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Running power to the passenger compartment

pflood06

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Joined
April 13, 2011
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City, State
Delavan, WI
Year, Model & Trim Level
2011 Limited
I just took delivery of my 2011 Limited. I am a firefighter and need to run both power and a siren speaker wire from the engine compartment to the passenger compartment. Does anyone have experience with that? There doesn't appear to be anywherer in the firewall to get through.
 






I don't have mine yet, and I haven't messed with sirens, but I have with extra lights etc.

Usually there is a large rubber plug that goes through the firewall that has most of the wiring going through it. It usually has dimples for individual wire runs to go through and there are always some blanks. Don't remove the plug, it can be a pain to get back into the firewall, but you can usually poke a hole through the plug blank for wires.

I don't like messing around the ignition wires, etc (one slip and you can cut something mess up bad) so I usually drill a small hole (say 1/4 inch) through the firewall somewhere that is easy to get to, no curves, etc and most important, nothing on the other side to drill into! You can then buy grommets to put your wires through and use some silicone to seal it up more.

I would buy some nice 14 or 12 guage wire at the automotive store in different colors (use red for +, black for -, green for grnd, maybe blue or yellow for switch) and a grommet. Then wire directly to the battery. Use suitcase connectors or good crimp connectors for all the wiring and if your really nuts, shrink tubing around them.

If your doing a switch on the dash, I would put it somewhere low under the stearing column, but not where you will hit it with a knee or something. A lighted switch can be nice, all available at the auto store. You can get fancy with multipositions that will allow you to have one switch that does off, siren on, light on, siren and light on, etc. Use a dremel to make the opening in the dash plastic for the switch.
 






Best place I've found is passenger's side in the corner where the washer tube goes through. There's a rubber grommet there that has room for wiring.
 






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