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Wiring Nerd Thread

mdelzer

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Share your knowledge and photos of your wiring install successes and failures. (Example; how you wired your onboard air, winch, aux switches, accessory lights, etc.) Or if you already did a build thread share your link and some photos of the finished result.
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nomographer

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Plus 75 to this.

I noticed some gaps on the upper dash, front left corner, behind the speaker near the windshield. Has anyone gotten a wire down to the driver's floor from there? Generally any good way to get wires down from the upper dash area without removing the dash?

Despite all the grommets and plugs we still manage to find a place we can't run a wire. :angry: 2021 you'd think we'd get full 3d browsable diagrams of the whole Jeep. Who has a big x-ray machine? :giggle:

ps I saw one YouTube video, windshield down, upper hood cowling removed, suggesting that they got nylon tape from there down to the clutch pedal area.
 
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nomographer

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Well I'm getting closer but without diagrams it's a pain. I was thinking about going down from the dash by the speakers but it seems to stop. I just spent some time checking where the upper windshield wiring enters the frame on the driver's side but I could only get a wire down about 6" before it stopped... so I guess that means the entire side needs to be ripped off to find a way from the upper dash down to the floor.

Also I found the engine aux wires but all wrapped wires in the passenger compartment seem to go to plugs.

Where are the inside aux connections? :crying:

I suppose they're up in there somewhere... https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...switches-configuration-installation-diy.1477/

ps Found. Popped out the passenger carpet at the circular retaining clip on the center hump under the dash, extracted it from underneath the center console, ran the lead wire back and underneath the rear passenger rubber mats, then across (above the carpet) to the driver's side where the radio is going. Carpet went back in without much work.

After wiring to the 40A aux1, I was able to pull a bit more spare wire toward the rear. Grounded to a 1/2" bolt under the rear seat.

Next is getting the bnc and antenna control wire through the passenger firewall grommet.

The driver's A pillar up to the dash is gonna take a pry tool to remove the outboard trim, then we'll see.
 
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nomographer

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Significant progress today routing from the rear passenger seat to the dashboard. More pictures/walkthrough later but it takes a lot of work.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread IMG_20210216_155014197
 

nomographer

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Routing amateur radio remote faceplate control cable from the rear passenger seat area to the upper dashboard

The A pillar grip with the access tabs still open.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img100


The lower access tab
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img101


The upper access tab
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img102


The A pillar grip has tabs underneath the speaker grille.
Either remove the grill first or just yank out the grip and the grill will lift.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img103


The driver's side panel can be removed for access near the A pillar.
The panel is attached to a small cable (sensor?) at the rear.
Note the 18" metal claw coming down from the top.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img104


There's a small trim piece at the bottom of the seat belt that provides good access to the forward and rear trim.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img105


The rear door trim is easy to release.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img106


The metal claw was passed from the seat belt trim area backwards.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img107


The front door trim is very difficult to remove.
Remove any carpet mats first.
Release the rear tabs as possible
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img108


There are two tabs near the rear of the trim piece.
Release motion is lateral, not upward.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img109


The front of the trim is attached by a retaining nut
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img110


The must be removed from this bolt before the trim will release
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img111


Even with that released, the trim will bind tightly and offers very little motion.
(It may be impossible to fully remove without taking out the seat?)
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img112


The rear retaining clips on the front door trim.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img113


The cable led from the seatbelt trim through that little black box.
It was easier to push the cable under the inboard side of the box.
The gripper claw kept getting stuck on something hiding inside there.
I ran the cable over the seat wiring.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img114


The cable led forward over everything.
Going through the white conduit was not really an option; too much happening in there and not enough space.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img115


The cable fed upward through the trim piece on the outboard side, near the pillar.
Note the white trim retaining nut has been reinstalled.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img116


The metal claw was dropped downward at this point, where the cable now emerges.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img117


Note that I removed the weatherstripping first.
The lower two plugs are easier to insert at an angle, then using a trim tool to slip them under the other piece of weather stripping.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread img118
 

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nomographer

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Woo usb cable hidden. There's a passage behind the center floorboard area, not much to attach to above the driver's feet, and a single cable squeezes between the driver's grip and speaker grille.

The USB cable was to be routed near the upper driver's dash phone gripper.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic101


The cable comes up along the a-pillar and emerges at the bottom of the grip.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic102


A single cable will fit in the front corner near the speaker grill (there is another wire routed toward the windshield corner of the speaker).
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic103


The cable descends in front of the a-pillar heading toward the driver's floorboard
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic104


It's behind this trim panel...
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


Here it is seen at left heading up and over a wiring bundle.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic106


It crosses over to the center section below the dash. It was not zip-tied (but we'll see how long it takes to start hanging down). There are no obvious points to attach, and I didn't want to put it behind the pedals.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic107


It passes behind the center foot area and emerges on the passenger side.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic108


In this case I just stuffed it under the trim piece without unlatching the carpet. Note that within/behind that trim piece, it travels a bit toward the driver, not just forward to the firewall. (But the gripper/claw WAS passed straight through from the drivers side to the passenger side near the firewall; the other direction wasn't working.)
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic109


The white wire is temporary; still needs a home.

It may be possible to run the usb cable into the center console plastic, around the covered bolt, and back out of the plastic underneath the plastic lip, which would bring it closer to the usb port.
 
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nomographer

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Antenna cable run from front bumper to the inside, skipped the grommet since it's too easy to clip those wires, went under the windshield instead.

Routing an antenna BNC and control cable from the front bumper to the rear passenger seat

Note: I did all this with a BNC connector and the control connector attached to the end of the wires. No need to recrimp the BNC.

