best way to get power to the boot?

[jedi-knight83 0]

Hi, i just installed my Sony MD head unit and Kenwood Component speakers last night ....in the dark..... and they sound great...

 

All thats left is to put my Infinity Bass Link in the boot. Is there an easy way to get the power through to the boot (i.e where in the dash is there a hole to the engine bay and then which path through the car should i take to the boot)

 

i thought i'd leave ripping the interior apart untill the weekend when i have some natural light :D

 

cheers

[OllieP 0]

Hi Jedi,

 

I found a hole with a rubber gromet (that is what they are called isn't it??) in it to the left of the expansion tank(in a VR). Probably easier if I take a pic tonight but it comes through just about on the passenger side of the centre console with the pipe for the rear windscreen washer! Sorry its a bit vague!

 

I'll post a pic when i get home!

[jedi-knight83 0]

that would be cool... yes a gromit is what i know it as..

 

pics from the engine bay and the dash would be good.

 

thank you

[Guest]

I never thought about that, its obvious really, the rear washer has to get a supply from the engine bay. I've always run it along the interior of the car, near the door sills.

 

And before GAv comes in here and shouts at you (;)) always run the power and signal lines seperately, so you don't get any interference/'noise', hence why I used to run power down one side, and signal down the other :)

 

Thera

[jedi-knight83 0]

hence why I used to run power down one side, and signal down the other

 

so i have to take both sides of the car apart!!! what a pain.. its only a sub so i think i'll just put both down the same side.. it was like that in my honda and it sounded fine to me.

[chrishill 0]

eek no! what about when you want to put a bigger amp in and you have to rip all the wires out and run them down seperate sides?

 

its actually pretty easy, you can tuck the wires under the door sill trim then under the back seat and it keeps it well out of the way, the most fiddly part is getting the wires from the back of the headunit through the dash then down to the sills, wire coathangers are useful things 8)

 

for the power I used a gromet that sits almost slap in the middle of the passenger footwell (on a 1.8 16v) not sure if it'll be the same for a vr6. good luck mate!

[jedi-knight83 0]

does it really make that much difference having them different sides? just sounds like twice as much work to me

[Henny 0]

If you're feeling lazy, just take out the passenger seat out and run the power down one side of the passenger side floor, and the audio leads down the other (sill side and tunnel side)... If you still get hum with a 2foot air gap between them, you've got something else really wrong somewhere! 8)

 

I've done most of my cars wiring this way and I've never had a problem... I'm also a broadcast engineer by trade and so I'd know if there was something wrong! :wink: 8)

[jedi-knight83 0]

sounds a better idea to me, especially as it started "if your feeling lazy" :D

[Guest]

Its easier, IMO, to just tuck them in under the sills both sides, as chrishill said, thats what I ment, I never said pull the carpet up???

 

I dunno how removing the whole seat can be easier or quicker than tucking it under the sill, where the carpet is secured?

 

also dunno why you'd wanna rip your wire out every time you wanna change your amp? Just use a relatively high quality cable and you can leave it there forever (pretty much). Its not expensive as such, and you will be able to tell the difference in a 'proper' cable, rather than some cheap s***

[Henny 0]

especially as it started "if your feeling lazy" :D

 

:lol: :roll: 8)

 

I'm actually re-doing my ICE install this weekend while I can't do anything to the engine (it's still down south somewhere!) so I'll be doing the same trick as I'm hoping to run a load of data and video wires on the drivers side with audio and power on the passenger side! :wink: :shock:

 

I'll also make up a loom for my nice new AutoMeter gauges and fit them with the panel I bought from Struan... (ScottCorradoG60) 8)

[Guest]

sounds like a big job, but if you can't drive the car (no engine) you might as well tinker ;)

[chrishill 0]

also dunno why you'd wanna rip your wire out every time you wanna change your amp?

 

if you mean what i said here...

 

eek no! what about when you want to put a bigger amp in and you have to rip all the wires out and run them down seperate sides?

 

I just ment if he ran them both down the same side now, he may well have to re-do it later when he gets a bigger amp!

 

does it really make that much difference having them different sides?

 

it can do, if they're too close the power cables create interference on the signal cables which more often than not shows up as a 'hum'. Its deffinatly best to keep them seperate, but as henny says it doesnt HAVE to be either side of the car. When i did mine it was the first time i'd installed an amp and it took me about 2 hours to run all the wires neatly, mostly becuase RCA plugs arent designed to go through little gaps in dashboards!! :mad:

 

it will take you longer but I'd say its well worth spending an extra hour or so to make sure its going to be right.

