Function AND form can go a long way when installing anything in our vehicles.
Cleanliness is important too, not only so the wiring doesn't get caught on moving parts like the sharp and grinding rails under your seat, but also so that if something goes wrong down the line, it's easier to find and fix.
I recently installed two radios into a friends truck. The Yaesu 8800, and the Cobra 75 CB.
Chris took care of the antenna work himself, installing the brackets, and getting the coax ready to go inside the truck through the firewall. He didn't want holes in the roof of his truck, so he found some brackets that install using the hood hinges.
Two 12 gauge power and ground wires were run with the coax through the firewall grommet.
Chris said he wanted to be able add some exterior accessories later that will be controlled by switches on his dash. He already has some rear LED lights he wants to be able to control from a switch on the dash, so we picked up some "trailer" wire from the auto parts store.
This will give us room for three switches to control 3 relays under the hood. The white wire will provide power from the fuse block under the hood to each switch, and the remaining wire will go to each relay. This is already in the harness that goes through the firewall. Expandible without having to cut through the firewall grommet.
The harness through the firewall and sealed with silicone, the power wires were routed under the driver seat where the radios are mounted, and the trailer wiring left neatly at the kick panel waiting for the addition of switches at a later date.
With the radio control head wiring neatly routed to the center console area by way of the wire trough along the door, over the driver footwell, and to the spot Chris wanted the head mounted, he went to work installing the bracket that will hold the control head. He was particular with his install too, choosing to through-bolt everything, as opposed to using screws. It's more work, but worth the effort. He might have been reconsidering this approach while trying to fit a wrench with a nut taped to it through one of the switch holes above the mounting area, but with a good light and my assistance, it paid off. The mount is solid and will endure many years of offroad abuse.
For the mic clip, I had mentioned to Chris what Robert Barlow and I had done with our mics, and we stepped over to my truck so I could show him our Neodymium Magnet mount. Mic clips are clumsy little things that look hideous on a clean interior. If you have something like a purpose built console for radios etc, that's one thing, but a nice factory interior should stay that way as much as possible. He agreed, and he set out on that project on his own, and did a good job of it.
The felt is used to keep the hard magnet from clashing with the hard dash surface. The mic will swing around while offroad, which could chafe the dash after awhile, this will protect against that. The magnets are brittle as well, and could chip if they smack against something, so this also absorbs some of that shock. The dot on the dash also provides a visual reminder of where the magnet is located.
For the Cobra 75, since most of the radio resides in the mic itself, something more sturdy was needed. So we had to go with a real mic clip placed low on the left side of the console. There might have been a pic of this if I didn't break it before taking a photo! (be careful sliding the seat forward if you choose to mount a mic in this location! haha!) Maybe Chris will add one once he fixes my mistake.
So that's it for now. Next up we'll be finishing the underhood fuse block. Chris found a guy on one of the forums selling a platform (shown in one of the underhood photos) for this purpose. We'll be removing the radio power wires from the battery post and relocating them to the fuse block, as well as getting the relays mounted, pinned out and ready for future expansion.
With a little foresight, and some basic know-how, you can do a very clean install without much effort.
Comments and questions welcome!
Cleanliness is important too, not only so the wiring doesn't get caught on moving parts like the sharp and grinding rails under your seat, but also so that if something goes wrong down the line, it's easier to find and fix.
I recently installed two radios into a friends truck. The Yaesu 8800, and the Cobra 75 CB.
Chris took care of the antenna work himself, installing the brackets, and getting the coax ready to go inside the truck through the firewall. He didn't want holes in the roof of his truck, so he found some brackets that install using the hood hinges.
Two 12 gauge power and ground wires were run with the coax through the firewall grommet.
Chris said he wanted to be able add some exterior accessories later that will be controlled by switches on his dash. He already has some rear LED lights he wants to be able to control from a switch on the dash, so we picked up some "trailer" wire from the auto parts store.
This will give us room for three switches to control 3 relays under the hood. The white wire will provide power from the fuse block under the hood to each switch, and the remaining wire will go to each relay. This is already in the harness that goes through the firewall. Expandible without having to cut through the firewall grommet.
The harness through the firewall and sealed with silicone, the power wires were routed under the driver seat where the radios are mounted, and the trailer wiring left neatly at the kick panel waiting for the addition of switches at a later date.
With the radio control head wiring neatly routed to the center console area by way of the wire trough along the door, over the driver footwell, and to the spot Chris wanted the head mounted, he went to work installing the bracket that will hold the control head. He was particular with his install too, choosing to through-bolt everything, as opposed to using screws. It's more work, but worth the effort. He might have been reconsidering this approach while trying to fit a wrench with a nut taped to it through one of the switch holes above the mounting area, but with a good light and my assistance, it paid off. The mount is solid and will endure many years of offroad abuse.
For the mic clip, I had mentioned to Chris what Robert Barlow and I had done with our mics, and we stepped over to my truck so I could show him our Neodymium Magnet mount. Mic clips are clumsy little things that look hideous on a clean interior. If you have something like a purpose built console for radios etc, that's one thing, but a nice factory interior should stay that way as much as possible. He agreed, and he set out on that project on his own, and did a good job of it.
The felt is used to keep the hard magnet from clashing with the hard dash surface. The mic will swing around while offroad, which could chafe the dash after awhile, this will protect against that. The magnets are brittle as well, and could chip if they smack against something, so this also absorbs some of that shock. The dot on the dash also provides a visual reminder of where the magnet is located.
For the Cobra 75, since most of the radio resides in the mic itself, something more sturdy was needed. So we had to go with a real mic clip placed low on the left side of the console. There might have been a pic of this if I didn't break it before taking a photo! (be careful sliding the seat forward if you choose to mount a mic in this location! haha!) Maybe Chris will add one once he fixes my mistake.
So that's it for now. Next up we'll be finishing the underhood fuse block. Chris found a guy on one of the forums selling a platform (shown in one of the underhood photos) for this purpose. We'll be removing the radio power wires from the battery post and relocating them to the fuse block, as well as getting the relays mounted, pinned out and ready for future expansion.
With a little foresight, and some basic know-how, you can do a very clean install without much effort.
Comments and questions welcome!
