Power for a Radio

bigcountry19

First post...

I have a 2005 precedent with dealer installed front light bar. I am trying to wire a radio to the power supply under the dash. There are a bunch of wires. i found a pair going to the horn which would seem to work. There are two wires unattached to anything that I was hoping would work as they would be perfect. But, I tested them and got nothing. My hoipe is to run the power from the dash, up the roof support and into the overhead radio. ANY advice on ANY step of the process would be great. I have the radio and speakers installed in the console, but haven't found power in the dash yet so i have not explored getting the power wire out of the dash area and into the roof support. Thanks.

BGW

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oxfordlawn

why not just grab the power from the power feed to the light switch. If you only have front and rear lights, the power draw shouldnt be too much for the gauge wire feeding the light switch.

bigcountry19

I will look into that. Would I just tap into it before the switch? I assume there is a negative wire as well?

carguy

I used a Car Club harness for my headlights, and in that harness, under the "dash", is a blue wire with a spade connector that has 12 volts. That same blue wire hooks to one of the batteries for 12 volts. On my Precedent it is the front battery under the passenger side.

Have fun. Dave

bigcountry19

Thanks. I will certainly look for that wire. Do you know what color the ground is? I am thinking about using a cut off switch for the radio and wiring the 'memory power line' right in. Any problems with this set up?

scubabud

May I suggest that you install a 12v power converter using all 4 of your batteries instead of the existing single 12 volt? After testing my batteries over and over again I've found that between charges the front right battery, (the one used for 12 volts for lights, was running lower voltage then the other 3. Down the road this can be a problem with your batteries. I bit the bullet and did a 12 volt converter, 20 amp continuous, and use it exclusively now. I will be installing a radio soon as well and plan to tap into it also.

As far as the question on radio install, as I just mentioned I haven't done that yet but it would be very easy on a Precedent, running the wire from the dash and up through a roof support. Test for a ground lead in the harnesses, there are several, and pull from the "always hot" side of your light switch, fusing after that and running it through a separate switch for power to the radio. Never enough fuses ya know!!! :)

bigcountry19

How do you get the wires off the converter (presumably in the battery compartment) to the dash area?

scubabud

Remove 4 screws holding down the floor mat and you"ll see a large group of wrapped wires going from under the dash, down the floor and into the battery compartment. Just place your wires along with this group and then replace the mat. My converter is mounted on the floor INSIDE the cover on the right side of where your OBC and controller are located, (the plastic cover held down with 1 bolt.)

Swenson24

May not be the most convenient way but I found the perfect size lawn mower battery to go in the center part of the dash, fits great doesnt rattle and isnt that noticeable. I don't know if you use this spot but for me it was perfect. Throw a trickle charge on it to top it off but it lasts a week easily with a round of golf each day, plus it won't decrease run time even it would only draw a little in the first place.

500

Please describe this setup some more; like the battery make and model and amps, etc. and show a picture of the setup if you would. Thanks.