CB radio help

[TheRoadVirus]

I just mounted a PC-68LTW, and a Lil Wil antenna on/in my 2010 F150. Trouble is, I ran the power and ground through the firewall directly to the battery but I've got no power. I'm not entirely sure where I went wrong.

Does anyone have any idea what I should do? I wasn't happy with the way I had it going through the firewall anyways, so I cut it back down... can I wire it up at the fusebox?

Ah, so frustrating! Help! lol

 

[flareside_thunder]

Wiring it straight to the battery will give it the power it needs and help decrease the amount of RF noise coming into your radio and interfering with operations. Did you wire it up correctly? Did you buy the radio new or used? If used did you confirm it was in working order. I'm not Familiar with the PC-68 but perhaps there's a fuse for it mounted inside the chassis. (Most are mounted on the back). Check those two things first and go from there. The Lil Wil is a great antenna.....if you plan on upgrading it either go with a 102" Stainless whip or Wilson 5k mag mount antenna.

 

[TheRoadVirus]

It's a brand new radio. It has a fuse in-line (2A). I used crimp connectors to extend the wire, and yeah. I'm kind of glad it didn't work because I couldn't get the wire through the firewall other than beside the main wire harness. It would've rubbed through eventually, since I wasn't able to get it through the grommet.

 

[john112deere]

Brand new PC68? I wired one of them up in my '97 a few years back...

Did you check your power cord for continuity? Unplug it from the back of the radio and check from the battery end of each wire to the radio end with a multi-meter. That'll verify your connections and the in-line fuse.

If that checks out good, I believe there is a fuse in the radio, but I don't have that truck with me, so I can't look at it and check for you...if it's a brand new radio, though, I'm guessing you've got the manuals with it, which should tell you where it is.

(If memory serves, I added a fuse when I did mine. Can't remember whether it had one but I wanted one closer to the battery, or they didn't give me one...but I'm fairly certain I added one of my own, on the advice of someone more knowledgable than I. You may want to consider doing the same, especially if you're concerned about rubbing at the firewall.)

 

[flareside_thunder]

Absolutely mount an inline fuse. I've got a 30 amp on mine. Do you have it mounted on a mounting bracket? I know that if the screws on mine are too far screwed in it shorts the board out and the radio won't turn on. JAT.