I am in the process of installing an audio jack in my center consol. Got it mostly tight, but I want to run the cables under the carpet to the dash. Is there an easy way to do this, or should I just pull the consol and a front seat? For those who are interested, Fry's Electronics has an 400W inverter+jack pack for about $20. The jack includes left and right audio, video, and 120V power. Using right angle adapters from Radio Shack, the jack fits very well on the upper front wall on the inside of the arm rest consol. I haven't put it in yet, but the inverter looks like it will just fit underneath the consol to complete the package. At the moment, I am using an in-line modulator to get sound into the system, but I plan to upgrade to something better.
DH told me he used fish tape to get under the carpet without taking it out, but he did yank the center console because of the way he wanted to run the wire into it. he's at work so i can't ask him at the moment.
I hate to be the messenger of potential bad news but you might want to consider how much heat this inverter will be producing. Putting it in a closed space like the center console might be a real safety problem. It might catch fire depending on how much of a load you put on the inverter. Just trying to keep you safe.
A fishtape is a semi-stiff wire that can be pushed through conduit (or whatever) then the wire is attached to the loop on the end and the fishtape is pulled back through bringing the wire with it. I assume the name comes from "fishing" the wire through walls and conduit. Click on Fishtape to see examples. Steve T
You're obviously not an electrician. Fish tape is the flexible, but stiff thingy you use to fish wires through unaccessible spaces (usually behind walls and the like). It's rectangular in cross section (so it's real stiff in two dimensions but can bend in the third. Longer lengths come spooled in a plastic case so you can extend just the amount you need for the job. The real fun is when you have to come in from both sides and fish around with one fish tape for the other one, while both are somewhere inside whatever wall/floor/ceiling/whatever you're trying to string the cable through. Of course, with the price of labor what it is, many jobs are done "the cable guy way" stapled to whatever wood trim can be found rather than snaking cables where they can't be seen. Used to be very common in networking jobs in the days before wireless. Vince
Okay, I've used ad-hoc devices like that, but they were just the "thingy." Yeah, I am definitly no electrician. Don't worry Three60guy. I will run the inverter under heavy load and pay attention to the heat it puts out. I won't close it up in there if it is even close to risky.
