electrical help fast

[FBJXR]

i am hardwiring my xm radio and i dont know where to go to below the dash. i would like to go to the cig lighter but i can not seem to get the bottom dash out to get to one of them. i searched for about 10 min but its getting dark and i need to get this thing done. can someone point me in the right direction please.

[FBJXR]

no one???

[stuckTaco]

Do you have a test light or multi-meter? If so start poking around till you see 12volts or till the test light lit up and turn the key off. Just tap it from there. Try around the driver left kick panel where all the fuses are.

You gotta lift the door sill plastic off first then the plastic nut that hold the kick panel in.

[FBJXR]

i will try that, thanks

[jskicet]

Just use a test light and pull off the power to your radio, the ground as well, then the xm will never be left on to run your battery down if you forget to power it down.

[elwinna]

I attached mine to power behind my stereo. Its easier to get that out than the cig lighter. There's a gray wire that has power when the ignition is on. I have the thick greenish wire that comes from the left here soldered to the gray one in the bottom connector (the right side of it) in this photo. Sorry for the out of focus.

[FBJXR]

well all in all i have power. i ended up pulling the cig lighter out and tapping into that. i ran into a problem though. when i installed the cig. lighter back into the lower dash something fell down into the dash. i mannaged to pull it out and it looks like a heat shield or something... does anyone know what this is and if it is essential for just plugging a phone charger into. i do not smoke so i will never plug in that hot cig. lighter.

thanks for all of the help guys

[FRiZzO]

Thanks elwinna, that will come in handy. What is the best XM radio to get? I have a Panasonic deck in my truck with AUX being used for my ipod. I would like to go to the rca jacks on the back of my deck. Do they have rca output? I will not use the direct to the antenna crap, I would rather not have it.

[Pb]

It would have been easy to just tap into that empty spot toward the middle of the under-dash fuse box. It looks just like the spots where a fuse goes. Use the lower of the two terminals. Just stick a male quick-disconnect terminal in there. It's 12V+ ignition controlled. Always have an inline fuse.

[FBJXR]

Originally Posted by Pb

It would have been easy to just tap into that empty spot toward the middle of the under-dash fuse box. It looks just like the spots where a fuse goes. Use the lower of the two terminals. Just stick a male quick-disconnect terminal in there. It's 12V+ ignition controlled. Always have an inline fuse.

do you have a pic of where you are talking about? i am terrible with electrical!!! when i was born god made me play basketeball, spell, and perform electrical work like a 3 year old girl. I am going to hardwire my radar detector next so if i could get a pic that would be greatly appreciated.

[Pb]

[ET79]

nice - wish i signed up earlier today on this forum. did the smae thing by tapping into the back of the radio....those wires are extremely thin.

[Pb]

Yeah, those wires are pretty small. Not sure why they made them that way. That spot in the fuse box is a much better place to tap in, and power your small accessories. I also use that circuit to activate relays. BTW, heres some real nice 40 amp relays that are waterproof too. I use these in my truck to power larger accessories, like fog lights and an electric engine fan. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=330-079 Then you can double them up if you want to, for up to an 80 amp circuit using one of these, and switching 2 of the wires. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=330-078

Just think of all the clueless Tacoma owners out there that never visit this site. Lots O good info on here.