Place to run 0 Gauge power-wire through the firewall?
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New Member
Joined: 04-10-08
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From: Milwaukee, Wi
Place to run 0 Gauge power-wire through the firewall?
Hey guys, we're trying to install an aftermarket setup for my 06 Cobalt SS/SC and we're having trouble finding spots to run the power-wire through the firewall into the interior of the car. We've tried running it through the grommet behind the brake pedal but it's just too tight a squeeze for wire as thick as this. Any suggestions?
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Joined: 03-31-06
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From: Cleveland, Oh
You are making more work for yourself than you need to. 1o isn't the easiest wire to run in a car anyways. GM made it easy by puting the battery in the trunk already, for us!! Don't ground anything to the battery!!
Bolting the gound to the seat bolts is a pain in the ass, the bolts are either a bitch to get at or have that metal bracket from the seat blocking it, runn the power from the batt, not from the jumper terminal up front, ground your cap to the bolt that you battey is grounded to, upgrade your battery ground to the 0/1 guauge and just make sure there is resistance between your battery ground and what ever ground you use (use a multimeter)
The bolts that hold in the antenna on the pasenger side have resistance for reference
The bolts that hold in the antenna on the pasenger side have resistance for reference
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Joined: 01-05-08
Posts: 314
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From: Oshawa, Ontario
ive heard that you should not wire from the battery because the length is so small it could cause a fire thats why my buddy who works for best buy goes from the post up front cause he has seen cars catch on fire do to the resistance
Why is always the Canadians?
Do you know what resistance is? Without getting too technical here:
First if you have the proper fuse, then any surges in the power line should stop at the fuse, which I might add should be no more than 6 inches away from the power source, in this case the battery.
Notice I say should, there are a few diiferent things that may contribute to this not working, one them being the quality/size of your wires, if your drawing too big of a load through to small or to shitty of a wire you will overload the wire, and electricity being the way it is, will always look for a way to escape, in a car full of metal, it doesn't have to look very far.
This being said, the longer your power wire, the more metal it has to touch along the way, the more seats it runs under, jagged sharp edges it rubs against the greater the chance of it developing a knick or a split, or a kink then the better a chance of it grounding out, starting a fire. IMO the shorter the better, less chance for a problem.
If the quality of you wire is bad then its going to cause you problems, you can have 0 guage fat ass wire, but if you bought it at Walmart, I'd rather use 4 gauge made by stinger, threre is a reason why its so cheap, and this, or any of the wires you run, should not be the place to go with the cheap stuff, spend the extra cash or run the risk of watching your car go up in flames.
So in a way your buddy is right, resitance causes fires, but IMO the wire being short has nothing to do with it, quality, size, and placement are the key factors.
The reason I say run it from the battery rather than the jumper terminal, other than the obvious having to run 0 gauge through the car, is if you can avoid running wire through a hot, exposed to the elements place like the engine bay than do it.
On a side note, I love those hero's I see who are to lazy to find a hole in the fire wall and run it underneath the car, might as well just strap it to the exhaust and count the seconds untill you fry your **** or blow up your car
Do you know what resistance is? Without getting too technical here:
Electrical resistance is a measure of the degree to which an object opposes an electric current through it, measured in ohms. Its reciprocal quantity is electrical conductance measured in siemens. Assuming a uniform current density, an object's electrical resistance is a function of both its physical geometry and the resistivity of the material it is made from
Notice I say should, there are a few diiferent things that may contribute to this not working, one them being the quality/size of your wires, if your drawing too big of a load through to small or to shitty of a wire you will overload the wire, and electricity being the way it is, will always look for a way to escape, in a car full of metal, it doesn't have to look very far.
This being said, the longer your power wire, the more metal it has to touch along the way, the more seats it runs under, jagged sharp edges it rubs against the greater the chance of it developing a knick or a split, or a kink then the better a chance of it grounding out, starting a fire. IMO the shorter the better, less chance for a problem.
If the quality of you wire is bad then its going to cause you problems, you can have 0 guage fat ass wire, but if you bought it at Walmart, I'd rather use 4 gauge made by stinger, threre is a reason why its so cheap, and this, or any of the wires you run, should not be the place to go with the cheap stuff, spend the extra cash or run the risk of watching your car go up in flames.
So in a way your buddy is right, resitance causes fires, but IMO the wire being short has nothing to do with it, quality, size, and placement are the key factors.
The reason I say run it from the battery rather than the jumper terminal, other than the obvious having to run 0 gauge through the car, is if you can avoid running wire through a hot, exposed to the elements place like the engine bay than do it.
