termination. The wires are generally grounded at grounding points which are tied together (and to the battery and charging system) by large capacity cables. These cables are engineered for raw current carrying capacity, not to carry signals or other data. By examining the networks present on the car (the various CAN buses), one can see that Mercedes employs a differential networking technique, meaning the signal is sent by making a difference in levels between two wires, not a single wire and ground. If there is a failure in one of the wires, the system will fall back to a single wire compared with ground; but Mercedes documentation states that this signaling will be at much lower speed.
So generally, the ground harnesses are not used to carry any data. Therefore, the skin effect probably does not affect the ground system on the ML.
If one wants to improve power transfer by increasing the efficiency of the ground, this may have some effect. I would like to see the tested and documented change (not "seat of the pants") that such a system provides... otherwise, it is still "snake oil" (or "green magic markers" for those of you that remember that...)
-s-
