#1)The other day I installed my Eclipse head unit using the factory wiring. When it was all done, I had alternator/ ignition noise. Unfortunately, I was unable to kill the alternator/ ignition noise that penetrated my rear left speaker through the factory wiring. My only solution was to run new wiring down the passenger side of the car. As I removed the running boards, I wondered how in the world am I supposed to be able to run wiring there for the system I'm planning. There doesn't seem to be much room. In the future, I will have to run 6 pairs of wires there, 2 pairs for the mid L&R and the tweet L&R. How am I going to fit it all? And how in the world will I be able to get a 4Ga down the drivers' side?

#2)Right before the stereo install, my battery starts acting ugly. Wanting to get the head done, I sort of let it go for now. Now that I have turned attention to it (after not being able to start the car this morning) I discovered that one of the cells is leaking fluid. I bought a bigger battery and tried to install it on the wimpy factory wiring. Too short!! Oh well, it's not a big deal, I'll just replace it with/ 4Ga. However, when I get to the store, I notice that none of the battery cables have the L-shaped ground connector that attaches to the body for ground and then continues to run continuously to the starter solenoid. What can I do about this? Is this a dealer part? What battery size should I look for? The "bigger" battery that I bought is inferior to the "smaller" one, and they are the same brand! (something I bought from Wal-Mart for $30.00)

 

Check the ground on your head unit. most of the wiring harness adaptors out there have an inferior ground or none at all. run a seperate, new ground and stick it somewhere on the frame (the metal shifter bracket works well.)
that should help witht he noise problem.. that's where I had my head unit grounded, and used that setup in competition with great results on the noise floor.

As for the battery, the size you'll need is in the computer at the parts store. (the OEM batteries for this car aren't very big, but aftermarket replacements according to the size are some of the biggest batteries I've seen in a car). make sure you get the ones with reverse posts, as the + and - are in "wrong" positions relative to the side of the battery. The one I recommend is an Interstate Megatron.. I think the part number is MT-34R.. When you do this, you won't have any problems with the OEM ground cable attaching to the battery. what I did was chop the old factory connector off, then stuck the original 4 awg wire in there and added TWO more 4 awg wires to some bolts under the battery tray. .


I also ran a 2awg wire down along the left door sill with no problems. the only hard part is getting around the fuel release lever. you'll probably have to remove the driver's seat to get around it easily... While you've got it out, pull out the center console and the rear seat, and you can run your speaker and RCA cables along the "tunnel" and up through the middle of the back seat area. this worked very well for me, and no one could see the wires...
The speaker cable I was using was Rockford Fosgate's 15AWG flat cable, and I had THREE sets of RCAs going back there also. as long as you spread them out well, you won't see any bulges or anything in the carpet. it's work, but it's been done, and I'll be going it all again soon. (dynamatting my trunk this weekend. building amp rack in a couple weeks, and I'll have TWO runs of 1/0 cable and 3 pairs of RCAs, and a computer cable running through the carpet.. )

Good luck and have fun!

 

As far as the noise goes, it left when I ran the speaker wire down the passenger side. I can hardly believe you got 2Awg down under the door sill!!! That's amazing! It doesn't look like it'll fit. I plan to run my 3 sets of RCA's down the center, but I've always been taught to run speaker on the passenger side. That way you maintain separation between power on the left, RCA center, and speaker right. But I'm sure your way works too. Heck, if anyone else knows, it ought to be you.