D40 2010 uhf aerial hyperventalating

[darren]

Hi guys
With only a 120km on the clock of my new trruck I am hyperventalating at the thought of getting the drill out and hacking into the firewall to get my cb aerial through. I have checked the posts and appreciate that there are some answers but unsure if they are for the new 2010 model. have checked a few of the ideas out and cant seem to get the cable through, woried with air bags etc that I might get an unwelcome surprise if my drill goes through the wrong bit.

Any one else done a 2010 ST and can give me some ideas - photo would be great
cheers
Darren

 

[Dave]

Hey Darren, a few guys have done it.

I have had a few drinks tonight so cant really remember the guys who have installed a UHF in there D40.

Dave.

 

[Leprechaun]

I came through the bonnet release cable grommet, it's awkward but a piece of steel wire poked through from under the dash, tape on the coax and then drag it back through.

 

[D21 dualcab Z24 4X4]

I would suggest you remove any fitting and just run bare coax through, then put a new fitting on the end once its all in place...

 

[KraftyPg]

As D21 says take off the plug and it will go anywhere. I don't know all the differences between the 09 and the 10 but they can't have closed off every point of access, at the very least the monkey's at Nissan dealerships need access to add after the addons at purchase.

As 08 says you could use the bonnet release cable, and there is no doubt a few others but for me the easiest one was on the passenger side and it went into the foot well. Same process with a bit of steel wire or coat hanger and then just feed the cable through.

Although you could do it with a drill I'd suggest a coat hanger or the like on the grounds that damage is less likely and it also doubles as a lead for whatever wire you are pulling through. Insulation tape wrapped around both the wire and the cable and once the cable is through just gently pull the wire until you pull the cable through undo the tape and bobs you aunty.

 

[darren]

Thanks guys for your input, the cb I bought was a GME and they have a clever lead end now, the bulky part that screws into the CB unscrews from the cable leaving a metal fitting that is a couple of mm wider than the cable, I will explore the passenger side kick panel first will see how I go
regards
Darren

 

[KraftyPg]

If they haven't changed it the kick panel comes off with one plastic screw (top front) and clips down the door seal, then you can peel back the carpet a bit and the hole that can fit quite a few cables through is not far below the level of the glove box. You'll have more success pushing it through from under the bonnet but if you use the wire method and push gently you'll feel where the wire wants to come out in the foot well. Once you can feel it you can push it further and hopefully take the wire with it.

If you've got a soldering iron the plug should just unsolder and the wire will pull out of that center core. It's much easier if you can do this rather than push through any plug that is larger than the wire and risk cutting a hole that is bigger than the wire. It's been twelve months since I wired my CB and the cable I used was about 5 years old but I don't think they have changed anything since then so one end of yours should be easy to remove as mine was with a soldering iron.

 

[TheOx]

Gday Darren, Should be quite a simple job for you. i did it in a couple of hours on my 08D40.

- Remove the passenger side kickpanel using some screw drivers, then pull back some of the carpet and on the top left you should see a rubber grommet where other cables go through the firewall into the bonnet.

- Then simply attach your coax cable onto some wire or rod with some duct tape and gently push through the grommet and get a friend to watch where it comes through into the engine bay and get him to help you pull it through.

- Bring the cable around to the side of the engine bay, and using some cable ties attach the cable to anything sturdy or some existing cables.

-In the cabin you will be able to run the cable under the carpet behind the dash and come out where ever you wish. there should be no cable visible and it will look nice and neat for ya!

cheers Andy

 

[KraftyPg]

I believe he needs to run the cable the opposite way, the end of the plug he can get to is actually the unit end not the aerial. Principle is the same though, and if he's unsure which grommet he is aiming for push the wire through from the inside then pull it out in the engine bay far enough to tape the coax to it and go back inside and pull....(the wire)

 

[darren]

Thanks gents my CB is now wired in , the gromet for the bonnet catch won, it was relatively easy, and then I spliced the pos and neg wires into the 12v outlet, I nice neat finish and no new holes drilled, I am sure in a few years I won't be so Anal

 

[Aussie Frontier]

I installed a "On Glass" UHF antenna so the coax stays on the inside of the cab. Same idea as the mobile phone antenna and 3 years later it still works a treat.

http://www.rfi.com.au/downloads/wireless/mobile-antennas/UHF-band/AP354.pdf

http://www.rfi.com.au/downloads/wireless/mobile-antennas/UHF-band/AP454.pdf

I already had way too many cables runnign through the gromets for all my strobe and hazard lights etc so I figured this was a heap better option .

 

[trav]

Aussie Frontier, it maybe working a treat to you as you haven't had a bigger antenna, but if you were to run to a bigger antenna you will have much better range. The bigger the antenna the bigger the db gain. The idea of the small antenna for mobile phones are due to the higher frequency compared to uhf signal. At the moment you wouldn't have much better than a hand-held. Try it against some other friends setup.