Ford Power Distribution Box?

[BillB]

I have an 05' Explorer I wiill be installling a vhf/uhf radio and scanner in.
I was told by a Motorola Tech I should use the stud located in the
power dist. box located in front of the battery instead of directly
to the battery itself for power?
Any comments on that are welcome!

Also, anybody know a good place to run wires from engine compartment to inside the vehicle, specifically the 05' Explorer.

Thanks, Bill

[Rick Rock]

I have an 05' Explorer I wiill be installling a vhf/uhf radio and scanner in.
I was told by a Motorola Tech I should use the stud located in the
power dist. box located in front of the battery instead of directly
to the battery itself for power?
Any comments on that are welcome!

Also, anybody know a good place to run wires from engine compartment to inside the vehicle, specifically the 05' Explorer.

Thanks, Bill

That stud is a great place to get power from. Just make sure you have your leads fused like always. As for access points, I believe they have a clutch reservoir hole in the firewall that is covered with a silver patch on the engine side, and the sound deadening pad pad has a cutout on the passenger side.

[BillB]

Rick,
I appreciate the reply!

Just wanted to get a few other opinions before I made that connection.

As for the wire access point, I will look for the place you mentioned.
The only place I've seen so far is thru the grommet that holds
the emergency brake cable. Once I get past all the plastic etc.
in way, hi.hii

Thanks, Bill

[escomm]

Always avoid directly drawing power from the battery if you can. As noted earlier the stud in the power box is a good choice, also as a last resort you can consider using a fuse tap and draw power from the fuse box too.

[kf4sqb]

Rick is correct, you can use the 'clutch hole' in the firewall. My wife drives an '04 Explorer, and I have used that point as well. Other than that, you are pretty much down to drilling holes.

The studs on the under-hood fuse box are under a piece of plastic that snaps over the end of the fuse box. It should slide up to expose the stud.

[BillB]

Thanks, for the comments escomm and kf4sgb.

I was able to push the power wires thru the same grommet as the
the hood latch cable goes thru.
I was concerned about noise and interference with the power dist.
box connection so, I connected directly to the battery as I have in the past without any issues.

73, Bill