Easiest way to pass through power leads for amp?

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Oldfart

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Any tips on passing power lead for amp through firewall on passenger side? I had planned on opening this nipple, anybody know if it's open behind there? Better to just cut a slit in the flat part of the grommet? It's tight as hell in there, and on the inside I can't see anything up that high. Thanksupload_2020-7-16_14-42-18.png
 

The Car Stereo Company

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Never mind, I got it done. Thanks for nothing *******!!! :boobs: What a pain in the balls for something I though would be easy! It's a real bitch to get my giant mitts in that little crevice.
i hope you cut the end off rather than cut a slice in it. its a round hole so it will seal around the wire but if you just cut across the middle it leaves gaps where water can come in
 
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Oldfart

Oldfart

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i hope you cut the end off rather than cut a slice in it. its a round hole so it will seal around the wire but if you just cut across the middle it leaves gaps where water can come in

I tried cutting a small hole in the middle of the nipple to begin with, and was getting nowhere. I couldn't figure out why if felt so strange to cut. I knew I didn't want to slice the flat part if I didn't have to. I ended up bugging Bruce and he told me about cutting the nipple end off.

It's way easier doing this while enjoying an adult beverage with good music in the background.

Yes it is! Thanks again.

Well Bitch, why dont you show us how it was done, so the next guy doesn't call us all ******* :biggun:

If you can see the groove in the first picture, cut it right there. That is actually where the hole starts. I had first tried cutting a small hole in the nipple end, I didn't know it's solid rubber for about 1/4". With my big hands the only way I could get at it to cut it, was with a full sized box cutter with the blade extended quite a bit. I actually had to hold the knife parallel to the firewall and hold it with my fingertips. What a pain in the ass! I used a sawing action and was able to slowly slice it off. I will not admit to how much time it took me to figure this out and get it done! Now I know why Bruce said he sometimes removes the whole battery box so you have a little room.

There is a second rubber barrier a little ways in after the first one. I ground a point onto the end of a coat hanger to poke through that one and put a bit of a curve in it to feed it, until I got the hanger to come out inside where I could see it. You can't see anything around the hole looking up from inside the cab, it's all blind. I then put a hook on the end of hanger to pull the wire through. I first tried pulling the 8 g power feed wire through with the coat hanger, but the hole is just big enough for the power wire and I could not pull both though. I then pulled a 22 g wire through with the hanger, then safety wired the thin wire and the power feed end to end and pulled the power feed wire through with the little wire. Lubed them with some silicone and some soap right at the hole and fed it through.

Hopefully this will make it easier for someone else. You can see in the picture where the blue wire (looks purple in the picture) is now fed through the hole that was hiding under that nipple end. The large tube just to the right of that wire is all the wires coming from the passenger kick panel fuse box. Thanks again to Bruce @Hush Car Audio for helping walk me through this. Thanks also to Noah at The Car Stereo Company for some great input along the way. I haven't installed/worked on stereos since the mid '80's. Shit has changed a lot since 8 tracks and cassettes!! This is one of those jobs that once you do it, it's pretty easy to do again, but if you've never done it, it's a pretty big pain in the ass.

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You are just cutting off the tip of that nipple.

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Easy way to attach your fish/pull wire. It's not pulling off!
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The Car Stereo Company

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lube your cable too.......

seriously if you use soap and water in the wire, it will go a lot easier. now try running 1/0ga through there.
 
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Oldfart

Oldfart

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lube your cable too.......

seriously if you use soap and water in the wire, it will go a lot easier. now try running 1/0ga through there.

I had wiped some silicone spray on the cable and also put some hand soap around the hole. I could feel the difference after a few feet in, when all of a sudden it got WAY easier to pull because the lube got worked around the hole better. Like other things in life, just jamming it in dry is usually not the way to go.

That has to be a real bitch to go any larger with the wire! I could tell there was no extra room left with the wire I ran. I was glad I thought of safety wiring the wires together with the .028 I use on bikes because it didn't add any bulk and they aren't pulling apart with it done that way. I REALLY didn't want to have the wires pop apart in the middle of that hole somewhere!
 

goblues38

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Any tips on passing power lead for amp through firewall on passenger side? I had planned on opening this nipple, anybody know if it's open behind there? Better to just cut a slit in the flat part of the grommet? It's tight as hell in there, and on the inside I can't see anything up that high. ThanksView attachment 147878

just belo that...there is a 1/2 inch hole with a grommet...you can go thru that
 
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