How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.

I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Thanks

Chip Blach

hi chip,

Most of the time you can follow the hood release cable through
the firewall and it will pass the battery on the way to the hood latch.

You can fish the power cables one at a time through the same
gromet the hood cable uses. Little silicone sealer will finish the job.

If you get rid of the car, easy to remove the cable for use later.

Not sure how many amps you will draw, #6 thhn is the minimum
that I use for my two meter rigs. Be sure to fuse them accordingly.


Ralph wrote:

How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.

I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Thanks

Chip Blach

hi chip,

Most of the time you can follow the hood release cable through
the firewall and it will pass the battery on the way to the hood latch.

You can fish the power cables one at a time through the same
gromet the hood cable uses. Little silicone sealer will finish the job.

If you get rid of the car, easy to remove the cable for use later.

Not sure how many amps you will draw, #6 thhn is the minimum
that I use for my two meter rigs. Be sure to fuse them accordingly.


Ralph wrote:

How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.

I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Thanks

Chip Blach

Roy,

Thanks

Chip

roy wrote:
hi chip,

Most of the time you can follow the hood release cable through
the firewall and it will pass the battery on the way to the hood latch.

You can fish the power cables one at a time through the same
gromet the hood cable uses. Little silicone sealer will finish the job.

If you get rid of the car, easy to remove the cable for use later.

Not sure how many amps you will draw, #6 thhn is the minimum
that I use for my two meter rigs. Be sure to fuse them accordingly.


Ralph wrote:


How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.

I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Thanks

Chip Blach

"Ralph Blach" wrote in message
...
How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.

I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Thanks

Chip Blach


Chip,

Take a *close* look at the rubbery seal/"boot" where the steering shaft
comes through the firewall.

On my 2003 Ford Explorer, there was *plenty* of room to cut a small slit
with an x-acto knife well below, and out of the range of motion of the
steering shaft. I then made sure it was secured out of the range of motion
of the shaft on *both* sides of the firewall, going to the driver's side
under the hood to the battery (with 25A in-line fuses in BOTH positive and
negative leads) and under the carpet to the driver's side wiring channel
that runs under the door "thresholds" (which simply snap in/out on the
Explorer (the body of the FT-857 is located under the rear, driver's side
seat and the control head is mounted on the center console in a good
operating position using a Panavise mount I got from HRO ...)

One more hint ... to check out clearances on BOTH sides of the firewall, I
used a long, heavy needle probe (about a 3" needle in a plastic handle about
6" long) to probe the spot I thought looked good from a beforehand visual on
both sides (the needle punches a small, self-sealing hole, but allows you
to see exactly where you are on both sides of the firewall). Then, when
satisfied, I used about a 1/2" wide x-acto knife blade to cut a slit (not a
hole) that I could push 2 #8 insulated wires through ... a red for positive
and a black for negative (it's actually a very heavy-duty "zip cord" that I
got from
http://www.powerwerx.com/category.asp?CtgID=1002 (they also have the
in-line fuse holders for automotive type fuses, etc.)

Now, this worked just fine on my Explorer ... on your vehicle, YMMV, but I
hope the suggestions are helpful.

73,
Carl - wk3c

One would think that with all the high power audio, the car manufactures
would make this easy.

Chip

Carl R. Stevenson wrote:
"Ralph Blach" wrote in message
...

How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.

I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Thanks

Chip Blach



Chip,

Take a *close* look at the rubbery seal/"boot" where the steering shaft
comes through the firewall.

On my 2003 Ford Explorer, there was *plenty* of room to cut a small slit
with an x-acto knife well below, and out of the range of motion of the
steering shaft. I then made sure it was secured out of the range of motion
of the shaft on *both* sides of the firewall, going to the driver's side
under the hood to the battery (with 25A in-line fuses in BOTH positive and
negative leads) and under the carpet to the driver's side wiring channel
that runs under the door "thresholds" (which simply snap in/out on the
Explorer (the body of the FT-857 is located under the rear, driver's side
seat and the control head is mounted on the center console in a good
operating position using a Panavise mount I got from HRO ...)

One more hint ... to check out clearances on BOTH sides of the firewall, I
used a long, heavy needle probe (about a 3" needle in a plastic handle about
6" long) to probe the spot I thought looked good from a beforehand visual on
both sides (the needle punches a small, self-sealing hole, but allows you
to see exactly where you are on both sides of the firewall). Then, when
satisfied, I used about a 1/2" wide x-acto knife blade to cut a slit (not a
hole) that I could push 2 #8 insulated wires through ... a red for positive
and a black for negative (it's actually a very heavy-duty "zip cord" that I
got from
http://www.powerwerx.com/category.asp?CtgID=1002 (they also have the
in-line fuse holders for automotive type fuses, etc.)