[OllieP 0]

Jedi,

 

Got home and it was pitch black!! But stuck the camera in it's vicinity and this is the best i got! And I can't even see the wire!! Will do it saturday morning though and get a proper photos!

This is just down and left from the expansion tank!

[stevemac 0]

I fitted all my cables along the gear tunnel - underneath the centre console, gear lever surround, handbrake housing & rear armrest.

 

Power cables down the passenger side & signal cables (RCA & speakers) down the drivers side. 2 Amps & sub in the boot (MDF boot floor). 1 amp powering the component front & rear speakers, 1 amp powering the sub.

 

All wires tuck away very well with plenty of space for them underneath the relevent plastic housings.

[G60Jet 1]

I've got the Amp power cable going down the battery side of the car along with all the other cables.

 

The signal cables come off my head unit down the tunnel as stevemac says and into the boot

[Guest]

I fitted all my cables along the gear tunnel - underneath the centre console, gear lever surround, handbrake housing & rear armrest.

 

Power cables down the passenger side & signal cables (RCA & speakers) down the drivers side. 2 Amps & sub in the boot (MDF boot floor). 1 amp powering the component front & rear speakers, 1 amp powering the sub.

 

All wires tuck away very well with plenty of space for them underneath the relevent plastic housings.

 

someone posted on here last week that the tunnel was a pig to get on and off?

[PhatVR6 0]

Take out the passenger seat. run the power cable straight down the chassis leg and through the bulkhed and right down the passenger sill. run signal and speaker wires doen the passenger side of the tunnel, which you can do by lifting up the carpet once the seat is out. That way, all the wires are running in a straight line, neat, and tidy, no messing about. I've always done my cars like this, and never get any problems with interference.

 

fuse the power lead within 12" of the battery, and earth the amp within 12" if you can too to bare metal.

[stoph-16v 0]

I did this job a few weeks ago in my 16v.

 

I ran the power down the left hand sill from the battery, through an existing hole high up in the passenger footwell (under the carpet behind the shelf, take the carpet up, the shelf out, and the cover off the ems and you will see it!) and the signal and switch wire from the back of the head unit through the gear tunnel (about 5 screws to get off) under the rear seats to the sub.

 

I would feed them seperately to avoid interference from the power cable to the signal cable. Also, make sure the power comes from the battery, and not the head unit, otherwise your headlights may flash with the bass (could be cool)!!!

 

DON'T FORGET YOUR SWITCH WIRE!!! The first time I did mine I forgot to put a switch wire from the antena to the amp, had to take it all apart again!!!!!

[cliveyp 0]

Putting the rest of mine in this weekend. Power cable will run, like most others, down the passenger side sill. RCA cables down one side of the centre tunnel, remote lead down the other side. Speaker cables back up to the front doors from the one amp are then running up the driver side sill and across the dash.

[Bally 0]

Got to get my amp cables in, still running the crap headunit on crappy speakers:lol:

 

Got loads of ICE sitting in the house dieing to shake the corrado's panels... :lol:

[PhatVR6 0]

Don't run anything down the driver side, that's where the car loom is.

[Bally 0]

Don't run anything down the driver side, that's where the car loom is.

 

cheers mate, I'll keep that in mind :wink:

[stevemac 0]

['H3R4POR]

I fitted all my cables along the gear tunnel - underneath the centre console, gear lever surround, handbrake housing & rear armrest.

 

Power cables down the passenger side & signal cables (RCA & speakers) down the drivers side. 2 Amps & sub in the boot (MDF boot floor). 1 amp powering the component front & rear speakers, 1 amp powering the sub.

 

All wires tuck away very well with plenty of space for them underneath the relevent plastic housings.

 

someone posted on here last week that the tunnel was a pig to get on and off?

 

Dead easy m8 - I can totally strip the whole tunnel in less than 10 mins !!

 

Don't have to mess around removing seats or anything else.

 

The only difficulty I can imagine anybody having will be removing the leather handbrake handle. Put your finger underneath and at the back of the handle - you will find a little piece of plastic sticking out. Just press this little piece of plastic upwards into the metal handbrake lever & the leather handle will slide off from the front.

 

Although there's absoloutely nothing wrong with routing the cables down the sills - the centre console/handbrake route is far quicker & easier.

[Guest]

Thinking about it, it was something to do with the handle brake they were trying to fix, so maybe it was what you have described, cheers for the advice, when I get around to putting my sub back in i'll take that route for the RSAs :)

 

Thera