vpkb

Hello All, Please welcome me to Scion Life

Just got the xB


I'm looking to route a 4 gauge Power Line to the hatch of the car, what is the best way, route, location etc... to put the line through?

Thanks in advance

quadoptix

easiest way ive done with running power wire is through the firewall on the driver side of the car. Theres a rubber seal at the firewall almost level w/ the battery of the car...just feed it through there and pull it through from the driver compartment and your good. It took me bout 5 minutes. Hope this helps.
Mike

vpkb

thnx, but where do you route it next, door sill or under the carpet?

Guest

Are you installing an amp in the back or something else? because I installed my wire under the car.

vpkb

i'll install the amp under the seat...it's so ironic that a spacious car intended for upgrade doesn't come with extra hole in the firewall....hmmmm....we should suggest something to Toytoa

quadoptix

easy no water leaks =P yeah just run it through where i told you and under the carpet, that worked easiest for me. it took me about 10 minutes to run the power wire for the amp through firewall through to the back underneath all carpet.

Mike

DenZinz

You installed your wire under the car? Like as in outside? I hope you have a fuse up front.

eric_m

there is totally a hole on the drivers side. just route it with the other wires that go through there. it's easy and the wires come out right under the dash so you don't see them. i have a 4 gauge wire, 8 gauge for my air stuff, and a braided nitrous line which i still need to remove (since i'm not using it now) all going through that hole. and all i did was cut a tiny slit in it. no water will go in there.

Guest

I have a fuse on the battery and a fuse on the amp so I don't have to worry. The kit that I used is from Monster Cable. Comes with everything you need to install the amp. Wires cable ans fuse, the kit cost $20.00

BLKTOYBOX

If your going to run multiple amps I would use a 4g wire from the bat. then to a fuse block or distribution block. Most newer amps these days will except up to 8g wire. I personlly like to keep my carpet from lumps so all the systems that I have put in for myself or others I have been able to run the wire on the side of the car where the plastic door sills are. Most pop off with a lil force but be sure not to break the clips. All the Scion pannels seem to come off real easy for this type of instal and its much easier to remove if you need too. Also be sure to run your RCA and and any Speaker wire on the oppisite side of the car that you ran the power cable on. I think it A) looks cleaner and B) you have less chance of picking up that nice 60hz cycle in your music. If you have anymore questions let me know. I'm happy to give a helping hand on the central coast. Hope the system works for you. Oh one other thing if you use to amps make sure to upgrade the fuse that is in beteen the batt. and your amps if you don't have the right fuse all hell can break loose.

Jay

George

4 ga? Perhaps if you're welding back there!

I think that the accessory vendors get rather carried away when marketing wiring. There's no way you need wire that big!

Consider the resistance per foot:

4 ga - .00024 ohms/foot

Let's say that your run is 10 feet, so your resistance is 10x.00024 or .0024 ohms.

Let's say that you're pulling 50A from the battery, then your voltage drop is 50x.0024, or 0.12V.

At a nominal 13.6V, your voltage will be down to 13.6-0.12 or 13.48V

How about if you ran 10ga wire?

10ga - .001 ohms/foot

10 foot run, 10x0.001=0.01ohm

50A draw, voltage drop 50x0.01=0.5V

At 13.6V, you're down to 13.6-0.5=13.1V

Is the hassle of running that stiff 4ga wire really worth 0.38V at the amplifier end? Even this gain is mostly illusion, since the amp usually pulls much less than 50A and the voltage drop is correspondingly less. You'll actually get a greater voltage drop due to internal resistance of the battery than you would due to the wiring.

If voltage drop is still a concern, you're better off to put a big capacitor near the amplifier. Even with smaller wire, a 1.0F capacitor will provide smoother voltage than a large wire installation without a capacitor.

In my VW bus, I supply my amateur radio rig with a run of 20 feet of 10ga wire. While transmitting, this radio pulls a lot more current than the average draw of an audio amplifier. I never see a voltage drop of more than 0.5V.

George

Guest

Or you could go and buy the Monster Cable amp kit which includes everything needed to install a simple amp. No worries if the wire is too big or enough wire.
Simple and to the point.

tcm_xB

Good info! I'm ready to install a sub in my Box.