Location of Amps for stereo

[radiojon]

GREAT photos! And yes, they're a HUGE help, so THANKS! Good call on the steel fish tape (that's what I have); I picked up a 6' thin and somewhat flimsy PVC-type "wire cover" today at West Marine to use for the wire-fishing. Just ordered the connectors from Amazon, so I'm hoping to begin the project by week's end. More ahead (eventually, I want to install GPS, a new TV in the salon, and a better wire setup for watching TV outside on deck), but this will be a good, simple starter project for me. Thanks again!

[radiojon]

magstang1 - I've hit a snag. I'm trying to get to the back of the Clarion unit to find the AUX RCA cables, but I'm guessing that the head unit is secured with the support strap in the back, which won't allow it to "slide" forward out of its location above my breaker panel. Is there a secret trap door to get to the back of the Clarion unit?

[hack4alivin]

magstang1 - I've hit a snag. I'm trying to get to the back of the Clarion unit to find the AUX RCA cables, but I'm guessing that the head unit is secured with the support strap in the back, which won't allow it to "slide" forward out of its location above my breaker panel. Is there a secret trap door to get to the back of the Clarion unit?

You did remove the four mounting screws that are behind the rubber covers in the front of the Clarion didn’t you? By the way, when you slide the unit forward do it slowly and carefully, the power/speaker plug on the back of the Clarion unit is fragile, and you can easily break the internal pins on it. Firsthand experience on that one!

[ZZ13]

magstang1 - I've hit a snag. I'm trying to get to the back of the Clarion unit to find the AUX RCA cables, but I'm guessing that the head unit is secured with the support strap in the back, which won't allow it to "slide" forward out of its location above my breaker panel. Is there a secret trap door to get to the back of the Clarion unit?

On my 300DA the DC panel is just below the radio. I removed the four screws holding it and gently moved it out of the way so that I could see everything inside and get at all the audio connections. I didn't remove the head unit.

[hack4alivin]

On my 300DA the DC panel is just below the radio. I removed the four screws holding it and gently moved it out of the way so that I could see everything inside and get at all the audio connections. I didn't remove the head unit.

This is a better approach and works for the 320 as well. By doing it this way you can reach all the audio cables without disturbing the radio connections (power plug / antenna….).

It gives you lots of working room as well. Just make sure you have your shore power turned off, there is 110 AC back there. Keep your batteries off as well, that way if you do hit anything you won’t have to reset breakers.

[radiojon]

Okay, great suggestion and it worked perfectly! Took off the 12V DC panel and I was able to get behind and easily find the AUX RCA cables (easily found with those black caps attached). Plugged in a short cable to mini and tested out the mp3 player and it came through loud and clear on the Clarion's AUX input!

NOW, as I mentioned, I want to run this cable up to the helm -- which looks to be a little more difficult in itself. I tried running a hard-plastic "fish" cable back through the area where the main dash cables were going and never could get it to "drop" down in behind the radio; I had to remove the starboard speaker panel to get a better look and I found the reason -- the opening through the bulkhead has been filled with a hardish-rubbery silicone filler substance, presumably to keep any moisture out of the breaker panel area. Here's a photo of what it looks like top-side:

2012-10-10 12.08.15.JPG

Next question - any thoughts on what I should use to break through this hard-rubbery stuff so that I can pull the cable through?

[ZZ13]

Okay, great suggestion and it worked perfectly! Took off the 12V DC panel and I was able to get behind and easily find the AUX RCA cables (easily found with those black caps attached). Plugged in a short cable to mini and tested out the mp3 player and it came through loud and clear on the Clarion's AUX input!

NOW, as I mentioned, I want to run this cable up to the helm -- which looks to be a little more difficult in itself. I tried running a hard-plastic "fish" cable back through the area where the main dash cables were going and never could get it to "drop" down in behind the radio; I had to remove the starboard speaker panel to get a better look and I found the reason -- the opening through the bulkhead has been filled with a hardish-rubbery silicone filler substance, presumably to keep any moisture out of the breaker panel area. Here's a photo of what it looks like top-side:

2012-10-10 12.08.15.JPG

Next question - any thoughts on what I should use to break through this hard-rubbery stuff so that I can pull the cable through?

I mounted my iPOD adapter next to the head unit, but I now plan to move it to the helm. My plan is to take off the gauge panel at the top of the helm and see if I can drop the RCA end from there. Then feed the plug end inside the helm cavity to wherever you want to mount it. There may be blockage along that path as well, but my helm remote takes that route so I am hoping its a clean drop. I plan to try it this weekend.

There's another thread somewhere else on here where the person is trying to do the same thing with a new remote. I posted the same suggestion there. Here it is:

http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php...ion-MW1-remote

[magstang1]

Sorry, slow to respond on that one. Looks like you got it covered.

Can you make a new hole and install a grommet?

[radiojon]

I'd really prefer not to drill a new hole through the bulkhead fiberglass. I think I'll just use a small drill bit and SLOWLY make a small hole in the top part of that grommet area where it's all rubber-stuff. Then I'll take that really thin, PVC cable cover (that I got for a couple of bucks at West Marine) and punch it through to the other side. Hopefully, I'll be able to place one of the RCA connectors inside the cable cover, tape it up, then pull it back through. The key is to make a big enough cut in the rubber-stuff to get the cable through, but small and tight enough that it'll kinda "self-seal" itself when I pull the cable back through. Fingers crossed! Update to come ... thanks, guys.

[hack4alivin]

[QUOTE=radiojon;619751]Okay, great suggestion and it worked perfectly! Took off the 12V DC panel and I was able to get behind and easily find the AUX RCA cables (easily found with those black caps attached). Plugged in a short cable to mini and tested out the mp3 player and it came through loud and clear on the Clarion's AUX input!

NOW, as I mentioned, I want to run this cable up to the helm -- which looks to be a little more difficult in itself. I tried running a hard-plastic "fish" cable back through the area where the main dash cables were going and never could get it to "drop" down in behind the radio; I had to remove the starboard speaker panel to get a better look and I found the reason -- the opening through the bulkhead has been filled with a hardish-rubbery silicone filler substance, presumably to keep any moisture out of the breaker panel area. Here's a photo of what it looks like top-side:

2012-10-10 12.08.15.JPG

Next question - any thoughts on what I should use to break through this hard-rubbery stuff so that I can pull the cable through?[/QUOTE]

Don’t try to break through it, there is no need to. Just drill another hole in the plywood, run the wire through, and then fill the hole with silicon. When drilling wrap tape around the drill bit about ¾ of an inch from the tip of the bit. This will prevent the drill from punching through while drilling.