What's wrong with running power wire under a vehicle?

[negative_camber 10+ year member]

I am going to run two 0 gauge wires (a positive and a negative) from my battery to my amps in the back of an Explorer.

What's wrong with running the wires under the vehicle along the framerail? Could it be safe as long as the wire doesn't contact any sharp edges and remains securely fastened to the frame?

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[alxmlr789 10+ year member]

it shouldnt be a problem, i would wrap it in something, or have some kind of weather/heat proof sleeve. Just keep it away from your exhaust pipe //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

I would recommend just finding a good ground in the back of the explorer though, there are plenty of them.

 

[audiobahnuser18 5,000+ posts]

Just make sure that the wire has some kind of protectant around it not around exhaust or anything hot and nothing to cut it as you stated or short it out.

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

water/freezing water may pose a problem

 

[negative_camber 10+ year member]

The route I plan to take is plenty far from the exhaust, and I was thinking of covering it with plastic wire loom or probably a length of rubber heater hose.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Its only a problem when you don't take the necessary precautions that most people ignore. That is why it is not generally recommended.

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

rubber hose should work really well, maybe even put wire loom over top of the rubber hose. make sure you secure it every 8" or less. if one or two of your zip ties breaks, you don't want to have wire dragging the ground.

 

[kbkid 10+ year member]

What year Explorer is it?

In my old '95 and my '02 Explorer I have now, both had a cable channel right beneath the door sill. It ran from the kickpanel all the way to behind the second row seats. It just seems like it would be much easier to run the cables in there, opposed to running under the truck.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Buy liquid tite (sp?) flex conduit.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

i saw what you did there

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

i have run mine under my truck with no protection (they are fused of course), and they have been fine for almost 6 months now. however, i am in FL so i dont have to worry about freezing or really bad roads.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

i have run mine under my truck with no protection (they are fused of course), and they have been fine for almost 6 months now. however, i am in FL so i dont have to worry about freezing or really bad roads.

Hopefully that wire never comes into contact with something hazardous and grounds out to the body of your car.

 

[negative_camber 10+ year member]

What year Explorer is it?
In my old '95 and my '02 Explorer I have now, both had a cable channel right beneath the door sill.

It's a '97. I know I have a cable channel on the passenger side, but I'm not sure about the driver side.

Buy liquid tite (sp?) flex conduit.

Is that gray conduit in the picture the stuff that has a metal spiral core covered with a gray rubber/plastic... or is it just rubber/plastic without a metal core?

.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Is that gray conduit in the picture the stuff that has a metal spiral core covered with a gray rubber/plastic... or is it just rubber/plastic without a metal core?

There isn't any metal in it. You can find it in the Lowe's (probably Home Depot too) electrical department. I believe that it's 3/4". If you have trouble getting 1/0 through it use some liquid soap, it works wonders

 

[PSturmer 10+ year member]

i run it in the inside of the frame well. 8 runs of 1/0 in now....

i had 4 runs in for a year. pulled that out and it was still in very good condition besides it getting dirty.