Now, this worked just fine on my Explorer ... on your vehicle, YMMV, but I
hope the suggestions are helpful.

73,
Carl - wk3c

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 14:51:22 -0400, Ralph Blach
wrote:

One would think that with all the high power audio, the car manufactures
would make this easy.

They really don't think to make things easy for DIY installations.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 18:43:25 -0000, Carl R. Stevenson hath writ:

"Ralph Blach" wrote in message
...
How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.
I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Take a *close* look at the rubbery seal/"boot" where the steering shaft
comes through the firewall.

On my 2003 Ford Explorer, there was *plenty* of room to cut a small slit
with an x-acto knife well below, and out of the range of motion of the
steering shaft. I then made sure it was secured out of the range of motion
of the shaft on *both* sides of the firewall, going to the driver's side
under the hood to the battery (with 25A in-line fuses in BOTH positive and
negative leads) and under the carpet to the driver's side wiring channel
that runs under the door "thresholds" (which simply snap in/out on the
Explorer (the body of the FT-857 is located under the rear, driver's side
seat and the control head is mounted on the center console in a good
operating position using a Panavise mount I got from HRO ...)

One more hint ... to check out clearances on BOTH sides of the firewall, I
used a long, heavy needle probe (about a 3" needle in a plastic handle about
6" long) to probe the spot I thought looked good from a beforehand visual on
both sides (the needle punches a small, self-sealing hole, but allows you
to see exactly where you are on both sides of the firewall). Then, when
satisfied, I used about a 1/2" wide x-acto knife blade to cut a slit (not a
hole) that I could push 2 #8 insulated wires through ... a red for positive
and a black for negative (it's actually a very heavy-duty "zip cord" that I
got from
http://www.powerwerx.com/category.asp?CtgID=1002 (they also have the
in-line fuse holders for automotive type fuses, etc.)

Now, this worked just fine on my Explorer ... on your vehicle, YMMV, but I
hope the suggestions are helpful.

As well, I found an existing rubber gromment/wire harness pass-thru about
dead center on the firewall that had plenty of extra "skirt". I was able
to use an awl to poke/punch a hole in this extra "skirt" next to the existing
wire harness. After pulling 2 10 ga. wires through my "new" hole, I
slathered some RTV on both sides to (re)weather proof it.

HTH
73
Jonesy
--
| Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
| Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | OS/2 __
| 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK

Ralph Blach wrote in message ...
How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.

I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Thanks

Chip Blach

Its not normally a problem, except for running your drill through
something important - go to your auto parts store and buy the
appropriate size grommet to fit the hole you are drilling, and at the
same time buy a blank grommet so you can fill the hole when you sell
the vehicle.

There is probably some legal reason why you shouldnt do this
(structural integrity of motor vehicle regulations) but, hey, does it
really matter?

73 de VK3BFA Andrew

"Andrew VK3BFA" wrote in message
om...
Ralph Blach wrote in message
...
How do I run an extra power cable through a 1996 dodge caravan's fire
wall? I really do not want to drill a hole through the file wall for
obvious reasons. I have looked all over the firewall
and cant seem to find an obvious place to run the power cable.

I want to run a high power ham radio and other equimement.

Thanks

Chip Blach

Its not normally a problem, except for running your drill through
something important - go to your auto parts store and buy the
appropriate size grommet to fit the hole you are drilling, and at the
same time buy a blank grommet so you can fill the hole when you sell
the vehicle.

There is probably some legal reason why you shouldnt do this
(structural integrity of motor vehicle regulations) but, hey, does it
really matter?

73 de VK3BFA Andrew

Never been an issue - with all the cars I have installed radio equipment
into I can't remember any that I couldn't get power and antenna cables
through an existing hole just by adding another 'hole' to the grommet.
There's usually plenty of space in existing holes for wiring, etc, to add a
few more cables - hardest part is getting the cables through the grommet but
a little common sense and this isn't a problem.

Although I'm sure that if all else failed your suggestion would be the next
best option - if you use a blank grommet as you suggest upon removal, I
doubt anyone would even know the hole wasn't meant to be there.

Cheers

Martin, VK2UMJ