Start at the front bumper and pass the cables outboard of the headlight.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic101


Here's the access behind the bumper. The fog light wiring is visible, but these wires pass behind the flexible 'fender' piece.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic102


The wires emerge here. I passed a cord down from this point, tied on the BNC/controller underneath, and pulled them up.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic103


The view downward where the cables rise. Headlight is at lower right.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic104


I passed the wires under the air breather support, which was easier by removing the bolt and sliding the cables underneath.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic106


Here you can see the wires passing under all. I had hoped to go through the outboard metal bar/beam, but I could not find a way to retrieve the wires near the firewall. I suspect the bar is butt welded to the a-pillar frame. It would have provided excellent RF shielding... oh well.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic107


Cabling passes underneath the foam support for this upper cowling piece.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic108


I passed the cables near the windshield bracket, not near the drain hose. There was more room here and less pressure. Note that I passed the wires with the windshield released, but I held it vertically while I threw the cables in there. I neither removed the wipers nor tied up the windshield. Ergo, no picture of that step. :}
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic109


The cables emerge on the inside as expected.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic110


They are near to the speaker. I had the grip removed when I was searching around for a way to route through the front right support bar, but the speaker grill will need to be lifted at least, and the grip needs to be removed to access the gap heading downward.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic111


Closeup. The wires emerge behind the speaker assembly and pass between the dash (plastic) and a-pillar.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic112


Cables route in front of the a-pillar (as in previous posts). That upper plastic side piece of the dash seems permanent, so I lifted it and passed the cables behind it (challenging). The BNC connector would not drop from above because there's a 90deg corner it needs to turn to pass down to this point.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic113


Closer...
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic114


Closeup of the cables at top, wrapped tightly from the windshield, around the pillar, down the gap, and emerging in the area of this middle trim piece.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic115


From this point, I passed the wires out through the hole in the lower trim piece where the nylon door retaining strap emerges. The control cable (white) was passed along the passenger dashboard underside (maybe I'll take pictures of that later), and I put the control switch in the glove box.

The antenna cable has not yet been routed. As I'm working with only a few spare inches, I'm still considering options. I don't really want to pass it along the passenger seat wiring harness because of more interference... I may just pass it diagonally underneath the passenger carpet.

pic105.jpg
 
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ronrodriguez114

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Plus 75 to this.

I noticed some gaps on the upper dash, front left corner, behind the speaker near the windshield. Has anyone gotten a wire down to the driver's floor from there? Generally any good way to get wires down from the upper dash area without removing the dash?

Despite all the grommets and plugs we still manage to find a place we can't run a wire. :angry: 2021 you'd think we'd get full 3d browsable diagrams of the whole Jeep. Who has a big x-ray machine? :giggle:

ps I saw one YouTube video, windshield down, upper hood cowling removed, suggesting that they got nylon tape from there down to the clutch pedal area.
I have done this. I had to put the window down slightly to open it up. I was able to get 2 10 gauge wires through there easily. From there they routed down the main door pillar behind the molding. I didn't have to take any of the dash off. I was trying to run the wires through the speaker area in behind the dash but it was a no go.
 

wibornz

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Antenna cable run from front bumper to the inside, skipped the grommet since it's too easy to clip those wires, went under the windshield instead.

Routing an antenna BNC and control cable from the front bumper to the rear passenger seat

Note: I did all this with a BNC connector and the control connector attached to the end of the wires. No need to recrimp the BNC.

Start at the front bumper and pass the cables outboard of the headlight.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


Here's the access behind the bumper. The fog light wiring is visible, but these wires pass behind the flexible 'fender' piece.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


The wires emerge here. I passed a cord down from this point, tied on the BNC/controller underneath, and pulled them up.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


The view downward where the cables rise. Headlight is at lower right.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


I passed the wires under the air breather support, which was easier by removing the bolt and sliding the cables underneath.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


Here you can see the wires passing under all. I had hoped to go through the outboard metal bar/beam, but I could not find a way to retrieve the wires near the firewall. I suspect the bar is butt welded to the a-pillar frame. It would have provided excellent RF shielding... oh well.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


Cabling passes underneath the foam support for this upper cowling piece.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


I passed the cables near the windshield bracket, not near the drain hose. There was more room here and less pressure. Note that I passed the wires with the windshield released, but I held it vertically while I threw the cables in there. I neither removed the wipers nor tied up the windshield. Ergo, no picture of that step. :}
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


The cables emerge on the inside as expected.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


They are near to the speaker. I had the grip removed when I was searching around for a way to route through the front right support bar, but the speaker grill will need to be lifted at least, and the grip needs to be removed to access the gap heading downward.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


Closeup. The wires emerge behind the speaker assembly and pass between the dash (plastic) and a-pillar.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


Cables route in front of the a-pillar (as in previous posts). That upper plastic side piece of the dash seems permanent, so I lifted it and passed the cables behind it (challenging). The BNC connector would not drop from above because there's a 90deg corner it needs to turn to pass down to this point.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


Closer...
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


Closeup of the cables at top, wrapped tightly from the windshield, around the pillar, down the gap, and emerging in the area of this middle trim piece.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105


From this point, I passed the wires out through the hole in the lower trim piece where the nylon door retaining strap emerges. The control cable (white) was passed along the passenger dashboard underside (maybe I'll take pictures of that later), and I put the control switch in the glove box.

The antenna cable has not yet been routed. As I'm working with only a few spare inches, I'm still considering options. I don't really want to pass it along the passenger seat wiring harness because of more interference... I may just pass it diagonally underneath the passenger carpet.

Jeep Wrangler JL Wiring Nerd Thread pic105
Pretty much what I did. Now I can delete my photos.
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