8th Generation Honda Civic Forum - View Single Post - Another "Power from Battery to Trunk" DIY

WVUeers · 06-07-2007, 06:41 PM

For starters, I have an 07 Sedan w/ Nav. YMMV depending on your year, model, etc.

There's another good DIY on this topic that deals with using a hole in the firewall above the accelerator. My car had the hole in the insulation, but no hole through the firewall...end it would be a pain to drill a hole there (especially since I don't have a 45 degree angle drill).

In that same thread, someone also mentions routing the cable through the fender to the battery. That's what I did. No drilling involved.

1. Start by removing the panel under the steering column.

There's a plastic piece near the middle. Rotate it 90 degrees (or maybe it was 180...don't remember. You'll figure it out.).
Now tug firmly on either side. There's one clip on each side.

2. Place your hand behind the hood release mechanism and trace the hood release cable all the way to the metal. Just below the grommet that the hood release cable goes through is a rubber plug. It removes easily. Just pry one side of it. This could be where the fog light wires would go if they were installed...I don't know.

Location of plug (plug removed):

What plug actually looks like:

3. Cut a hole in the plug for the cable to go through. I used an exacto knife. It's rubbery and easy to cut. I then placed a grommet that came with my wiring kit inside the hole...probably not necessary, but I cut the hole a little too big.

4. Now for the wheel well.

There are some clips to remove. Easy to do with a flathead. I think there were 6 total. Could be wrong there.
If you have mud guards, remove that too.
The wheel well seemed to be glued near the bottom of the fender, so I didn't remove completely. Don't need to anyway.
See pic below for approximate location of the rubber plug that you just removed. Just peel back the top of the wheel well to see it. If you have medium to small hands, shouldn't be too hard to reach in there.
I routed the cable a little way through the hole first, then placed the rubber plug over the cable and inserted it back into the hole.
I then held the plug in place and pulled the slack of the cable with the other hand. This was just to prevent the cable from scraping on the bare metal that shows when the plug is not inserted.
Make sure you leave enough cable to make it to the battery.

5. Getting the cable from wheel well to engine compartment.

To the right of the battery is a plastic panel that runs the length of the hood (see pic below). Get a flathead under the 3 clips to remove.
Remove panel. You should now be able to see the hood release cable (it's black).
Use one arm to hold the end of the power cable in the wheel well and the other to reach in the gap near the edge of the fender (where you removed the panel).
Now re-install the panel. There's a very convenient hole in the panel that the power cable can go through. Beautiful.

6. Now sneak the cable underneath the door sills.

For the front door sill, I tugged on the edge nearest the door. It removed partially -- enough for me to route the cable through.
If you remove the rear door sill, you can route the cable through the pillar that stands between those two sills. The panel for that middle pillar was tough to pull out enough from the bottom to accomodate the size of the cable, so routing it through after removing the front and rear door sills made it much easier.
Note that to remove the rear door sill, you'll also have to pop the backseat up. Just tug on the seat from the bottom.
From the rear door sill, I went under the seat into the trunk. Once I actually install the sub, I'll probably hide the cable under the floor, near the spare tire.

That's it. Took me about 2 hours to do, but most of that was actually figuring everything out. Plus it was my first time ever running a power line. So, shouldn't take nearly as long for you experienced types.

06-07-2007, 06:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
WVUeers Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NJ Age: 29 Posts: 19 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Another "Power from Battery to Trunk" DIY For starters, I have an 07 Sedan w/ Nav. YMMV depending on your year, model, etc. There's another good DIY on this topic that deals with using a hole in the firewall above the accelerator. My car had the hole in the insulation, but no hole through the firewall...end it would be a pain to drill a hole there (especially since I don't have a 45 degree angle drill). In that same thread, someone also mentions routing the cable through the fender to the battery. That's what I did. No drilling involved. 1. Start by removing the panel under the steering column. There's a plastic piece near the middle. Rotate it 90 degrees (or maybe it was 180...don't remember. You'll figure it out.). Now tug firmly on either side. There's one clip on each side. 2. Place your hand behind the hood release mechanism and trace the hood release cable all the way to the metal. Just below the grommet that the hood release cable goes through is a rubber plug. It removes easily. Just pry one side of it. This could be where the fog light wires would go if they were installed...I don't know. Location of plug (plug removed): What plug actually looks like: 3. Cut a hole in the plug for the cable to go through. I used an exacto knife. It's rubbery and easy to cut. I then placed a grommet that came with my wiring kit inside the hole...probably not necessary, but I cut the hole a little too big. 4. Now for the wheel well. There are some clips to remove. Easy to do with a flathead. I think there were 6 total. Could be wrong there. If you have mud guards, remove that too. The wheel well seemed to be glued near the bottom of the fender, so I didn't remove completely. Don't need to anyway. See pic below for approximate location of the rubber plug that you just removed. Just peel back the top of the wheel well to see it. If you have medium to small hands, shouldn't be too hard to reach in there. I routed the cable a little way through the hole first, then placed the rubber plug over the cable and inserted it back into the hole. I then held the plug in place and pulled the slack of the cable with the other hand. This was just to prevent the cable from scraping on the bare metal that shows when the plug is not inserted. Make sure you leave enough cable to make it to the battery. 5. Getting the cable from wheel well to engine compartment. To the right of the battery is a plastic panel that runs the length of the hood (see pic below). Get a flathead under the 3 clips to remove. Remove panel. You should now be able to see the hood release cable (it's black). Use one arm to hold the end of the power cable in the wheel well and the other to reach in the gap near the edge of the fender (where you removed the panel). Now re-install the panel. There's a very convenient hole in the panel that the power cable can go through. Beautiful. 6. Now sneak the cable underneath the door sills. For the front door sill, I tugged on the edge nearest the door. It removed partially -- enough for me to route the cable through. If you remove the rear door sill, you can route the cable through the pillar that stands between those two sills. The panel for that middle pillar was tough to pull out enough from the bottom to accomodate the size of the cable, so routing it through after removing the front and rear door sills made it much easier. Note that to remove the rear door sill, you'll also have to pop the backseat up. Just tug on the seat from the bottom. From the rear door sill, I went under the seat into the trunk. Once I actually install the sub, I'll probably hide the cable under the floor, near the spare tire. That's it. Took me about 2 hours to do, but most of that was actually figuring everything out. Plus it was my first time ever running a power line. So, shouldn't take nearly as long for you experienced types.