going to hook up new CB in 2004 F150. any suggestions on where to get power from. In my old truck I just spliced into the radio power, not always a smart idea but it worked. I'm a little more cautious with this truck so far. Any good suggestions.
There is probably an aux hookup in the fuse box. Seen it on several vehicles of my own. makes things much nicer. Also, they also make fuse taps that slip under the fuse that you could use for a cleaner installation.
I've used them on various occasions. You have to position it on the output side of the fuse else the fuse will not be providing protection.
However it may NOT be the best solution for a CB.
good grief
are those useless pieces of crap still around ?
here's how to do it, properly
go to your local electrical supply place
get a backelite or black plastic fuse holder for 'NON-30' style fuses
install it close to the battery, use a # 10 stranded wire from battery + to one side, crimped then soldered connections
form the other side, a # 14 stranded will be plenty heavy, run thru a hole-sawed hole in the firewall with a rubber grommet, to the CB
negative lead of CB power cable goes to floor-pan or other known good ground, use a star washer between terminal lug and metal surface
check size of ground wire between body and battery negative, increase to at least # 10 stranded if it's smaller than that
plug a NON-15 fuse into the holder, and you're done
By following this, that means the CB will be ALWAYS ON unless you turn it off. That's why myself and emcook suggested the fuse tap. You can tap a switched power source. When you turn the vehicle off, the CB turns off.
Like my original post said, there may be an auxillary port on the fuse box to tap off of.
Your choice.
Funny thing, one of the best ideas anyone has come up with.
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