HisSketchiness

Hi, I've been working on building a carputer for a little while, this forum has been a huge help so far. I was wondering if anyone had any advice and/or warnings about running wiring in a car (I have a 2008 Mazda 3i Touring). I'd like to get a better idea about this before I start tearing my new car apart. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

golfguy

I found running wires for my audio install in my Mazdaspeed 6 to be pretty easy. I assume the 3 is much the same. The door sill trim will hold huge numbers of wires and are only clipped in place, so they come up easily. Likewise, the console comes out pretty easily. There are any number of Mazda forums you can go to to get car-specific help. The guys at the Mazda6Club forums helped me a lot, and at the DIYMobileaudio forums as well. http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/index.php? The most difficult part of my install was getting the speaker wire through the molex connectors in the door frames. That required patience and a steady hand on the drill to not damage any of the other wires. Take your time, do lots of car-specific online research (I found a guy at DIY doing the same install in the same year Speed6 that I wanted to do, so I learned a lot from his generosity).

__________________
Any day is a good day for golf.

Mazdaspeed6 Carputer Progress:
(Check Speedy's Install)
Purchase [*****] 100%
Design [*****] 100%
Install [*****] 99% (is it ever finished?)

HisSketchiness

Cool. Thanks. Now some specific questions....
1. If I run a power wire up the driver side, is there already somewhere to send it through the firewall, or is drilling a hole required?
2. Is there trouble running the VGA and USB extensions because of the size of the connector or is that not a problem?
Thanks again!

golfguy

On the 6, there is a large wire bundle that goes through the firewall on the drivers side. It has a big rubber grommet that I punched a hole through and ran my 4 gauge wire through. Be VERY careful to not damage anything in that wire bundle. After you have finished the wire run, squirt silicone sealant into the grommet so you won't get any water through it into the car.


In the 6, at least, under the door sills and most other places, there is lots of room for this kind of stuff.

__________________
Any day is a good day for golf.

Mazdaspeed6 Carputer Progress:
(Check Speedy's Install)
Purchase [*****] 100%
Design [*****] 100%
Install [*****] 99% (is it ever finished?)

redsyphon

I just got through running my wires in my Mazda3i Touring without issue. I ran the usb, power, audio, monitor, etc, cables all from the trunk under the back seat then along the passenger side up through and behind the glove box. All the cables fit nicely under the door sills and you can't even tell there is anything there.. I have about 10 cables so there should be plenty of room for most people...

As far as the firewall is concerned... I chose not to drill. I'm used to my Jeep where it's pretty much just pick a hole and feed the wire! However with the mazda 3i there is a nice little boot behind the glove box where the main set of wires goes in through the firewall. I poked a SMALL hole in the boot and feed the power cable through. The hole I made is smaller in diameter than the power wire and thus the fit (once it got through) is tight! I also used some sealant around the outside of the boot/hole where the wire runs though. Thus after putting the boot back on the whole thing is still water tight. IF you have an automatic I have heard that on the drivers side there is a plastic boot that fits in where your clutch would come through... So you might be able to use that. I have a manual so that was not an option for me.

Hope that at least some of my rambling above has helped

GL

AustinMatherne

Edit:
Sorry wrong thread.

~ Austin