Is it acceptable to use the Xterra frame as the negative lead back to the battery when wiring accessories? I have noticed that some accessories just have the postive lead to the battery and the other lead is attached to the body/frame. Can you wire a heavy load through the frame?

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The prefered and best way to ground anything is through the frame. I used the bracket for the battery for external lights. I don't know how high of a load your talking about, but a good rule of thumb is one gauge thicker wire than your hot lead.

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00' Super Black SE
98' Jeep Wrangler
Sport

Yes and yes, there should be no problem up to 50-100 amps roughly. More of a problem is finding a suitable threaded insert on the body and then scraping off the surrounding paint.

There is no need to use a different gauge for the supply and return.

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A rear mounted winch. Using gauge 2 wire.

Thanks for all the info guys!

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The frame is generally perfect for most anything that needs grounding. One exception to this is the electronics of your audio system. I guess because the frame might induce noise into the system or something...

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2001 Solar Yellow SE 4x4 V6 5spd