Routing Amp power cable Troubles

[Crazy_MoFo]

I was wondering if anyone else with a '98 GL came across this problem when trying to route cable for an amp. If you did, how did you end up routing the cable? I tried going the route that Marvins Dad posted in the How To section but the thing is that the spot mentioned is already being used for the Throtle Cable I've been looking for another spot and I can't seem to find one and I don't want to drill a hole especially when the heatshield padding is everywhere on the inside and on the outside of the car. Any suggestions?

[n2vdubz]

I was looking the other day at our '00 GLS and I noticed the same exact thing. The spot that Marvins Dad shows in the how to, and our spot on our Beetle look slightly different. I'm anxious to know how to do it too.

[Crazy_MoFo]

Ok so I looked everywhere for a spot and nothing... I had even decided to drill a hole next the spot that Marvins Dad mentioned, but would'nt you know that I couldn't get the Makita(drill) close enough to drill not even from the outside. Talk about a PITA. Well when I was under the dash I did noticed there was a spot open on one of the Relay Jacks(or whatever it's called) and it has what appears to be 8 gauge wire that comes from the battery. Anyone know if it would be safe to just hook up the amp's power cable(10 gauge) to it and just run it off of that?

[n2vdubz]

A friend of mine has a turbo Beetle. She had her stereo installed by a friend of hers, and he had mentioned to me that he just hooked it to the fuse box under the dash (I think in the same spot you mentioned). I didn't think this was too safe of an idea, but it bumped the hell out of the system she had installed, and I never heard any problems with it.

Any one else done this, I am anxious to know if this is possible to do.

[Crazy_MoFo]

Well that spot I mentioned didn't work. I could not turn the damn nut. So I just went to Home Depot and bought a foot long 3/8" drill bit and just drilled a hole next to the throttle cable grommet.

[n2vdubz]

Hey Crazy_MoFo. How did drilling that spot turn out. Did you need to remove anything, and did you drill it from the under side of the dash, or from the endine bay. I'm still pondering how I am going to do this project...

Let me know what problems you ran into and how your system sounds. By the way, do you have any pictures of this, it would be a huge help. Thanks.

[angelusnhc]

omg i had the same problem. and when i asked about it on the org no one was able to help me. so here is what i did. i hid all the wires and just sat and waited until someone figured it out. i really dont want to drill at all. but if someone figures out a way how or can show good pictures of drilling then its all good. im using 4g wire so im not going to try to hook to the fuse box..

[BUGSTUFF]

A couple of years ago I mounted the power supply for a set of Hide-A-Way strobes under the passenger side dash of our '98. I ran the power directly to the battery. If you remove all three dash panels, you can run wiring from the dash into the engine compartment thru an opening at the lower corner of the windshield on the driver's side (which is very convenient because the battery is on the driver's side) with no drilling required. I also ran the cable to the strobe tube thru this opening. There is a similar opening on the passenger side, but it's a little bit harder to get to.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

[angelusnhc]

are you refering to the upper dash part where you would change the cabin filter? and is it big enough for a 4g wire?

[BUGSTUFF]

Yup, but on the driver's side. I think a 4g would fit....

[Toad]

Originally Posted by BUGSTUFF

A couple of years ago I mounted the power supply for a set of Hide-A-Way strobes under the passenger side dash of our '98. I ran the power directly to the battery. If you remove all three dash panels, you can run wiring from the dash into the engine compartment thru an opening at the lower corner of the windshield on the driver's side (which is very convenient because the battery is on the driver's side) with no drilling required. I also ran the cable to the strobe tube thru this opening. There is a similar opening on the passenger side, but it's a little bit harder to get to.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

i think my power wire is ran the same way as yours. except i just pushed it thru where the rest of the wiring comes through, and it somehow came out on top if hte dash, and then i had to fish it through to the bottom and down the side to the trunk. This was the first car thyat i've taken nearly all the dashboard panels off to do the system, but well, it's the biggest system i've done so far by twofold also.

[Crazy_MoFo]

Originally Posted by n2vdubz

Hey Crazy_MoFo. How did drilling that spot turn out. Did you need to remove anything, and did you drill it from the under side of the dash, or from the endine bay. I'm still pondering how I am going to do this project...

Let me know what problems you ran into and how your system sounds. By the way, do you have any pictures of this, it would be a huge help. Thanks.

I drilled from the inside out. I didn't run into any problems. I just drilled the hole and passed the 4g wire through. Sorry I don't have any pictures, my lil. bro. took my camera on vacation so I didn't get to take pics when I did it.

It actually sounds good considering I'm using the stock non-monsoon head unit with the stock front speakers and a set of older than dirt alpine 6½ 2way in the rear(stocks were blown) and for bass I'm using an old school ½ teardrop shaped C4 Polk Audio bandpass box: Driver complement - Four 6x9 drivers mounted in a isobaric
push pull configuration

Enclosure type - 4th order bandpass

Frequency response - 25 to 150 Hertz

Sensitivity - 94 db @ 1 Watt @ 1 Meter

Recommended amplification - 25 to 200 Watts per channel

Impedance - 4 Ohm stereo, 2 or 8 Ohm mono

Dimensions - 8" H x 26.25" W x 17.125 D

Weight - 26 pounds.

The amp's a Kenwood 4/2ch Amp. it's a KAC 746 model.
Specs are: Max. power output 70W X 4 (4Q)
35W x 4 at 4Q 14.4V (0.08% THD) RMS power output - 50W X 4 at 1Q 14.4V (0.8% THD) RMS power output
Variable input sensitivity (0.15 to 4V)
Built in Variable Low-pass filter (50Hz - 20QHz)
Built in Variable High-pass filter (50Hz - 200Hz)
Gold Plated Input / Output Terminal
Tri-mode operation
Protection Indicator
Power MOSFET Switching Power Supply

[Crazy_MoFo]

Originally Posted by BUGSTUFF

A couple of years ago I mounted the power supply for a set of Hide-A-Way strobes under the passenger side dash of our '98. I ran the power directly to the battery. If you remove all three dash panels, you can run wiring from the dash into the engine compartment thru an opening at the lower corner of the windshield on the driver's side (which is very convenient because the battery is on the driver's side) with no drilling required. I also ran the cable to the strobe tube thru this opening. There is a similar opening on the passenger side, but it's a little bit harder to get to.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

Damn... good info, too late for me to use it though.