The "right way" to run a power wire for amps, A "how to" for the cleanest and reliable install Options

[K-ESD]

Precautions: do not connect the wire to the battery terminal until the wire is securely connected to the amp(s)
make sure you have a fuse at the battery end of the wire
do not put the fuse in until you have the wire securely connected to the amp(s)

**disclaimer** use this guide at your own risk

Inside

-Open the driver side door
-Gently pull off the door step plastic peice (right next to the seat)
-Remove the kick panel, there is one plastic nut next to the foot rest by the pedal, take off the trim on the left, only the end thats connected to the kick panel.

Outside

-Jack the car on the driver side
-Remove the wheel
-Remove all the screws that hold the inner fender mudguard
-some are at the back and some at the edge of the fender
-unclip the part that holds the mudguard to the fender lip
-Pop the hood and stuff your wire here: (right by the fuse box next to the battery)



-Pull the mudguard down enough that you can see the big black wire loom and you're able put your hand in there. It's flexible enough to bend down.
(note: in the pict, i removed it completely, this is not necessary. If you try to remove it, you will encounter a problem with the screw holder where the mud flap is. If you really want to take the mudguard off, you will have to break those.)

- Reach to your left to find your wire and pull it all the way thru (leave some length to connect to the battery with a little bit of slack)

-On the right side you will find a grommet with a little nipple on it. Cut the nipple off.
-Stuff your wire in there, it will come out inside the car right where the kick panel was



-Pull it all the way through. Leave enough wire to zip tie it securely to the black wire loom inside the fender. (refer to pict above)

-At this point you can reassemble the mudguard (it goes inside the fender lip, you will have to tuck it back in)
-Put the wheel back on (don't forget to torque the lug nuts)
-Drop the car

Back Inside
-Pull off the carpet next to the seat to reveale the flat white box full of wires (take notice of the clips on the side of the box)
-Run your wire along that box and clip it into place using the clips on the white box.
(note: the clips can only be used for 4g or smaller. For bigger wires, cut the clips off and run it along the white box, the carpet will hold your wire in place. The pict shows a 0g wire with the clips cut off)



-Stuff your wire under the rear seat side panel
-Pull up on the bottom of the back seat (it needs some force). You can't remove the back seat but you can work with it loose.
-Find your wire and pull it all the way through
-At this point you can reassemble the kick panel, carpet and door step
-It's your choice to either pass the wire under the seat to the trunk or push it up and fish it out on the other side of the panel.
-Once that is done, put the seat back in it's place (the two little hooks goes into the clips on the edge of the floor of the seat) stomp on it to clip it back in place.

Install your amps securely and enjoy

(for suggestions, typos or any other questions, PM me)

This post has been edited by K-ESD: Jul 20, 2006 - 9:12 PM

[K-ESD]

First off there is no "real" Right or wrong way. I have done profesional installs as well as work with. And Your way, is def not near the right or profesion. There is a lot of extra work not needed and for no good reason. Primary wires are ran through the firewall for a good reason.

Otherwise, nice job and nice write up.

I'll give you the exact same reply as I did on post (KESD) Jul 20, 2006 - 8:49 PM
Saves me the time to type it all over again.

I guess it varies person to person what "proffesional" is.
To me it is cleanliness and mounting, pretty much anything that resembles stock assembly where every 3-8 inch of wire is clipped down. A wire out loosly in the engine bay just is just getho. Of course, i've seen people screwing down clips to hold the wire tightly and out of the way, I absolutely love those installs.

I don't see why running inside the fender would be unproffessional. Toyota designed the celica with a big fat loom of wires running exactly there and the fact that there's a nipple there kinda looks like it's made to be an optional entry point for a wire or wires, perfectly sealing it with the sleeve of the nipple, you can even add electrical tape just like toyota wraps all of it's wire looms and grommet. A big plus is that the fender entry hole is right next to the battery and the white box's side clips are just perfect for running the wire under the door step, unfortunenatly not for excessively big wire. The only place I haven't found anything stock made to hold it down is in the rear side panel and in the trunk.

but you're right, everyone has it's own oppinion. This is just my supporting argument for my oppinion

in addition

Primary power wires (battery to inside fuse box) are NOT passed through the firewall, they are inside the loom that is passing in the fender. I had to sort through them when I did my engine swap.

This means that you are saying that Toyota did not run the wires the "right way" and did not do a professional job when they built your car.

just something to think about


To positive comment(s):

Thanks - I'm glad to hear some people are doing it.
I appreciate it, I did put alot of work into it. I will make a better version with more picts when I get my own digital camera. This whole process is actualy very easy but time consuming. It's just tricky to venture in new places, which makes it a little bit harder. I should make a How-to video

If there's any suggestions for the how-to, please let me know