So I've been searching all over the place and got some ideas but never really got a detailed description on the best way to do this. Of course I need the power wire to run from the battery to the back of the car. From the cabin to the rear isn't a problem, but from the battery to the cabin appears to be a bit more of a challenge. Has anyone ever installed their own amp and knows a great way to run this wire (possibly some pictures? ) Also, the route being safe is a plus! Don't want (in the long run) the cord to become exposed, short, and burn up my baby! All help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

i drilled a hole under the fuel pump relay area.

 

I'll keep that in mind, but i'm gonna try to save drilling for an absolute last resort =)

 

You may want to read this first:

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_i..._a_car_amp.htm

Here are a couple of threads that should help:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/car-...ower-wire.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/car-...oke-power.html

 

All i did was run it from the battery,found a little hole in the firewall,and then ran it from the inside under the door plastic,under the backseats,and up to my amp in the back

 

Awesome! A lot of info here.

So just to get it right there's no exact place for this, it's basically going to boil down to "whatever you can find?"

 

Some key things to remember are to use a grommet so that the power wire doesn't contact any sharp edges, keep any wires you run away from heat and away from the steering column, make sure you have a good solid amplifier ground to bare metal (remove all paint), and use wire that meets or exceeds the current draw of the amplifier (the proper gauge). Zip ties, split loom and electrical tape come in handy.

 

I'd recommend running it through the grommet that the antenna wire runs through. No drilling required.

 

in my 82 firebird there was a fat 2 inch hole under the passenger side kick panel check that

 

depending on the car's setup, there are a few different rubber plugs/grommets hiding behind your carpeting. If you pull back the carpet a bit, you should be able to find something useful. I too used the antenna area on my last build, but that's only useful to those with the battery on the passenger side.

 

I would suggest running through the antenna grommet, I am redoing my stereo as well and have found this to be the best looking/easiest way to run the power without any metal drilling. you will have to drill the grommet, but thats it. it may be easier for me because I already have my fender off, but it seems to be the best way

 

Be sure to install a fuse for the wire as conveniently close to the battery as possible.

 

I have installed many systems in many different cars and your right , dont drill only as a last resort , I have always come in at the ecm harness grommet in the firewall and tapped right into the power distrubution junction block on firewall ( its usually right obove it that you'll find the j block, thats the 3/8" size post in a plastic houseing where your main harness draws its power from thats a swwitched power supply so only energized when the key is on or running

 

Drilling and using a grommet exclusively for the power wire is the safest and best method. If you're running 8 AWG or smaller, you can probably piggy-back the wire through an existing grommet, but anything bigger absolutely needs its own.

On cars with a driver-side battery, I usually drill a spot a couple inches below the clutch master cylinder (or where it would be if it was a 5-speed car). It's hidden from view both in the interior and the engine bay, and doesn't interfere with anything. Just be careful that if your car is a 5-speed that you drill low enough that you don't actually drill into the master cylinder housing, which is made of soft plastic. Ask me how I know this...

On cars with a passenger side battery, I run the cable along side the engine harness, down behind the passenger fender, and I drill the hole near the radio antenna hole in the passenger kick panel. This will give you a clean, invisible routing path into the interior. You can do the same on the driver side kick panel, I just choose not to because it's a pain down there because the panel is double-walled and on most cars the door lock relays are in the way.

Wherever you choose to drill, ALWAYS use a properly sized grommet. I prefer rubber to plastic, but either will suffice.

 

I have pass side battery - ran mine from batt under fenderlip over strut tower, into fenderwell where pass harness runs following that to ECM firewall connector in pass kick panel. Just beside that connector, I drilled. I took 6 inches of fuel hose, slit it long ways, and wrapped mt amp wire in that, and then drilled a large enough hole where that would barely squeeze in there - took me 30 minutes of wiggling with white lithium grease to get the amp wire wrapped in fuel hose through the hole - I did take a round file and clean the hole of burrs as well. Then, under the carpet edge pass side, under the pass sail panel edge, under the rear plastic pass side.

The fuse, and the use or making of a rubber grommet are the most important - I've bought several parts cars cheap after their shorted amp wire shorted the battery, making it explode, causing a fire that ruined everything under the hood!

 

Find a hole in the firewall isnt a problem if your running 8 gauge wire, but if you go any bigger your gonna have to drill witch honestly isnt that big of a deal, I have 4 gauge wire in mine and i just drilled right underneath the heater core box and put the rubber seal around it, (local auto store purchase nothing special)

 

False, you can run at least 4ga through the antenna hole.