where to run power wire for subs

[miller]

sorry but i cant seem to find a good place to run the power wire to my amp, in my old neon i ran it through a gromet into the passenger compartment, but i cant find one on the cherokee that i can reach from inside, how did you guys run the power to your amp? pics helpful!

 

[5-90]

My amp is behind the driver's seat. I ran the power lead (actually, for an accessory fuse block near my left knee...) through the firewall, "borrowing" a grommet on the driver's side, and then under the IP to the centre console. The power lead from the fuse block to the amp (and the audio leads) run under the centre console to the amp in the footwell.

For a convenient ground connection, I just borrowed a seat screw into the floorpan. Works.

Most of those grommets on the driver's side have some room in them, if you're not too greedy. If you've got an automatic, you've probably got the hole for the clutch pedal pushrod blocked with a rubber plug - just use that! I did something similar when I wired up my son's Neon for amp & subs...

5-90

 

[XJ Beater]

i ran it through the inside of the fender and into the interior through the flexy rubber door wiring tube, cut a small x in the rubber and pushed it through, put on some wire loom and zip tied it up out of the way, worked great, and now the wire is only visible looking into the door hinge area...MAKE SURE YOU ROUTE THE WIRE WHERE IT WONT BE PINCHED BY THE DOOR, DONT BE A DUMB@$$ LIKE MY FRIEND DID AND ZAP THE THING WITH THE DOOR!!!

 

[Beej]

X2 on 5-90's comments. I've always gone through the firewall near the throttle cable, mostly because I can easily identify the location from both sides. In my Jeep, I just drilled a little hole and used a grommet that fit from the parts store. Two minutes later, I was done...

 

[Bridgman]

yea i ran mine through the door too, from the bat. through the top of the fender, through the door where the wires for the door are, then through the paneling

 

[MrShaft696]

i went through the firewall on the driver side up high, drilled a hole (thin ass metal) and dropped it down right by my feet.

 

[streetpirate]

firewall on passenger side,
power is running along the floor under the carpet to the back, all the rca's are running on the driver side floor to the back. there was already a hole there.

 

[camarors8992]

I ran my wire right through the hole that the hood release cable is located.

 

[purplexj]

There is a huge rubber on the pass side that can be pulled out and any size wire run through it. Best of all ,no leaks and no drilling through metal.

 

[xj incubus]

been googling for awhile and i can't figure this out. i'm about to buy an amp and wiring harness, and i was wondering about hooking up power and sound to the amp. is it just power and ground wires, plus wires connected to the back of the stereo? or is it more complicated than that? i installed my head unit, but all the wires were already there. thanks and sorry for the thread hi-jack

 

[ty20404]

Okay... if youre this confused on hooking up an amp before buying it, you need to do some research first. I'll try and help you out though.

In terms of sound, the best thing to do is run a 17' RCA cable from the back of the head unit to the amp in the back. Best place to do this: Above the pedals, down behind the kick panel, underneath the trim pieces, underneath the rear seat and finally to the back.

I would SERIOUSLY recommend taking the driver and passenger seats out if youre going to do the install. It will save you from frustration, been there many times.

Before you run the wires remove all of the trim panels using a screw driver... This will give you access to the underside of the carpet.

In terms of battery power: On the passenger side, at the top of the firewall there is a grommet. It is quite hard to access... Yet it is still the best place to run the amp power wire. Use some sort of sharp object to pierce a hole in the grommet. Then try your best to feed the power wire through this hole. If you dont have a "fish-wire" just feed a whole shitload of the power wire in through the grommet and hopefully you should be able to find some of it up underneath the dashboard. IF you DO have a "fish-wire" or decide to get one (very useful tool, if you dont know what it is, go to the hardware store and ask, youll get it when you see it) just feed some of the power wire in and use the fish wire and a flash light to get the wire down from up underneath the dash.

IF all else fails and you cant get the wire to work through that point:

A. Dont try and take the dash apart to find the wire. It's way too complicated and not worth the time.
​

B. Try the drivers side (you will need more power wire than what comes in kits to do this). If you do use the drivers side grommets which are much easier to access, run the RCA cables down the other side of the car.
​

DONT FORGET: You need to run the Amp Turn on lead from the head unit to the amp. It's usually a blue wire that looks like one side of a speaker wire. You need to run it from the accesory turn on lead (usually blue) at the head unit, to the amp turn on location on the amp. I would run this down the same side as the power wire.

IF you feel the absolute need for me to take pictures, email me: [email protected]... Or anyone else that needs help with stereo, especially in a cherokee. I dont know how many times i've stripped and rebuilt the system in mine, or my friends' for that matter.

