Where to run wires through the firewall?

snorkelface
04-15-2003, 07:41 PM
I wanted to ask this newbie question before I started tearing the interior apart. I need to run the power (and grounf?) wires through the fire wall for my amps. TIA!:)

RallyRedTexan
04-16-2003, 01:13 AM
Holy Crap you don't run ground at all. You need to ground your amps to the frame and your front battery is already grounded. Remove the PCM, but don't disconnect it. There's a gromet behind it that will accomidate up to a 2 gauge wire.

PaulN64
04-16-2003, 02:45 AM
yup, that's what I did with mine, but I just ran the power wire. two 10mm bolts and take the pcm out.

snorkelface
04-16-2003, 11:17 AM
Thanks for the info!

I'm using a -4gauge ground, but it's being run off of the cap, so I didn't think I would have any reason to be running a ground through the firewall (but I wasn't sure). I'm going to be running all the grounds from the two amps to the negative terminal on the cap, then from the cap to the power antenna mounting post for ground. This is what the instructions for the cap said I should do. Is this OK?

Also, I think I found the remote tutn on lead. I was confused because two wires are yellow, but one is for a speaker, and one is the switched power lead (remote turn on, right?). So I used a multimeter, and found one of the yellow wires would show 0 volts with the ignition ff, and 6 volts with it turned on, is this the remote turn on lead?

RallyRedTexan
04-16-2003, 05:31 PM
You need to mount all your grounds to the same point in the rear on the body of the vehicle, make sure to remove any paint to help with contact.

And yes that's it!

snorkelface
04-16-2003, 05:41 PM
Originally posted by RallyRedTexan
You need to mount all your grounds to the same point in the rear on the body of the vehicle, make sure to remove any paint to help with contact.

And yes that's it!

So, does that mean that my planned wiring was OK? Run the amp grounds to the - terminal on the cap, and then from the - terminal on the cap to the body? Sorry, I just want to be clear.

Cool!:)

RallyRedTexan
04-16-2003, 06:02 PM
I would run them from the amps seperately to teh ground point. Unless you are running a BIG wire from teh cap to the ground.

snorkelface
04-16-2003, 06:11 PM
The wire going from the cap to the ground is 4awg. Is that big enough?:confused:

RallyRedTexan
04-16-2003, 06:19 PM
Originally posted by snorkelface
The wire going from the cap to the ground is 4awg. Is that big enough?:confused:

Maybe, how long is the wire and how many watts?

snorkelface
04-16-2003, 06:54 PM
The wire should only be a few inches. I'm mounting the cap in where the spare tire would go, right next to the amps. I was going to run the ground to the pwer antenna mast.

The watts are hard to tell, becuase these amps are way over rated. I'm running (no laighing) a Crunch P2200 2ch amp bridged into mono, and a Sound Storm M-1484 4ch amp.

RallyRedTexan
04-16-2003, 06:59 PM
Originally posted by snorkelface
The watts are hard to tell, becuase these amps are way over rated. I'm running (no laighing) a Crunch P2200 2ch amp bridged into mono, and a Sound Storm M-1484 4ch amp.

Ha, you should be fine. But I would suggest you go ahead and find a better spot to ground. Try drilling a hole and mounting a big bolt thru it. If you do it on the bottom of the tire well it shouldn't be a problem. But the mast will work fine too.

snorkelface
04-16-2003, 07:01 PM
I was thinking about tapping a big bolt where the drain plug is in the bootm (I don't want water getting in there anymore), would that be better?

RallyRedTexan
04-16-2003, 07:06 PM
Originally posted by snorkelface
I was thinking about tapping a big bolt where the drain plug is in the bootm (I don't want water getting in there anymore), would that be better?

Yeah, just use some electrically active washers and a like bolt and you'll be fine. Make sure to scrape away the paint on both sides and you'll be good to go.

snorkelface
04-16-2003, 07:20 PM
Cool. I'll see if I can find a terminal big enough for a bolt that size. I hope Radio Shack has all this stuff.:D

RallyRedTexan
04-16-2003, 09:49 PM
Check ACE hardware for the bolts, they carry more than Radio Shack. You can also check out Lowes or Home Depot if you don't have an ACE locally.