Amp power cable, where to run? Options

[Abraxis64]

Hey guys, i know that some of you guys out there have aftermarket audio systems and i was wondering where you guys ran the power cable for the amp...i've pulled up the passenger side carpet by the ecu area (usually a good place to find somewhere) and have been looking for a few minutes and didn't really find any stock grommets through which i could run a power cable...

where have you guys ran your power wire? any help is appreciated. i'd prefer not to drill a hole and install a grommet if i didn't need to.

peace

[runriot95]

Hey guys, i know that some of you guys out there have aftermarket audio systems and i was wondering where you guys ran the power cable for the amp...i've pulled up the passenger side carpet by the ecu area (usually a good place to find somewhere) and have been looking for a few minutes and didn't really find any stock grommets through which i could run a power cable...

where have you guys ran your power wire? any help is appreciated. i'd prefer not to drill a hole and install a grommet if i didn't need to.

peace
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I never really checked the passenger side. The battery is on the driver's side and since I have my amp under the driver's seat, I decided tp keep it on the D-side. I did have to drill a hole though and it's not as difficult as some make it out to be.

Do what works best for your layout but don't be afraid of drilling if it comes to that. Also, if you don't have a grommet or can't find one the right size, you can also use silicone sealant. That's what I used and it works great. Just make sure you get it all around the cable to seal it up tight.

[Abraxis64]

ah, i guess if i don't find anything suitable, i'll just go ahead and drill. where, if i may ask, did you drill?

[BLINKYxMUNKEY]

shoudl be a hole big enough around the steering and the firwall. i have fitted a 4 gauge wire through it.

[slipgun]

This post has been edited by slipgun: Jun 13, 2005 - 8:44 PM

[Scarrell]

mine is below that thing in the back with the red cap... not sure if the hole was originally there or what, but i had Fu<k with the $hit for awhile to get it in there.. it was a b¡tch to get in there though, but i have two power cables running through there.. also, yeah it isnt hard to drill a hole in the fire wall.. just make sure there isnt any wires in the way, and if you do hit something then you must be retarded...

[ShadowFX]

mine is a GT. I ran mine down the passenger side (RHD car) i just poked a hole in the rubber boot that covers up a big bundle of cables, pushed it through a bit, and then it went down all the plastic and wiring bits under the dash and i could just pull it through.

[Abraxis64]

coolness. thanks, guys. haven't had time to work on the celica in a couple of days, and i've been driving my crx recently, since the weather's been nice...the help is much appreciated.

peace

[spunky393]

PM sent

[94CelicaRedHatch]

mine runs straight back from the battery. Runs right along side driver underneath that little floor board thingy and right on back to the amp

[dizzybridge]

lol i had to drill a hole....i got 0 gauge wire.

[K-ESD]

The celica was made to have a power wire for an amp enter by the driver fender side (inside the fender). when you remove the step peice you can see a plastic casing with wires running inside of it and on that plastic casing there are clips to hold the power wire. Toyota made this obvious to any installer. You can fit 8g, maybe 4g wire in it, for anything bigger you'll have to cut the clips out.

That's the cleanest way to run a power wire. You won't even see it under the hood

[Niskyspy]

The celica was made to have a power wire for an amp enter by the driver fender side (inside the fender). when you remove the step peice you can see a plastic casing with wires running inside of it and on that plastic casing there are clips to hold the power wire. Toyota made this obvious to any installer. You can fit 8g, maybe 4g wire in it, for anything bigger you'll have to cut the clips out.

That's the cleanest way to run a power wire. You won't even see it under the hood
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Can any one else tell if this is true cuz I dont want to take half of my car apart just to find out that there is no such thing. If anyone got pics or anything, it would help.
Thank you

[K-ESD]

Open your hood and look at the very corner at the front (driver side), you will see this:



This is where you stick your wire in to get inside the fender. It's to your convinience, right by the battery.

You will need to take out the mud guard peice, just find all the bolts holding it. Take it off so you can see this:



Circled in red, you should find a little nipple sticking out of the big grommet, pull on it and cut it off. This is where the wire enters on the side of the driver's left foot.

Pull off ur step peice, you will see where the carpet is snapped on the body, just lift it up and you will see this:



This is where you run your wire from the front to the back of your celica.

Look closer and you will see a perfect spot for you to run a decent size wire. (what maximum size? i am not sure, but if it doesn't fit, cut the clips off)

(In the pict below i circled where some of the clips used to be before i cut them off)




For the rest of the way, you have two options.
1. the frustrating but fast way of pushing the wire thru the inside of the side panel (not recomended)
2.Taking the back seat out, taking out the rear panel and doing it with ease and no pain, takes much longer but it's done right. (highly recomended)

I hope that helps

- Nick

This post has been edited by K-ESD: Jun 22, 2005 - 7:12 AM

[Niskyspy]

Thank you very much!!!
I am gonna do it the clean way...

[K-ESD]

U're very welcome
Glad i could help

[Niskyspy]

I just got a 5 gauge kit and I am gonna be installing it tomorrow. I just have couple more questions. Do u think 5 gauge would fit?
And could u tell me how to remove side piece cuz I really dont want to brake off the plastic clips that hold it. Thanks

[K-ESD]

when you say the side peice, is it the rear side panel (back seat), the step peice (where the door closes over) or the kick panel (left of the pedals)?

I'll try to determine if the wire will fit, i'll get back to you

[K-ESD]

I wasn't able to tell if it was gonna fit, they weren't enough of the clips sitcking out for me to tell. Give it a shot, if it doesn't fit cut the clips. Don't worry about cutting the clips off, I got a 0g wire to fit cleanly, you can definetly fit a 5g.

[Niskyspy]

OK, I just did the whole install today. 5 gauge does fit but with some oil lubrication, I think 4 gauge would fit too but it would be a little bit harder. The biggest thing that I hated about this install are the 3 clips that hold the mud guard, if any one of you is gonna do amp wiring this way just cut the them off and buy new once. After about 10 min of trying I only removed one of the 3 clips and it was all damaged too. So just cut them off. Other thing that I hated is before I used oil on the wires to make them slide better my friend was pulling on the wires from the interior too hard and the car fell off the jack stand, thank god I put a wheel under the car and there is almost no damage to the body and the brake rotor didnt hit the ground (it was close though, the rotor was 1" from the pavement)
Oh yea the clips fit 5 gauge fine, I dont think they would hold 4 gauge.

List of tips if you gonna do it this way:
1) See if the wire is long enough, mine wasnt
2) Cut off the three plastic clips that hold the mudguard and get new once ( dont have any of the clips on and it look's fine so I dont think I am gonna be getting em)
3) Get some oil and lubricate the wire (I used some oil from the dipstick, it was enough)
Thats it, sorry I didn't take any pics...

This post has been edited by Niskyspy: Jun 27, 2005 - 7:05 PM