dodge dakota install help

[slugger]

Ok here is where I am at
I have the 2 grounds and 2 hot installed thru the firewall in a existing hole with a grommet.
I ran the 2 hot and 2 grounds so I can change eqpt or what ever and not tax the wiring.
The wire I ran is 10 ga and I bought 4 in-line fuse holders (one for each wire)
the equipment I am going to be installing is a uniden president HR2510 modded to run 10 and 11 meter
and a 250 watt linear amp (how many pill is that?) ??or is it pill-ed at all??

here are my questions
#1 which direction should I run the wiring.
the wiring comes thru the fire wall on the passenger side. If I go up and along the fire wall to the drivers side I am about 3 to 6 inches from the main wiring harness for the truck and I pass over the top of the coil 3 inches above it.
if I go to the right and along the passenger side fender I am also along the main wiring for a little bit and I pass over the main computer box and that is also the side the alternator is on. also I have to go over the radiator if I go that direction.

#2 ground question
can I or should I ground both pieces of equipment to the same ground. Or would it be better to use a separate location for each?

#3 can I use the braided ground strap that goes from the engine block to the firewall as a location to ground the equipment or is that going to create noise problems?
that should be it for now.....

slugger

[DoubleDeuce]

I had a Dakota, if you look at the fender, drivers side there is a large opening and a grommet in the body, that is how I brought power in, 8 ga fit fine.
You need to add grounds, from battery neg to frame, bed to frame and body to frame. After doing that I used the seat bolts for ground and had no problem.
I ran 4 pills with a mag mount Wilson and had flat swr. Your stock alternator should be around 136 amp so you should have no power problems. Make sure your battery is in good shape mine was not, I replaced it with a combo top post side post battery, made for easier wiring of amp and grounds.

[Shaft]

Ok here is where I am at
I have the 2 grounds and 2 hot installed thru the firewall in a existing hole with a grommet.
I ran the 2 hot and 2 grounds so I can change eqpt or what ever and not tax the wiring.
The wire I ran is 10 ga and I bought 4 in-line fuse holders (one for each wire)
the equipment I am going to be installing is a uniden president HR2510 modded to run 10 and 11 meter
and a 250 watt linear amp (how many pill is that?) ??or is it pill-ed at all??

You don't need 4 fuse holders. I am assuming you are running your 2 hot leads straight off of the battery. Make sure you put your fuses as close to your battery as you can. Try not be be more than 18 inches away. You don't need to fuse your grounds.

here are my questions
#1 which direction should I run the wiring.
the wiring comes thru the fire wall on the passenger side. If I go up and along the fire wall to the drivers side I am about 3 to 6 inches from the main wiring harness for the truck and I pass over the top of the coil 3 inches above it.
if I go to the right and along the passenger side fender I am also along the main wiring for a little bit and I pass over the main computer box and that is also the side the alternator is on. also I have to go over the radiator if I go that direction.

What year Dakota do you have? I had a 98 and my battery was on the driver's side. If your engine compartment is anything like that, then run the wire along the fire wall. Use flex loom to cover the wire, and then just zip tie it to the main wiring harness. Place a zip tie about every 6 to 10 inches.

If you think it's easier to go around the front, then go for it. Just do the same thing and use zip ties. A lot of times there are holes in the metal that you can loop them through. I prefer to stay away from things like radiators, exhaust manifolds, and headers because of the heat. That's why I prefer running along the firewall.

#2 ground question
can I or should I ground both pieces of equipment to the same ground. Or would it be better to use a separate location for each?

It is usually best to ground to the same spot, but isn't always necessary. If it is easier to ground in separate places, then do it. But if that could also lead to noise problems. I don't recall ever having noise problems in Dakota; but then again I was just running a barefoot Galaxy 77.

#3 can I use the braided ground strap that goes from the engine block to the firewall as a location to ground the equipment or is that going to create noise problems?
that should be it for now.....

slugger

See my earlier answer. Sometimes it will and sometimes it won't. But with grounding you also to be concerned what it does to your RF signal. It may be noise free, but may not be a good RF ground. Check your SWR to determine that.

[slugger]

thank you guys
the truck is a 1990 Dakota crew cab.
I already ran the 4 wires thru the firewall where the radio antenna comes through and they just fit in the hole so I am going to add a dab of silicone to make sure it's sealed and leave them there. the nice thing about that location is they come in right where I am going to mount the radio and amp so it will reduce the clutter under the dash.

I thought I read here some where that some one fused the neg wires also and I figured if that is over kill than I should probably do that. I am the king when it comes to over building and over doing.

slugger

[drdx]

Many in the ham (R.A.C.E.S) world do the negative fuse deal and you'll see it on a lot of rigs out of the box, but I've never done it on CB. Take those 4 fuse holders and fuse each hot wire at the battery and at the gear. Really, you didn't have to run the negative and can just use the vehicle itself for that half but I like to run a negative on the radio power. On an amp, just run the negative to a good seat bolt or something, and it will lessen the ground loop possibility as well. -drdx