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I've been working towards this for a while, and I've finally got all the parts and the time to do it.
Gonna be hanging a Uniden 68 on the ceiling of my Ranger, with a Wilson 1000 mag-mount on the roof (coax out the third brake light).
The only piece I still have to figure out is how to get power to the radio. My understanding is that wiring it to the battery is best, and in this case, that doesn't look to be too much more work than any other option.
I'm neither especially skilled nor particularly knowledgeable about wiring, really, so I'd like some input on whether what I'm planning to do will work, and if so, how well. (Sorry, this is long as all get-out...)
I've got a power cord (black and red, standard size for car wiring) that came with the radio and plugs into the back of it, and is 5' long. It's got a fuse on the red (+) wire about a foot away from the radio end.
I'm planning to get some more wire of the same gauge and solder it (strip, twist together, solder) to my wire, then heat-shrink it. These wires will be long enough to reach the battery (down the pillar and through the firewall).
Once in the engine compartment, I'm planning to put a ring connector on that will allow me to attach it to the battery clamps.
Sound reasonable?
Questions:
-When I get wire- should I get the same gauge, or a size larger? I may be able to find some at my grandfathers, too- there's no harm in larger, right?
-Any reason not to feed the power cord through an existing hole in the firewall where Ford put factory wiring?
-My black (-) wire gets hooked to the (-) battery, not grounded to the truck, right?
-Since I've got a fuse near the radio, should I add another one near the battery, too? If so, would I use the same size as the one from Uniden? On (+) again, or on (-)?
-Is there any reason to add some quick-disconnects somewhere in the line? Doesn't seem there's any point inside the truck- everything will be buried once I'm done installing it, and the power cord can be unplugged from the radio. But what about under the hood?
Thanks in advance!
Gonna be hanging a Uniden 68 on the ceiling of my Ranger, with a Wilson 1000 mag-mount on the roof (coax out the third brake light).
The only piece I still have to figure out is how to get power to the radio. My understanding is that wiring it to the battery is best, and in this case, that doesn't look to be too much more work than any other option.
I'm neither especially skilled nor particularly knowledgeable about wiring, really, so I'd like some input on whether what I'm planning to do will work, and if so, how well. (Sorry, this is long as all get-out...)
I've got a power cord (black and red, standard size for car wiring) that came with the radio and plugs into the back of it, and is 5' long. It's got a fuse on the red (+) wire about a foot away from the radio end.
I'm planning to get some more wire of the same gauge and solder it (strip, twist together, solder) to my wire, then heat-shrink it. These wires will be long enough to reach the battery (down the pillar and through the firewall).
Once in the engine compartment, I'm planning to put a ring connector on that will allow me to attach it to the battery clamps.
Sound reasonable?
Questions:
-When I get wire- should I get the same gauge, or a size larger? I may be able to find some at my grandfathers, too- there's no harm in larger, right?
-Any reason not to feed the power cord through an existing hole in the firewall where Ford put factory wiring?
-My black (-) wire gets hooked to the (-) battery, not grounded to the truck, right?
-Since I've got a fuse near the radio, should I add another one near the battery, too? If so, would I use the same size as the one from Uniden? On (+) again, or on (-)?
-Is there any reason to add some quick-disconnects somewhere in the line? Doesn't seem there's any point inside the truck- everything will be buried once I'm done installing it, and the power cord can be unplugged from the radio. But what about under the hood?
Thanks in advance!
Here's mine:
