QuestionI recently purchased a 1988 Ford Taurus GL, and have already installed my stereo from my previous car. In my other car, it had a gasket on the firewall so I could run the positive lead from my battery to my amp, I see unused gaskets on the firewall in my Taurus, but directly behind them is the insulation. I'm not sure if I should attempt to drill through it to route the wire, because I don't know if there is anything sensitive behind it. I would be running a 300 watt 2 channel amplifier off of a light truck/suv battery. Do you know anything about the ford taurus, or if it would be possible to run the positive instead from the constant 12v that goes to the head unit to the amp, and replace the original fuse with a larger one to accommodate the larger draw of power. I don't know if that would be too much power for that wire to handle.
Thank you for your time. :)
Answerhi ben,
i only reccomend drillg through the firewall once you are 100% sure there are no wires,cables, switches, etc. on the other side. if you can reach, feel around and even pull back the insulation to verify that it is safe to drill. you can always apply some sort of glue/tack spray to hold the insilation back in place.
as far as wiring your amp. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER wire anything to the +12v lead that the radio is getting power from, especially an amp. amplifiers use far more current than that power lead is fused for; you risk burning the ENTIRE electrical system. an easy way to tell is: look at the fuse on your radio, it is probably 7.5A or 10A; now look at the fuse on you amp, even a 300W amp will still have a 30A or 40A fuse! that's quite a difference in amperage.
stick with a direct +12v power line direct to the battery. and don't forget to fuse properly!
take the fuse rating on the amp; if it has 2x20A fuses, you need at least a 40A at the battery(about 12in from the battery post) and then you also want another fuse of the same rating at the amp itself. it may sound overkill, but you're protecting your entire electrical system!