 

[Beej]

Most of what he wrote above is true except for two things. First, its definitely easier to run the power cable through the drivers side firewall. That way you can avoid the whole convoluted pooling of cable, fish wire and all that other shite. Secondly, DON'T remove your seats. That is a complete waste of time...

HTH

 

[xj incubus]

yea i'll use the drivers side grommet because i already have my CB/airhorn/fog light wires running through it. now i just gotta find this blue wire. thanks so much guys that was a big help.

 

[ty20404]

IF thats your opinion to not take the seats out that's fine... I forgot to mention that if you do take the seats out you will need torx drivers. But for me, it only takes 5 minutes to remove both seats and it makes it much easier to work around...

And because you're going to run the power down the drivers side, i would recommend running the signal RCA down the passenger side.

 

[lilredwagn]

And because you're going to run the power down the drivers side, i would recommend running the signal RCA down the passenger side.

It's probably a good idea to run the RCA's down the passenger side anyway, since the Jeep's power wiring (rear signals, cargo light, fuel pump, etc.) are already on the driver's side. I actually ran power down the left and speakers down the right, then put my RCA's down the passenger side of the transmission tunnel since I had the carpet out anyway. Tight fit to make sure they don't get pinched once the seat goes back in, though. Power came through the firewall where the transmission shift cable comes in.

 

[nhrocker]

I ran my power lead down the drivers side under the trim. The drivers seat didn't get in the way at all. If you do decide to remove it, I know my 95 didn't require any torx bits, just check before you start to make sure you have all the tools you might need.

For the remote turn on (blue wire) and the RCA's I ran them straight under the center console, right to the amp under the rear seat. Routing them direct like that allows you to run a much shorter RCA. When I'm wiring amps I don't worry about separating the remote turn on from the RCA's. In my opinion there's such a small amount of power running through the blue wire that it really isn't worth bothering with.

 

[Beej]

If your amp will be powering a sub and it has a low-pass filter, running a shorter RCA cable is not necessary, because the resistance at the longer length only causes attenuation of high frequencies. It won't affect low frequencies.

Also, the potential noise introduced by running the RCA next to a power line will be also be filtered by the low-pass filter. Bottom line, if you are installing an amp just to power subwoofers, you don't need to worry about shorter RCA cables, or running them next to a power line...

 

[nhrocker]

If your amp will be powering a sub and it has a low-pass filter, running a shorter RCA cable is not necessary, because the resistance at the longer length only causes attenuation of high frequencies. It won't affect low frequencies.

Also, the potential noise introduced by running the RCA next to a power line will be also be filtered by the low-pass filter. Bottom line, if you are installing an amp just to power subwoofers, you don't need to worry about shorter RCA cables, or running them next to a power line...

That's all true, but shorter RCA's wasn't as much an issue of sound quality for me, but price. I guess I could have mentioned that. Shorter RCA's can save you a few bucks if you're buying components individually.

 

[mbenonis]

In terms of battery power: On the passenger side, at the top of the firewall there is a grommet. It is quite hard to access... Yet it is still the best place to run the amp power wire. Use some sort of sharp object to pierce a hole in the grommet. Then try your best to feed the power wire through this hole. If you dont have a "fish-wire" just feed a whole shitload of the power wire in through the grommet and hopefully you should be able to find some of it up underneath the dashboard. IF you DO have a "fish-wire" or decide to get one (very useful tool, if you dont know what it is, go to the hardware store and ask, youll get it when you see it) just feed some of the power wire in and use the fish wire and a flash light to get the wire down from up underneath the dash.

Is this the oblong grommit, right near the engine block, with a bundle already running through it? I just want to make sure before I start running wire through it.

Also, is there anything that might get damaged from running a lot of wire through it?

 

[lilredwagn]

Is this the oblong grommit, right near the engine block, with a bundle already running through it? I just want to make sure before I start running wire through it.

Also, is there anything that might get damaged from running a lot of wire through it?

That is the grommet for the transmission computer. There is an identical grommet on the other side of the engine that is for something else - not sure what because I didn't bother to trace the wires. The one on the passenger side comes out behind the HVAC system and drops down, so it's a tight fit. The driver-side grommet you should be able to see from the interior with a flashlight and standing on your head, so it may prove the easier of the two to use.

Possible damage is pretty much limited to cutting the wires that are already going through the grommet. If you were particularly aggressive with a very sharp very sturdy instrument, or decided to use a drill to get through the passenger rubber grommet, you could poke a hole in your evaporator, I suppose.

Since gravity will be pulling on the existing wires, it would probably make sense to poke the new hole on top of the wires, rather than next to or under.