How to wire a CB Radio Part I

Another member of the forum asked how I hard wired in my CB radio. So here it is, if anyone has anything to add or other ideas feel free to post them. I'm sure I will leave something out. This is just an example of how to wire in a CB radio and run the wiring for its antenna. There are millions of other ways to accomplish the same job. This is just how I ran mine. This is a 2 part post due to limitations on how many pics you can post!!

First mount your antenna where you want it. I mounted my K30 magnet antenna on the roof and ran the wire through the tail gate and into the cab via the wiring boot already in place for the 3rd brake light.
<a href="http://s453.photobucket.com/albums/qq256/4runr30/?action=view&current=AntenaeWiring-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq256/4runr30/AntenaeWiring-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
To run wiring through the firewall boot I just made a small cut in it, the boot is pretty elastic so a big hole isn't needed. Once the wire is through the boot, the boot should contract around the wire. To further prevent water from getting in I ran a thin bead of silicone around the wire.

The antenna wire is the one on the right in the pic above. To gain access to the wire inside the cab you must remove the weather stripping. This isnt hard The weather stripping just "pinches" onto the sheet metal.

Next run the wiring half way down the tailgate behind the weather stripping. Now reach through the cubby hole that houses the factory tire jack and you should be able topull the wiring to you.

Once this is done you can run the antenna wire behind the driver's side paneling. The paneling can be removed by simply pulling the paneling away from the metal side wall. The following pics are of the driver's side rear and front paneling being removed.
Rear Driver's side before removing.
While removing.
Removed.

The front paneling works the same way.

You can now run your wiring in the factory wiring tract. You do not need to remove the paneling that runs in front of the seatbelt. There is enough space to just tuck the wire under the panel.
NOTE: The driver's side paneling should be removed working from right to left. Also mild pulling is required to remove the pieces, but excessive pulling may result in damage to the plastic tabs that hold the panel in place. If you BREAK the tabs you will have to replace the ENTIRE panel since the tabs are molded into the back of the panel, and not separate pieces.
See Part 2!

How to wire a CB Part 2 of 2

I haven't found a good way to remove the panel next your foot. It can be fully removed, but a special tool is required. The only other way I know to pull the panel back to run wire is to pull the panel back towards the rear of the vehicle, while pushing the panel towards the center console. Do this gently so as not to break the paneling tabs. This should give you enough space to run the wire.


Depending on where you mount your CB you may be able to skip removing the foot paneling if you run the wiring under the carpet.

If your antenna wire isn't long enough to reach your CB you can buy an extention wire from your local CB shop.

To run the power and ground wires for the CB, the steps above still apply.

To run your ground wire, shave the paint off of a piece of metal in the cab.

To get a better ground I used a ring crimp connector on the end of my ground wire and secured it to the metal with a self tapping screw.

You can pick up a pack of these ring connectors (Pictured Above) at any electric or auto parts store. You need a ring connector for the power wire as well.

Once the ground wire has been run, you must now run the power wire to the battery. To do this, feed the power wire from inside the cab into the engine bay via the firewall boot. This boot is located in the right-hand corner of the engine bay.

To hook the power wire into the battery remove the nut located on top of the positive battery terminal.

Once the ring terminal has been placed on the battery replace the nut and you are done. Make sure an inline fuse has been placed between the CB radio and the battery for protection if a shourt should occur!
If your CB will not turn on check for a clean ground. If your fuse breaks check for a short in your wiring. This may be caused by bare piece of power wire grounding out. If this is the case wrap the bare spot in elctrical tape and the problem shoudl be solved.

If you have a PA simply mount it in behind the front grill of your T4R, and run the wire along the side of the engine bay, back through the firewall boot, and then hook it into the back of your CB.


Note: If you get power for the CB directly from the battery this is called "Hard-Wiring". You must now be sure to always turn your CB radio off when not in use. If the CB is left on the battery will be drained. Turning the vehicle off will NOT turn the CB radio off!! To wire the CB in so that it turns on and off with the vehicle switch, search the forum of google for info.

If you have A/V wiring or RCA cables running through the vehicle to your subwoofers, be sure to run your CB wiring on the other side of the vehicle so as not to cause interference to the RCA or A/V cables.

If you already have too many accessories crowding the battery terminal you can use a 6 in 1 fuse block as I have.

The block has a wire that runs to the battery for power and uses Bus fuses to protect your accessories. These fuse blocks can be found at your local auto parts store.

Thank You!

You are my hero. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this, great write-up.

CB Install

4runr30 -

Thank you for the post and pictures! I just installed my Uniden 520XL per your guidelines into my 05 T4R.
I ended up running my cable just under the paneling, around the wheel well rather than over it. The cable is not long enough to place or mount my CB anywhere near the dashboard but it's small formfactor allows it to fit snugly between driver's seat and center console.
I did not hard wire the unit to the battery as I originally wanted to do. We had an extra car charger that we modified to power the CB. The mic also fits perfectly next to the cigarette lighter between the front 2 seats.

Thank you again for the post! It was exactly the help I was looking for!

Re: CB Install

43242code1 said:

4runr30 -

Thank you for the post and pictures! I just installed my Uniden 520XL per your guidelines into my 05 T4R.
I ended up running my cable just under the paneling, around the wheel well rather than over it. The cable is not long enough to place or mount my CB anywhere near the dashboard but it's small formfactor allows it to fit snugly between driver's seat and center console.
I did not hard wire the unit to the battery as I originally wanted to do. We had an extra car charger that we modified to power the CB. The mic also fits perfectly next to the cigarette lighter between the front 2 seats.

Thank you again for the post! It was exactly the help I was looking for!

Click to expand...

Im glad it helped with your install!

Seriously, thank you for taking the time to do this.

Thanks

Thanks again, I posted pics of my finished product in another thread.