I tried putting my subs in today and could not find a place to run the power cord from the driver area through to the battery. In my other cars it was not as difficult. I just slid it through a space by the fireall and the side of the car. I couldnt do that this time. I have a 2006 scion tc.

 

there are 2 rubber grommets thru the firewall. both will let you run wires from inside the cabin to the engine bay. one is right in front of the steering wheel, the other is in front of the glove box.

 

I slid my 4 gauge wire through the one by the steering wheel. It took me a while to find it though.

 

I couldn't find anything that could fit a wire through so I went to circuit city and asked them. They told me I would need to drill a hole through my firewall.

 

there is no need to drill a whole, example:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...light=firewall
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...light=firewall
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...highlight=runs

excellent resources

 

So I deffinately don;t feel like jacking my car up and going underneath so I tried to go through that rubber thing from the inside to the engine and I couldn't so I'm just gonna drill.

What's my fireall made of and what kind of drill and drill bit would I need to get through it?
I tried to drill through it but the drill stops.

 

dude, get under your steering wheel and look up on the firewall. you'll see the rubber grommet up there with a bunch of wires going thru it. stick a screw driver thru the grommet all the way. go outside into the engine bay and use the screwdriver u just stuck thru the bend the rubber out of the way and stick your power chord thru. once its in, go back inside and pull it thru and take out the screwdriver. 10 minutes max.

 

it's not so hard...is this your first time doing an install? just look for the gromet like everyone has said...

 

the easiest way to get to it is to take off the plastic valve cover. You might want to make sure the engine has cooled down enough before doing so or you may end up with a burn. After you take the valve cover off, you'll see a bundle of wires going through a black rubber circle. There are two unused nipples, snip one and feed your wire through. It should slide in pretty easily.

 

Dont drill! I fit a ton of wires through that rubber grommet. Instead of going through the grommet, just lift up it's edge and slide it through beside it. Theres plenty of room.

 

So when I thought I found the grommet and there was no way a wire would go through, I had actually found the wrong one. I looked at the pictures again and found it this morning. I tried to just put the wire through but I couldnt find where it came out so I put a clothes hanger through, taped the wire, and pulled it through. Everything's all good. : )

 

GOOD. Glad you didn't end up drilling

 

another little problem.

when i first hooked it up, the amp would turn on but then off quickly. (it wasn;t grounded)

then i put a ground wire to the screw in the panel of the hatch that doesnt screw into metal until a little past plastic and it worked for like a 5 minute drive and then turned off.

Would a bad ground cause my amp to not turn on? If so where can I ground it since no body metal is showing inside the car?

 

Two things would cause it to turn off and on.
1.) A bad ground
2.) The blue remote wire was hooked to the wrong wire if it's an aftermarket radio, you may have hooked it up to the power antenna wire.

If it turned off after 5 mins then it could have over heated or gone into power protect mode. Re-check all power connections, ground wires and fuses. After that, pay someone if you can't get it working.

 

Where can I ground my amp?

 

remove the left styrofoam container underneath the floor in the hatch. Underneath there you will see a hole already in the metal of the car. I drilled a hole right next to it. Since you can obviously see there is nothing in the way, I thought it was a good place. Make sure to sand off the paint.

 

I hooked my ground to one of the bolts holding the rear seats, its right next to the rear seatbelt bolts under the seat cushion.

 

So I unscrewed my ground and the wire was stuck. I yanked it out to find melted plastic on it. I cut it, stripped it, and ran it by my spare tire. The amp turned on. Should be fine.

What does the ground do that would make it melt plastic?

 

all the power that you send to the amp has to make it back to the battery (and thus complete the circuit). All that power running through the wire heats it up. normally the wire shielding makes this not a concern. at the terminals though, there is no shielding. this is what melted the plastic.

 

if you had it grounded by a screw that barely touched metal...as it jiggles, it sparks...and burns.