power cable routing ???
 

My wife just picked up a 2010xb. Next week the Scion Alpine will be installed. My question is: what is the best/easiest way to route a 8 ga. power wire from battery thru firewall to under pass seat?

Thanks!

Bill

Start at the battery, add a fuse no more than 3 feet from that point. Run it to the passenger side firewall and find the rubber grommet there. Cut a hole in it, pass the cable through. Pop the plastic door sill piece off, than the passenger kick panel. Route the wire through there, then cut a small slit in the carpet, pass the cable through. Alternately, just run it under the door sill, no need for a slit. 8 gauge is pretty small. Might want to do 4 ga. for a run that long.

you can go through on the driver's side.. there have been posts with pics here before on this.. but if you get down witih a flashlight look just to the right of the gas pedal, you should see a grommet with wires there.. you can slit it just slightly with a blade and use a screwdriver to poke through the outside and feed your wire that way.. pop off the door sill, pop out the kick panel and pull up the carpet, you can easily make it under either seat coming through that grommet, there should be a spot to pull the wire through under the seats.. fuse as close to the battery as possible.. it's recommended within 18" but the closer you are to the connection the safer you are

Thanks for the detailed answers!!! The Alpine goes in monday, then I get to it. Just running a small 300w amp to 1 10".

Bill

Wire for Alpine
 

If you're only running 300 watts, 8ga is plenty of wire. The short wire run distances in a car (even from front to rear) don't require a step up in wire gauge (wire gauge depends more on current draw). As for the fuse, keep it close to the battery for easy access. Just remember to keep it neat (wire ties are cheap, use tie anchors to guide the wires away from hot spots). When you ground, sand off the paint at the ground point and use a external star washer for added contact. And keep the wire away from pinch points! I've had a few customers run power lines under seat brackets and then find a line of burnt carpet running to the dash (and burnt wire running to the battery). Funny, those DIY customers never put the fuse by the battery, even after we stressed that the fuse by the battery is design to protect the battery and car, not the system (the internal fuses on the components do that).

Started doing installs way back in the days when Alpine had the first Car Audio Grand Nationals. Seen a lot of great installs and a few that made my wonder how come the car is still in one piece.

Yea, I have a killer system in my 08 CC Chevy. Too funny you mention fusing at the battery, I learned that long ago when I was young and cheap. Nothing crazier than seeing a power wire get shorted and glow red. :loser:

This small set-up is for my wife, she is not willing to give up much real estate in the hatch area. Small 10, no wires showing, everyone will be happy.