Hey all, I picked up a cobra 19 DX CB radio today and have a few questions on how to go about installing it. For the antenna, I ghetto rigged a mounting bracket to go in place of the tie down on the driver's side of the bed. I then ran the coax under the truck following the parking brake cable, and up through the drivers door. I plan on mounting the radio under the headlight switch on the drivers side dash.

The problem I'm having now, is trying to figure out how to wire the thing. I've read that its best to run it straight to the battery, but I'm not quite sure how to accomplish that. I tried looking for a grommet in the firewall behind the pedals, but I couldn't find one. Any advice on how to run the wire and connect it to the battery would be greatly appreciated. Pics help too!

PS, I also picked up a PA speaker, and I'm wondering where all of you with PAs mounted them.

-Matt

 

I forgot to add that the truck is a 2007 FX4 supercrew...

 

I don't have a CB in my car or truck. I have one in my motorhome but "some say hooking directly to the battery eliminates engine noise".

 

Look for a grommet to the left of the steering column where it passes the firewall. If your truck is an auto tranny, there should be a plug for where the clutch pedal passes. Cut a small X with a razor and poke the wires through there. Then run them to the battery. Make sure your wires are fused. If you get alot of engine noise let me know by email. Radio28@gmail.com

 

spend $6 bucks or so & get the 12v cigarette lighter plug- gives you best of both worlds, quick hookup & disconnect & extra fuse protection. If you already are using the power outlet & cig lighter socket, plug it into the back seat power port, or get a 12v power 2-way or 3-way outlet splitter. Radios shack has them & so do most truck stops.

 

it will look about like this.
heres my ol cobra 29

 

I have mine to the battery and all cb radio power wires come with an inline fuse. Wiring it to the battery is the best way imo.

 

What would that be attributed to?

 

Ground loop.

 

Here is what I did in my Super Duty.

 

dsq3973 what is and where did you get that big box of red switches? and what did you wire all of them up to?

 

I picked it up here on E-Bay http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-6-HEAD-SWITC...ire_Protection. I have some cheap LED driving lights in the bed for work lights and then I hooked it up to these. Two switches control the flash pattern on my light bar.

Whelen 12 strobe mini bar


Whelen Hide-Away Strobes



Edit: I didnt meant to high jack the OP's thread.

 

I have mine mounted right between the steering column and where the center console goes up, I ran the wires under the dash to the fuse for accessories so when the truck shuts off so does the cb, saves battery drain if you forget to turn the cb off.
I ran the antenna wire under the carpet to a grommet underneath the seat and out, then up around the cab to dual firesticks on the bed.
IMO running the power the whole way to the battery seems like a waste but it is a never ending argument. I really prefer the fuse box for simplicity, protection and to save the battery.

 

did you ever get it installed? i was looking at the same radio and wondering if its any good

 

on my 04 i mounted mine in the tray on the dash, ran the wires under the dash and out the passenger door, you can squeeze the wires in the creases where the door and fender meets and itll go the engine bay (cant see them, ill post a pic of where im talkin about, kind of hard to explain) then straight to the battery. hot -to-hot amd ground-to-ground.