Power cable into cab

[David Proske]

I need to run some + and - 4 gauge into my cab for my subwoofer amp. How do you guys get into the cab with the cable?
This is for a 03 x-cab

[DuramaxDicko]

WOW! 4 gauge wire? Do you know how big 4 gauge is?
do you mean 14AWG?

[Gasman1075]

Theres a grommet above the junction block by you left foot that I ran coax out of. It has one set of wires in it but was very simple to get out and put extra lead through.

Walt

[TooMuchMuscle]

Proske... I know some like to do all the work themselves but if your truck is an automatic, just take it to the stereo shop, i took mine to Circuit City, and have them put it through the clutch cabe hole. I had them do it on my 2001 and they had a special grommet for automatic chevy's. It cost $15.00 and I supplied the cable... neat and simple and it even came with a warranty against malfunctions. Best of Luck smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif

[Maverick]

David,
Take a look at my pics here.

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=777914&uid=437876

I ran dual 4 gauge through the firewall for my 2000 watt inverter.
I believe its just what your looking for.

[DURAMONSTER]

I just ran a 4 gauge through my wall also for a stereo amp and I put mine thruogh the rubber groument right above the power block that has a little bundle of wire in it allready. It is a big groument and will fit 4 awg easilly, just use a razor blade and make it a little bigger ind push it through, it will share the hole with the factory wires. The groument is double walled so youll have to cut both sides of it.

[ 05-08-2003: Message edited by: DURAMONSTER ]</p>

[a64pilot]

Why don't you ground through the chassis instead of running two cables?

[imported_]

you absolutely need (over350 watts R.M.S) the same size cable -/+ to keep your amplifiers running at their peak.... to avoid premature clipping/current loss etc.
My current setup requires 0/0 cable..... this will be a bit of a challenge,how to stuff 2 lengths of weldin cable thru the wall!
1 soundstream reference 600 (4x80 rms@4ohms 4x160watts@2ohms)
1 Soundstream reference 1000 (1000 rms mono 4ohms)
2 lightning caps 1.5Mfd each @32V dc
2 orion NT2 12" subs
4 Vifa separates

[a64pilot]

Right,
If you connect a 0 gauge cable from the batteries ground to the chassis and a 0 gauge cable from the amps to the chassis you would have essentially as good a ground as you would if you run a 0 gauge cable from the batts. to the amps, except you don't have to run two cables all of the way to the amps of course.
Out of curiousity where are you going to get a fuse capable of handling the kind of power that a 0 gauge cable is capable of carrying?
On edit,
BTW you'll notice the starter is probably the highest amp thing on the truck and it does not have a seperate ground.

[ 05-08-2003: Message edited by: a64pilot ]</p>

[Maverick]

a64pilot,
I grounded to the chassis also. Works just fine. I didn't want to run 2 more runs of 4 gauge at 10 ft for ground either. My inverter is grounded to the rear seat mounting studs.

[imported_]

you can get an industrial type anl fuse for high power audio applications

[c5dura]

I went w/ a single 4 gauge feed to a distribution box that in turn feeds a 600W mono amp and a 4x75W amp. I then have a stubby 4 gauge running from each amp to one of the hefty bolts holding in the rear seats (both amps tied to the same bolt).

I believe my main power cable is around 12 ft, so according to the following link, the 900W combined RMS power should be ok, but just barely.

http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp

Btw, I also have a Warn M15000 winch which pull as much as 460 Amps. It is connected via 2 gauge cables, one to the red power tab between the batteries (which is also where my 4 gauge for the amps connects), the other to the ground terminal on the front battery.

I routed the cable the exact same way as duramonster.

[a64pilot]

I was trying to find about the fuse because I'm currently limited to the 600W inverter and linear amp that I have because of fuse size. I was wanting to know of a source of BIG fuses so I can go to a 1000W inverter or so.

[imported_]

These guys provide all the wiring 'jewelry' for my installations. this link will get you to the high demand ANL fuse section.
http://www.scosche.com/efx/products/fuses/P80WF-P200WF.asp

[BassinRVer]

If you think 4 guage is large how about 1 guage wire for my system.

[ 05-08-2003: Message edited by: BassinRVer ]

[ 05-09-2003: Message edited by: BassinRVer ]</p>

[imported_]

1-0awg is currently my cable of choice

[David Proske]

Thanks for the replys

Maverick-- Thats just where I thought I would go in for the cable, but thought I would ask before I played with that grommet. Also, where did you score that cool Duramax cap???? tongue.gif

My - cable will go to the rear seat stud. I assume these studs go into the frame??

On my 94 I ran 15' of 4 gauge from the battery and down along the frame and into the cab through one of the "water drain plugs" that they used back then-didn't see one on this 03

I also noticed that I have to remove the front seat mounting nuts to get the lower door sill trim off. Whats up with that funky nut and where do I get a socket to fit???

[Maverick]

David,
Ask any Canadian member to grab you one. They are not avaliable in the US. Every Canadian dealer sells them (Duramax hat).

I used the rear seat studs for grounding. Works good.

[ 05-08-2003: Message edited by: Maverick ]</p>

[David Proske]

I saw the other thread on front seat bolts right after I posted... 15mm 6pt works fine on front, 7/16 seems to fit on rear bolt but kinda buggers up the head.

[DURAMONSTER]

David Proske

You dont have to take the bolts off the seat to get the trim off. Just pull up on the trim to pop all 4 clips out then pull strait out the side. It just looks like it is hooked to the seat but its not. Just get rough with it and yank. You wont break it. Atleast I hope not. If you take the seat out youll see that it did not help any.

[dmaxstu]

I grease up a plastic rope splicing fob and push it through the double walled grommet in the fire wall without cutting it, it's amazing how much that grommet will stretch.Those fobs come in a variety of sizes, works real well.
I like the circuit breaker Maverick used I use one of those for my boat winch, picked it up at West Marine. Stu

[Minn-kota]

Maverick-

I took a look at your pics and noticed the underseat storage box. That's pretty nifty, and only $37? I need to look into one of those. Wonder if they come with a Chevrolet logo instead?

[Maverick]

Minn-kota,
Its a GMC thing. No Chevy logo. You can't see the GMC when the seats down anyway.

There was a price mix up when they first became avaliable. That how a few of us got them so cheap. You can find them on Ebay sometimes. i thought TxDoc had a source to get them pretty cheap. Retail was corrected to around $500 bucks.

[Minn-kota]

$500? Wow, I'd say that's some type of mixup. I'll be giving that purchase a second thought!

For $500 a Predator programmer would keep everything pinned to the back of the cab anyway. :D