how do you attach power cable from battery to amp?
 

I know this is a stupid question but I am trying to avoid running it under the car.
preferably also avoiding making new holes.
thanks

forgot to mention it is a 2009 Scion xD

i haven't run a wire in the xD yet so i'm not 100% on this, but i know from my previous car, and previous installs i've done, a hole will have to be drilled, the most important part is to put a gromit on the hole.

actually with most cars the power wire is run through the firewall with the main harness or other grommets that are already there. The run along one side of the car under kick panels and then to the back. I have never seen a car that there was no way to run power except under the car..... too many chances for problems!

my friend actually helped me with this today.

we went through a tight space leading to where the driver's side door is

we didn't need to drill any holes
only problem was that it was a really tight fit but we got it through with a leading wire.

i anyone wants pics I can try to post some tomorrow

I ran it through the passenger side grommet. It was no problem at all and maybe took 7 mins. to find and run the wire through. I then ran it underneath the dash to the drivers side and down the side of the car to the trunk. That took maybe another 11mins. LOL. This car is easy as hell to work on.

oh man
took me way longer than that
I'm new at working on things like this
trying to learn for future references.


I want to replace all the interior lights to blue but I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing so I'm waiting to build up the confidence.

yea man i feel you

Just take your time doing everything, do plenty of research and never rush an install

The last thing you want to do is mess up a brand new car just because you didnt have a little patience.

this is how I ran the wire.


https://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c...4/IMG_2744.jpg



goes through here


https://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c...4/IMG_2748.jpg


https://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c...4/IMG_2746.jpg


this is how it looks with the door open


https://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c...4/IMG_2741.jpg


runs down till here

https://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c...4/IMG_2750.jpg


goes into here and runs along to the back

https://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c...4/IMG_2751.jpg

it's not visible from the outside

when I put it vertically down the door it didn't get crushed or rubbed

the only problem i had was closing the hood
(solved by just moving the wire around so it wasn't in the way)


it is visible when the door is open. but when I have the interior lights blue it will fit in so personally it doesn't bother me.


it is not visible from the outside at all.
(or at least i haven't been able to see anything)


not the smoothest way to do this but it works.

fixed the images for ya

yea.
that would be horrible.


luckily one of my good friends knows how to help me work on things when I need help.
up to a certain extent.
I think we'd both be winging it and going off of DIYs on the internet for the LEDs though.
nerve racking.

might wanna try doing a search on this one, as i know i've either done a post or added to a post quite a while back, just use the search option at the top. the best way is thru the firewall, no need to drill anything. will need to pull the dash out, the radio out, the a pillar covers out, the gage pod trim out. the same grom the main wire harness goes thru has just enough room for the power line, may need a snake to get it thru. then run under the driver/pass trim along the sides inside. time consuming but proffessional looking. dont half ___ it with a drilled hole in the firewall. :no:

I didnt have to do 1/10th of all the work. I just ran a cable through the firewall.... and da na! it was done!

I ran 0 gauge for mine and couldn't get it thru any of the grommets... So... I made my own!! Cutting thru the firewall isn't bad, you just have to make sure that you seal it off really well...

nah man that way is a real no no :no: if u need to run it, i actually ran mine across the back of the wall to the pass side, theres a power harness grommet and its pretty butters if u need pics just lemme know

Can someone post pics of where they ran the wire through the firewall that was easiest?

I am about to put a new stereo in my XD and would love to have an idea of where to start.

Thanks!

so you are saying no need to remove the whole dash? i would love to do this without dash removal, and im not so hot about that door hinge maneuver.

thanks!

Check out this post... it shows where to run it. I guess you have to take out the dash:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=254104

I looked on the passenger side and couldn't find the grommet that was talked about on the passenger side, but I may have missed it. Unless someone can post pics of the passenger side grommet.

yea thanks, ive seen this already though.. hm i guess ill have to take a look and try to find it for myself.... i read in another thread that some guy was able to just reach up behind the dash and push his 0guage through! no dash removal! haha

Yeah, that was what I was hoping to hear, but then read the whole dash needs to come out. I haven't actually seen pics of where it was ran on the passenger side, so I am not sure if its true or not.

I'm building a fiberglass box for my XD, I just ordered the wire, so I will post when I actually go to run it and see if I can find an easier spot. You would think they would make an easier spot since they offer the CD upgrade with RCA outputs assuming people will install amps into the car.

Anyway, if you find the passenger side grommet, take a picture and post it. I would rather not take out the dash if not necessary.

wow, really! wonder why not!...

jeez guys, the passenger side grommet is as easy as cake to find! and extremely easy to access from the interior as well. I will take cell phone pics tomorrow to end this thread once and for all

wo easy now! i havnt even looked! just browsing the threads for some info before i went and checked it out for myself.

why are people opting to thread through the driver side instead of the easy to access passenger side ?

I didnt mean that to be offensive, but seriously, running the cable through the passengers side grommet took me less than 5 mins! I guess I am a lean guy and its easy for me to get my arm in there, but pretty much anyone should be able to do this. I guess people instinctively look to run it through the drivers side since thats the side the battery is on. However, running it through the passenger side is easier because the grommet is more exposed, and easier to access frrom the interior because the glovebox comes out and theres no need to remove the dash. The only thing you have to do is cut a small hole in the carpeting up top by the grommet hole.

Cool, that would definitely help... I looked on the engine side of the firewall and couldn't find anything, that might have been the problem. I didn't look on the interior...

I been putting it off and doing the rest of the stereo work first because I didn't want to take the dash off. That might get me motivated :)

So do you look from the floor up, or do you take out the glove box?

^^^ thats the man you need to listen to right there...

Mr know it all audio installer from best buy with the RS1 xD lol

you rock jay! thats why i hired you :P

LOl so we have BB and CC in this thread?

Did you happen to get a chance to snap some pics of the power wire grommet?

its been raining the last 3 days here in NY. i will get pics as soon as it lets up

Here's some pics. The plug is hard to see hidden behind a wiring harness above the brain. I originally thought it was an anchor for the harness, so I was going to drill a hole by the vinyl drain line. I had pulled the wheel well out, and had just opened a new $20 drill bit, when I was taking a last look and the plug finally appeared to me. Whew :)

https://img10.imageshack.us/img10/12...mmetengine.jpg

Engine compartment side. I've got that really long drill bit sticking through the hole; center of picture. (I didn't drill anything, just using it as a guide)

https://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5566/grommet.jpg

Removed the main glovebox by bending the top out of tracks and removing the piston at box (easy). My finger points to drill bit sticking through padding. i forced a point in the padding with the bit so I could locate on the inside then took a box cutter and cut a 'U' to let the drill through. Drill is same size as my cable. Don't exactly know the size of the prefabbed grommet hole. Just gonna pop some silicone goop on it for now.


https://img207.imageshack.us/img207/6315/car01.jpg
Well, I got my cable through, but the 1/2" grommet was too small, so I was able to pull some wire covering through also to protect the cable.

https://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3350/car02.jpg
I had to use packing tape and hand lotion, black tape kept tearing off.

https://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8367/car03.jpg
Zip tied it up, hid the cable under the carpet and the center console and

https://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6506/car04.jpg
now I have 4ga. under the passenger seat! :)

Five minutes my ___! Cheers!

Looks good. Seems like it might be about the same amount of trouble as the way I did it...

I ended up going with the drivers side grommet under the dash. Taking off the dash wasn't as bad as I thought (following the steps posted on here) and the grommet had two extra spots for wire, so worked good that way. Right through the firewall and into the battery. You can't even see the wire without looking hard.