On a side note, I love those hero's I see who are to lazy to find a hole in the fire wall and run it underneath the car, might as well just strap it to the exhaust and count the seconds untill you fry your **** or blow up your car
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Joined: 05-11-07
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From: Atlanta
Why is always the Canadians?
Do you know what resistance is? Without getting too technical here:
First if you have the proper fuse, then any surges in the power line should stop at the fuse, which I might add should be no more than 6 inches away from the power source, in this case the battery.
Notice I say should, there are a few diiferent things that may contribute to this not working, one them being the quality/size of your wires, if your drawing too big of a load through to small or to shitty of a wire you will overload the wire, and electricity being the way it is, will always look for a way to escape, in a car full of metal, it doesn't have to look very far.
This being said, the longer your power wire, the more metal it has to touch along the way, the more seats it runs under, jagged sharp edges it rubs against the greater the chance of it developing a knick or a split, or a kink then the better a chance of it grounding out, starting a fire. IMO the shorter the better, less chance for a problem.
If the quality of you wire is bad then its going to cause you problems, you can have 0 guage fat ass wire, but if you bought it at Walmart, I'd rather use 4 gauge made by stinger, threre is a reason why its so cheap, and this, or any of the wires you run, should not be the place to go with the cheap stuff, spend the extra cash or run the risk of watching your car go up in flames.
So in a way your buddy is right, resitance causes fires, but IMO the wire being short has nothing to do with it, quality, size, and placement are the key factors.
The reason I say run it from the battery rather than the jumper terminal, other than the obvious having to run 0 gauge through the car, is if you can avoid running wire through a hot, exposed to the elements place like the engine bay than do it.
On a side note, I love those hero's I see who are to lazy to find a hole in the fire wall and run it underneath the car, might as well just strap it to the exhaust and count the seconds untill you fry your **** or blow up your car
Do you know what resistance is? Without getting too technical here:
First if you have the proper fuse, then any surges in the power line should stop at the fuse, which I might add should be no more than 6 inches away from the power source, in this case the battery.
Notice I say should, there are a few diiferent things that may contribute to this not working, one them being the quality/size of your wires, if your drawing too big of a load through to small or to shitty of a wire you will overload the wire, and electricity being the way it is, will always look for a way to escape, in a car full of metal, it doesn't have to look very far.
This being said, the longer your power wire, the more metal it has to touch along the way, the more seats it runs under, jagged sharp edges it rubs against the greater the chance of it developing a knick or a split, or a kink then the better a chance of it grounding out, starting a fire. IMO the shorter the better, less chance for a problem.
If the quality of you wire is bad then its going to cause you problems, you can have 0 guage fat ass wire, but if you bought it at Walmart, I'd rather use 4 gauge made by stinger, threre is a reason why its so cheap, and this, or any of the wires you run, should not be the place to go with the cheap stuff, spend the extra cash or run the risk of watching your car go up in flames.
So in a way your buddy is right, resitance causes fires, but IMO the wire being short has nothing to do with it, quality, size, and placement are the key factors.
The reason I say run it from the battery rather than the jumper terminal, other than the obvious having to run 0 gauge through the car, is if you can avoid running wire through a hot, exposed to the elements place like the engine bay than do it.
On a side note, I love those hero's I see who are to lazy to find a hole in the fire wall and run it underneath the car, might as well just strap it to the exhaust and count the seconds untill you fry your **** or blow up your car
To give you an example.... run 3 inch aluminum/steel wire and see what happens.
yup thank god... it really hurts me to see companies like knu make copper clad wire... It doesnt conduct worth a **** so u have to get the giant stuff and its always easier to run smaller OFC then running giant shitty BS
New Member
Joined: 11-25-06
Posts: 187
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From: edmonton
Especially with a capacitor in your setup....A capacitor is actually a waste of time and money as far as im concerned and a lot of other people agree......A cap will actually KILL an alternator faster than not having one....I dont really feel like getting all technical about it so i wont but if you run a capacitor then you reeally should have a larger wire from the alternator to the capacitor because its literaly "sucking" more power than the stock wire can supply.....
Senior Member
Joined: 02-22-07
Posts: 3,673
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From: Elmira,ON, Canada
You should run 0 gauge from the alternator to the battery with your setup. I didn't and I'm regretting it. Your alternator is the primary power source for your system. If you can't draw enough current from the alternator, you're going to lose system voltage. This is probably why I can't play my system while parked. Even when the car is running.