Need 12VDC
- Thread starter RoyLuke
- Start date
The best advice you will get on the net from fellow mobile HAMs is to hard wire directly to your battery. On my D2, I drilled a hole in an unused/capped wiring harness hole and ran red/black power line from the battery to the radio under the center console/dash. I used Anderson PowerPole connectors, 30 amp inline fuses on both positive/negative lines. Use a dollup of silicone at the bulkhead entry for waterproofing. My radio is actually under the passenger seat and the head unit mounted to a cheap GPS swivel mount screwed in the front of the passenger ashtray. I made an additional ground from the radio chassis to the the seat frame mount to the vehicle body.
Yup. Definitely run it directly to your battery.Clean power with little power drop with the correct wires.
Doesn't it explicitly state in the material for the technician exam that the best place is the battery?
It's not that hard to pull wires from the battery to the drivers side footwell. Just use firewall bushings. Theres plenty of room underneath the brake booster to run wires.
It's not that hard to pull wires from the battery to the drivers side footwell. Just use firewall bushings. Theres plenty of room underneath the brake booster to run wires.
LOL.
Of course it does, and it is a question very likely to be present in the tech exam.
There's plenty of room in the existing firewall grommet that the factory loom runs through on the driver's side for a couple more wires.
I prefer using a Blue Sea fuse panel. I don't like a bunch of shit hanging off my battery terminals.
That's fine if you have a bunch of ahit to install. But if its just a HAM then its still just one set of wires off the battery.
I am not keen on running it straight to the bat. The radio will remain on even when I shut down and remove ignition key. Also, it's not a good idea to have a lot of "hot battery" accessories connected to the bat.
I have to find another option.
Roy :applause:
I have to find another option.
Roy :applause:
Yes, the radio will stay on when the ignition is off. Is it that hard to turn the radio off when you're done?
Seriously. I prefer the radio to be usable with the ignition off. It doesn't draw much amperage to just RX. If you're parked at camp and waiting on friends, you can just leave the radio on and monitor with the truck turned off.
Blue Sea is great if you need a lot of shit. Otherwise these are a nice quality and fit in much smaller places.
https://www.mtx.com/pfb2a-streetwires-agu-fuse-block
or
https://www.mtx.com/fbxs20-streetwires-afs-fuse-block
You can wire in a relay if you want the radio to be on switched power. I prefer switched power as well.
https://www.mtx.com/pfb2a-streetwires-agu-fuse-block
or
https://www.mtx.com/fbxs20-streetwires-afs-fuse-block
You can wire in a relay if you want the radio to be on switched power. I prefer switched power as well.
Nope. You've been given the correct answer. Now, you just have to accept it.
It's not that hard to run a dedicated hot with an inline fuse from the passenger compartment to the battery. If I can do it, so can you.
You need to run a dedicated hot and ground. If you only run a hot and then ground somewhere else, you are defeating the purpose of running the dedicated hot in the first place.