Car Stereos: running power cable, ford taurus, electronic climate

Question
wuts going on i have a problem. i have a 2001 ford taurus and so far it has been a hassle to put anything in it i was wondereing if you or anyone know about a dash kit with electronic ac controls and i cant find a hole in the firewall to run mi power cable through if you could answer these questions or give me a website i can visit i would really appreciate it. as of now i have mi aftermarket radio in mi console i do belive that ford taurus suck when u cant put bump in em.

Answer
Hi Tyler,

I've never seen a radio mounting kit for the Taurus/Sable with electronic climate controls; to the best of my knowledge, no such kit exists.  Most people do as you've done: place an after-market head unit in the center console or lower dash opening.  I've seen one OEM radio/climate control module that was gutted and modified so that an after-market head unit could be mounted into it, while retaining the climate control functions; but I don't have any pictures available or any good idea what would be entailed with that kind of project.

As for the firewall access:  the Taurus is available with the shift lever either on the steering column or the center console.  When the shifter is located on the column, a cable runs through the firewall high under the driver's side dash, just above the fuse box.  In vehicles with the console shifter, the cable runs through a spot low on the center firewall, right in front of the center console and behind the engine.

The firewall has an opening in both of these locations.  One will be occupied by the shifter cable, and the other will have a blank rubber plug.  You can find the unoccupied opening, make a hole in the plug and run your power wire through it.  It's easier if you have the console shifter and can use the hole above the fuse box, but it can still be done if you need to use the center firewall location.  If you do have to go through the center of the firewall, you need to take extra care to route and secure the wire so it can't touch the exhaust manifold, or other hot or moving components under the hood.

Hope this helps!

Brian