Snaking a power wireeee through firewall
#1
Snaking a power wireeee through firewall
I have an '02 Tacoma which I'm getting ready to install an aftermarket stereo. The install guide says I need to snake a 10ga wire directly from the battery to the radio. I'm not crazay about drilling holes in my truck...can anyone suggest an existing hole I can use?
#2
Contributing Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 3,400
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
To install my amp power wire I ran from the batterie under the truck and through one of the handfull of rubber plugs you have in your floor board. You have to take your seasts out and pull up the carpet to do this. From there I would run it under the carpet and under the dash. That's one way to go that requires no drilling.
#6
From what it sounds we are talking about a headunit here. If that is the case it's not worth the trouble. The wire that feeds the OEM unit is stout enough for the aftermarket.
#7
Originally Posted by 4RUNR
From what it sounds we are talking about a headunit here. If that is the case it's not worth the trouble. The wire that feeds the OEM unit is stout enough for the aftermarket.
Trending Topics
#8
Contributing Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Cleveland, TN
Posts: 564
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by 4RUNR
From what it sounds we are talking about a headunit here. If that is the case it's not worth the trouble. The wire that feeds the OEM unit is stout enough for the aftermarket.
Send it through the rubber plug in the top of the drivers side firewall
#9
Originally Posted by dbikeman
Some of the new head units are supposed to be higher rated and require a new power to be run. If it asks for it I would install it.
Send it through the rubber plug in the top of the drivers side firewall
Send it through the rubber plug in the top of the drivers side firewall
#10
Contributing Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Riverview, FL
Posts: 534
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by slk320xm
Can you be a little more specific about where I can find this plug from inside the cab?
Nice head unit by the way. Should sound sweet when you're done.
#11
Contributing Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Escondido, CA
Posts: 709
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by slk320xm
Can you be a little more specific about where I can find this plug from inside the cab?
#12
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a look under the hood tomorrow & see what I can find. Sounds like there should be enough options where I won't have to get the drill out!
#13
That unit is rated 26w x 4 RMS. It is an A/B unit with ~60% efficiency. Let's assume you like your music loud for extended period of time and listen to it at 80% of maximum loudness. 0.8 loudness x (26w x 4 channels equally driven) / 13.8v / 0.6 inefficiency = roughly 10 amps total draw.
Realistically there is only a few feet of 14 or 16 gauge power wire coming from the headunit harness before it hits a power panel and feeds into a bigger cable. But lets assume the worst scenario that there is 7 feet of 16 gauge wire. That’s enough to run to the top of the battery. You are looking at less than 0.3v drop, or 2%, which falls into “good practice” when sizing cables. Why cut up a new truck, then post threads why the battery drained overnight The K.I.S.S method is the best.
Realistically there is only a few feet of 14 or 16 gauge power wire coming from the headunit harness before it hits a power panel and feeds into a bigger cable. But lets assume the worst scenario that there is 7 feet of 16 gauge wire. That’s enough to run to the top of the battery. You are looking at less than 0.3v drop, or 2%, which falls into “good practice” when sizing cables. Why cut up a new truck, then post threads why the battery drained overnight The K.I.S.S method is the best.
#14
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Oahu, Hawaii
Posts: 767
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I never had to run a power wire for my deck. I have a high end head unit. I have run most of my power wires through the main harness hole. All the others I drilled
#15
Originally Posted by 4RUNR
That unit is rated 26w x 4 RMS. It is an A/B unit with ~60% efficiency. Let's assume you like your music loud for extended period of time and listen to it at 80% of maximum loudness. 0.8 loudness x (26w x 4 channels equally driven) / 13.8v / 0.6 inefficiency = roughly 10 amps total draw.
#17
Originally Posted by slk320xm
Unfortunately, Alpine fails to mention what the "peak" current draw of the headunit is in their specs. But, these numbers look reasonable, so maybe I won't need the direct battert wire. When I get the radio out I'll take a look at the truck's wiring harness & see if I can determine the the gage of the power wires.
#18
Registered User
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Lynnwood, WA
Posts: 1,184
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have the Alpine CDA-9815 and powered the Head unit directly from battery(I think it's called "V-drive), plenty of options to run wires, just gotta look at your firewall for holes. Personally I dont know if doing this would have made any difference at all but Alpine says you'll have higher RMS so oh well.
Last edited by 2001Millrunner; 10-23-2004 at 12:11 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post