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-   -   Where to route power wires (https://www.mazda3club.com/exterior-interior-audio-4/where-route-power-wires-6773/)

Huey May-24th-2002 02:25 AM

Where to route power wires
 
For those of you with amps, where did you guys route the power cable through? I've looked long & hard at the firewall & can't find any holes that are accessible at all. Did you guys end up drilling? Thanx!

macklum May-24th-2002 04:32 AM

I ran my power through the left front fender .
To do this ,jack up the car (use a jack stand),remove the front left tire ,remove the plastic inner fender liner . By the door post there is a factory grommet with the main wire harness going into the car . you can run up to 4 gauge wire though here . Itis alot of work but the results are worth the effort .
I have done this on both of my Pros ,a 92 and a 2001 Lx 2.0 .

obender66 May-24th-2002 08:14 AM

Factory ECU harness enters interior in the passenger area footwell. Lift carpet and look for bunch of wires. No dissasembly is required for this location.
Alex
Edited: Unless I am confusing something

doctor_r May-24th-2002 09:58 AM

Ya obender's got a good one there. That's where I ran my 4/0awg power, the gromet just so will accept it so there is no need to go and punch a hole in the firewall.

Huey May-24th-2002 04:56 PM

Cool, thanx guys! I think I'll try the left fender first as the amp will go under the driver's seat & I want the wiring to be as short as possible. If not, at least I'll have options :)

Huey June-4th-2002 12:36 AM

Ok, next question, I have found the holes in the firewall but how did you guys actually get it past the rubber grommet? Did you punch a hole in the rubber grommet itself? Thanx!

macklum June-4th-2002 05:17 AM

Yes ,you will have to make a wire fish from a coat hanger . Use this to attach the power wire ,push the hanger threw the grommet ,pull slowly so you don't pull the grommet out . Hope this helps

Maz94Protege June-5th-2002 02:05 PM

there is a rubber garment somewhere either in a wheel well ( like in the newer cars as if heard of) or under the hood on the fire wall on all 1st and 2nd gens. All i did was cut a small hole and push the wire through. BTW i have only a 10ga amp wire. No need for no 4GA. unless ur running a thumping system! (over 1k watts).

I think u got most of ur information and tips from the previous posts.

Huey June-6th-2002 05:28 AM

Finally finished routing the cables. Took me half of the day to complete. I ended up running it through the driver's side fender to the amp which will sit under the driver's seat. I did it this way to keep the power cable as short as possible & away from the other wires for less chance of noise. The tough part was taking out the plastic wheel well liner. I did run 4 gauge just as overkill. I'm going to be running a 4x100 watt amp in a pure SQ system but I figured I didn't want to skimp on power cables when I spent $3000 cdn for the amp, speakers, & sub. I did luck out & picked up an open box Clarion 9675 for $360 cdn though so I can't really complain. Thanx for everybody's help!

stocker July-3rd-2002 07:43 AM

Re: Where to route power wires
 

Originally posted by Huey
For those of you with amps, where did you guys route the power cable through? I've looked long & hard at the firewall & can't find any holes that are accessible at all. Did you guys end up drilling? Thanx!
(
I wouldn't mind some feedback on the same topic. I was poking around the fuse box inside the car. (I have a P5) When you look at the fuse box you can see a 30 amp fuse. The square clear window type, it belongs to the power windows. Directly above this fuse is another slot with no fuse. But the slot looks like it is meant to take a 30amp fuse. The slot will accept the standard female connectors you can buy from the store. I was going to power my sub off of this connection and wire my own 15amp fuse inline. Anyone else ever do this or what do you think about it?
Thanks
Stocker

hihoslva July-3rd-2002 04:58 PM

I wouldn't try it. Dunno how powerful of an amp you're going to run, but you really should go direct to the battery. There's no telling what the wiring is like leading up to the connection you speak of, and you don't want to run an amp on anything less than 10 gauge - chances are it's not 10 gauge at the fuse box, but something thinner.

I'd recommend a good 8 gauge wire, direct to the battery, and using 4 gauge for more than 500 watts. Your idea may sound cool, but could potentially lead to big problems, IMO and is not worth the risk.

stocker July-3rd-2002 08:25 PM


Originally posted by hihoslva
I wouldn't try it. Dunno how powerful of an amp you're going to run, but you really should go direct to the battery. There's no telling what the wiring is like leading up to the connection you speak of, and you don't want to run an amp on anything less than 10 gauge - chances are it's not 10 gauge at the fuse box, but something thinner.

I'd recommend a good 8 gauge wire, direct to the battery, and using 4 gauge for more than 500 watts. Your idea may sound cool, but could potentially lead to big problems, IMO and is not worth the risk.

Hmm, I agree for the most part, but I am only running a bass tube, probably a bazooka RS10. Which is rated for 20 amps max. Heck if the cigarette lighter is rated for 20 amps and it has that skinney little wire.

Does anyone know what that slot is actually for?
Stocker.

Metallargy July-8th-2002 06:48 AM

Run a new power wire for all aftermarket amplifiers.

stocker July-8th-2002 10:39 AM


Originally posted by Metallargy
Run a new power wire for all aftermarket amplifiers.
Ok, so say I run a new power wire. I still need to hook up the auto off function. Can I run a wire to any switched power source for this application? Basically hook the orange wire to something that comes on with the accessories switch. Obviously the stock HU won't have this wire handy.
Stocker.

hihoslva July-8th-2002 12:09 PM

The cigarette lighter is a switched source - it does not remain functional when the car is off. Decent place to grab a remote wire signal.


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