Jason E

Ok, when my friend (an installer) helped me put my amp in about 2 months ago, he ran the 4 gague Monster PowerFlex while I did the RCA's (I know, I got the better job ) But, when he ran the 4 gague, he ran it through a hole in my door jamb, right near the hinges, into the car, then under the carpet.

Now, any time you FULLY open the passenger door, the edge of the door touches the power wire a bit. It doesn't pinch it, but it does rub up against it. I tried to squeeze in there and wrap a bit of electrical tape around the portion of the wire that gets tapped by the door.

I don't like the fact that it does this, as I think eventually this will fray my wire. He says it won't, because the PowerFlex has such a thick shell, there will never be a problem with the coating exposing the wire. He said at Tweeter, on Hondas with headers, they run that stuff perilously close to the headers, and never have problems.

Now I don't have THAT many people jumping in and out of my car, and even fewer opening the door all the way. But should I be worried?? What would happen if the wire did fray? It would just blow the fuse in the amp, right?

Help me out guys...I REALLY don't want to have to re-run my power wire.

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Jason E
'89 Camaro RS 2.8
Hypertech chip/K&N filters/Accel 8.8 wires/RapidFires
Eclipse CD, 100x4 amp/Boston plates and 6x9s
Alpine Alarm w/ Keyless entry
IROC tailights/tinted windows

Justins86bird

You mean the wire enters into your car where the little bubber boot is that the power window/lock wires run through? I originally did that 6 years ago with my 4ga wire and is still that way today. As long and its not chaffing, you should be ok. For extra protection, wrap some of the black flex loom conduit around it.

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[This message has been edited by Justins86bird (edited October 23, 2000).]

daniel dekay

if i understand this right, the 4 guage is run from the battery, along the passenger side of the engine compartment, down the inside of the fender, thru an opening into the interior and along the door jab to wherever the amp is. sound at all close?

if so, thats what i did. except my wire doesnt go near the door. i took the door jab off and ran the 4 gauge right along the carpet where the carpet meets the door jab panel.

the way he did it, u shouldnt have any problems cuz u said there was no pinch.

daniel

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86 camaro cpe(dont laugh)has 92z28 body kit with GTS covers, new red paint and a killer stereo. 2 amps, 8 speakers, disc changer, custom install with subs coming by the end of the summer. sawpped (or in the process of) 305lg4 for brand new 350. TES headers, flowmaster cat back, performer manifold, TCI converter, jet chip, kn with dual snorkel cleaner. and she still passed the sniffer!

"Cal Poly SLO is the shi#"

Kevin S

I ran my wire through the same hole my antanna(can you tell I never won a spelling B )wire comes through.I drilled a hole through the rubber seal that allowed me to pass the amp wire right in.It has been like that for 3 years now.

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[This message has been edited by Kevin S (edited October 23, 2000).]

Jason E

Daniel,

It sounds like he took the exact same route, but like I said, it does rub a small amount when the door is opened fully. You know how the edge of the door near the RF fender comes to a point? That point is what hits the power wire when extended all the way. If I look at the hinges from inside the car, as the door opens, eventually I can see the 4 gague, and see the wire get touched by it. But as long as it isn't pinching, it should be ok??

Kevin,

That's the hole that I would like to run it through now, but my friend said we gotta take the door off to be able to get down to that hole. He ran it through a different hole...I believe it had a rubber plug in it originally?

Thanks for all the responses so far...any more opinions or ideas are GREATLY appreciated.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

You don't need to remove the door to run it through the antenna hole. I didn't want to hack up my antenna grommet, so I drilled a 3/4" hole right next to the antenna and used the proper grommet for my 2 gauge wire. I had the inner fender off, but neither the door nor the fender needs to come off to do this. I ran the wire out that hole and wire tied it to the wiring harness every 12 inches. I ran it right up into the engine bay with the harness and then followed the line under the fender lip over to the battery. The entire wire is encased in black wire loom to protect it from any sort of chafing as well to help keep a stock appearance.

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Jason E

Wire loom sounds like a good idea...that should be enough to protect it when it gets hit. I REALLY don't feel like messing around with moving the entire wire at this point...I guess the wire loom will do the trick!!

Does anyone see any potential problems with just doing wire loom? Yes, I am COMPLETELY aware that I sound neuoritc, but I spent big $$ on all this stuff, and I don't wanna wreck something! So any and all advice, as always, is really appreciated.

By the way, just for ha has, say the wire coating does get punctured...what happens then? Fire? Will the amp fuse blow, or will the whole damn amp blow??

My Slow Iroc-Z

"By the way, just for ha has, say the wire coating does get punctured...what happens then? Fire? Will the amp fuse blow, or will the whole damn amp blow??"

Does the 4guage wire he ran have an in line fuse by the BATTERY??? It should!! If it does get pinched and create a short that fuse will blow. If you don't have a fuse near the battery (NOT THE ONE IN THE AMP), sparks will start to fly and you will definately do a number on your car's electrical system along with your amps, and if left shorted long enough, your battery will fry itself to death!!
Hope that makes you feel better!! If you don't like the way your friend routed the wire, move it to a safer place. Drill a hole in the fire wall, USE a gromet, route the wire to the amp, the get some silicone and glue the wire to the gromet and the gromet to the firewall. This way it won't pull itself out and rub.

Jason E

Hehe...yeah, I have a nice little Monster fuse holder (with fuse obviously ) on my RF strut tower. I guess that answers that question!! I figured if that happened, the amp fuse would blow...makes sense though that the one inline with the battery would!

I'm gonna try shoving some wire loom in there around the part thats being contacted by the door. That and the electrical tape around it SHOULD protect the wire coating enough (I hope). Once this is done, all that will happen is the wire will flex a bit every now and then. Again, if anyone sees a problem with this, please tell me!

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

The problem is, the fuse is probably a 40+ amp fuse. Depending on how it chaffes, you might have a big problem before the 40 amp fuse blows. But, the coating on the wire is extremely durable, and unless there is a sharp edge rubbing it with a lot of pressure, you shouldn't ever see a problem. I just think it's too bad that you paid good money and he was too lazy to run the wire properly. There is no excuse for running it in through the rubber boot like that.

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Jason E

Thanks for the relieving words Jim

I have a 50 amp fuse in the fuse holder, but he told me the same about the coating on the wire, that it was very durable, and that there should be no problems. And indeed, nothing sharp is hitting or pinching it, it's just being shifted by the leading edge of the door. And with electrical tape wrapped around the wire, and wire loom over that, it won't even be touched anymore...just shifted a 1/4 inch every now and then. And as you said, pressure would add to the chaffing, and I highly doubt that extending a door all the way open will put much of a strain on it whatsoever.

I didn't pay him for the job...he did it free. But now I wish I had done the power wire and him the RCA's, because I wouldn't have done this. Quite frankly, I would rather have had him drill through the firewall like I told him to originally. At least then I could be sure nothing would ever happen.

When I was referring to $$, I mean, I spent $45 just on that friggen 18 foot long power wire (I'd rather not wreck it!!)...plus $400 on the amp. If that puppy fries because of his wiring job, or my car set on fire (or god knows what else), I'm gonna kill him!!

At this point, as long as no one else sees a problem, I'm gonna just throw the loom over it and be done worrying about it. I've gotten fairly encouraging feedback from everyone about this, and to everyone who responded, I appreciate it!!

I'll stop my whining now

[This message has been edited by Jason E (edited October 25, 2000).]