2003 Ford Explorer

KuhnElectronics · Post by **KuhnElectronics** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 3:22 pm

I am trying to find a firewall access point on 2003 Ford Explorer.

need to run 2 coax cables, and some power cables through it..,,

anyone have any ideas?

it seems pretty sealed, unless there is something under that sound padding on the passengers side....

thanks,
nick

will be posting pics soon too

commtek · Post by **commtek** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 5:19 pm

How about the the 6 inch piece of flat metal by the heater drain on the passenger side. Honestly, if you can't figure this out, you shouldn't be touching anything.

KuhnElectronics · Post by **KuhnElectronics** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:23 pm

just was looking to see what everyone else was using, a pre existing grommet, something easier , or more availible then punching a hole...

i really do appreciate the information though...thanks...

ESDA20 · Post by **ESDA20** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:17 pm

commtek wrote:How about the the 6 inch piece of flat metal by the heater drain on the passenger side. Honestly, if you can't figure this out, you shouldn't be touching anything.

Yeah, how dare you come here asking for help! What do you think this is, a message board for asking questions or something? Jeez!

(If you couldn't tell my sarcasm... ease up dude, he just asked a question).

WB2IID · Post by **WB2IID** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:26 am

Hey, guess what? I am just finishing up an install in my 2003 Explorer!

If you open the hood and look on the firewall to the right of where the master cylinder is mounted, you will see a 2 x 3 inch rubber or plastic grommet that seals up a hole in the firewall. This is easy to remove; I just cut some slits in the grommet and was done. I pushed a large, sharp needle through the opening and the floor pad to ascertain where the inside access point would be.

Inside, I drilled a couple of holes through the floor pad just because I didn't want to bother with taking the thing up just to run wires beneath it. There is maybe 3-4 inches of wire exposed before it ducks under the carpet but it's in a relatively invisible spot.

This way I'm routing two 6 AWG bus wires, two 16 ga. siren speaker wires and one for grille lights. When I get done fishing wires through I plan on putting some type of putty around the wires to seal the holes in the grommet.

So far I have installed 3 Kenwood TKx30 radios, Carson siren and my hands free cell phone. A switchbox for the lights is on the way.

Control heads and siren were mounted using a Jotto-Desk custom console. Very nice clean installation, although the viewing angle on the control head LCD readout is a little too sharp.

Hope this helps.

Joe

commtek · Post by **commtek** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 4:18 pm

ESDA20 wrote:
commtek wrote:How about the the 6 inch piece of flat metal by the heater drain on the passenger side. Honestly, if you can't figure this out, you shouldn't be touching anything.
Yeah, how dare you come here asking for help! What do you think this is, a message board for asking questions or something? Jeez!

(If you couldn't tell my sarcasm... ease up dude, he just asked a question).

You're missing the point. He claims to be a professional, but is always here asking how to do easy stuff. I wouldn't want my customers to know I continually have to post on a message board to find out something that I should be able to figure out for myself.

Now, if it was a hard question, that's a totally different story.

WB2IID · Post by **WB2IID** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 5:46 am

Well, someone is missing the point here...

Just because someone bills him or herself as a professional, does not mean that they know everything. I would rather see people who were unsure of how to do something ask for help and/or advice, rather than just go ahead and butcher something up.

KuhnElectronics · Post by **KuhnElectronics** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 8:37 am

Only reason I asked is because I do not like going blind into installs. It wasnt as easy as taking a look at the vehicle a couple days before and getting prepared, it was getting dropped off in the morning, and picked up in the evening.

Of course I have probably seen 1000 Ford Explorers driving by, but that doesnt mean I have ever popped the hood on one.

When I first started installing I got all of my basic tips from here. From almost everyone who gave me advice I was told "Be Prepared".. This includes reading up on the specific vehicle, making sure you have special tools you may need, or asking someone who has some experience on that make, model, ect...

The information that was given to me did help, and probably saved me alot of time, and I appreciate it alot. But I NEVER would have asked if I knew that all of this would have happened.

Thanks again,
Nick

kb0nly · Post by **kb0nly** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 10:24 am

There's a 2x3 rubber grommet i the firewall on them? Wow, that makes it convenient. I wonder, is that grommet sealing up a hole that is only used for some options that particular vehicle didn't have?

I have been under the hood of some vehicles for nearly an hour trying to decide on a passthrough location. Some just don't have a convenient hole like that! Drilling through the firewall is a scary ordeal, professional or not, at least that's my opinion.

As for Nick asking, geez, lighten up commtek. I think being a professional goes beyond just being a know-it-all, it also means your smart enough to ask for help or hints when needed. Not to mention that there is potentially a dozen or more people on here that have done a similar vehicle that can put in a comment that helps speed up the job. In the end as a customer that would just save me money because the installer was prepared before even seeing the vehicle. And we all know how much they change from model to model, year to year, etc.