How to Install a CB Radio (my version)

Hey All,

After searching all over Google and TacomaWorld for a good Tacoma install tutorial and not finding one, I decided to make it!

INSTALL AT YOUR OWN RISK. I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING. PERIOD!

Prep:

First off, the install took me (an idiot when it comes to wiring), by myself, 5 hours. Now, I'm super anal about wires and getting every little detail just right. If you're at all like me, it should take at the very max 5 hours. Hopefully with this tutorial, you will cut down your install time.

Second: Tools are needed!
1. Socket wrench
2. Wire cutters
3. Wire t-shirt hanger
4. Wire stripper
5. Pliers
6. Wire Loom (3/8 inch worked for me)
7. Drill
8. 8-mm Drill Bit
9. Zip Ties
10. Electrical Tape

Depending on your CB radio kit and certian situations, you could need the following:
1. Crimping tube (those things that connect two wires together without a solder machine)
2. Flash light
3. Snap Spade (to give the wire power for those of you like me who don't know what the hell they're doing)
4. Wire (Red and Black - I used 12 Gage which I understand now may have been over kill but better safe than sorry!)

Getting to it:

First: This is the hardest part of the whole process. If you can get through this, you're golden.

You'll be using that hanger. Cut off the longest piece you can get. Probably going to be the bottom portion. Grab the red wire and tap and wrap the wire around and around (about 4 or 5 times) the hanger followed by some tape like so:



Second: Find the firewall plastic piece in your engine bay on the right (by the driver). There's a cable there. It should have a blue piece on it. The hole that this cable leads into it the hole that I used. Here's a picture:



Third. Take your new spiffy contraption you just made and shove it through that hole. The angle you want to be at when pushing it through is almost straight but not quite. You want to be pushing just a fraction of an inch down and right. The reason is that there's a hole that the original wire your following goes through and so you don't have to puncture the fire wall. Don't worry if you do. It's not a problem, but try and get it through that hole.



And coming through the other side near the parking break:



Fourth: Do it all over again with the other wire (black).

Fifth: Now that you have the wires through, lead them through to where ever you want the CB to go. I did mine the the glove box so I had to take it off. You can do this by simply pulling on the glove box with a little force. Examine the box to see how to do this.



Drilled a couple of holes for them:



Sixth: Grab your CB radio. Strip your wires and attach the black wire with the black CB wire and the red with the red CB wire using the crimping tube. Here's mine during and after doing this step.





Seventh: Disconnect your barrty. Take the socket and undo the nut on the black and pull it off. Then, take the red off.

Note: When replacing, attach the red first and then the black.



Eighth and Ninth: Wire up the red and black wires that are leading to the CB. Strip them and attach the snap spade. Attach the ground to a good ground. I found this spot on my truck and worked well. The battery actually uses it as it's ground (see picture). Then, attach the red wire to the battery. There's a nut you can use on the red part of the battery to get power. You'll see it. After that, check to see if it's working then use the loom and tape to add a neat look and provide protection for the wires.



The ground:



Tenth: You'll need to find a way to get the COAX cable (the cable that connects to the antenna) out of the truck. I found an awesome spot for this. It's right near the front passenger seat. There's a plastic peice that brings some other wires through. You can push that aside and pull the whole cable through. In order to get to the "in the truck" spot, you'll have to remove the panel on the door.







Eleventh: Take the COAX cable and run it along the wire trail towards the glove box as you can see above ^^. Once you get to the piece you have not disconnected, take the cable left and shove it under that. There's a nut that you have to remove to get it totally under.





Twelfth: Bring the COAX cable to the back of the cab like so:



Then, pull the excess cable into the cab and clean up the wires. You'll want to tape down the inside access of the COAX cable. Some duct tape would do.

All cleaned up!



Thirteenth: Put your passenger plastic piece back on and clip it in place.

Fourteenth: Loom up the wire running to the back of the cab and zip-tie it up to the frame and what ever else you can find. Just make sure it's not something that can get hot.



Fifteenth: Attach your antenna to the bed (or to the metal tracks) by drilling the holes needed and attaching the bracket.



I put the wire around and below the top of the liner.





Doesn't fit in my garage



Here's my truck on the trail today. Looks real nice.



A few ending notes:
1. The CB WILL stay on if your ignition is off. Turn it off when the engine is not running unless you want a dead battery.
2. I put my antenna under my rear seats when I'm not using it.
3. Most antenna's need a ground. Mine did not. If you do need to ground your antenna, attach and tape the ground the wire to the COAX cable back down to the bottom of the cab. Then, you'll need to find something to ground that other end to. I hear a lot of people ground their antenna's to the frame.

I think that's about it! Good luck!

 

Thats a damn nice write up good job!

 

Nice write-up. I have been searching for a DIY thread about installing. How long of a coax cable did you use?

 

nice write up indeed... but you didn't touch basis on the most important part of a CB install/setup...calibrating the SWR of the antenna to the CB. a improperly adjusted antenna will literally blow the CB but in most cases others won't be able to hear you talk when you transmit..you'll hear everyone else...

if you don't have the means to calibrate the SWR yourself, you can find a local radio shop to do it for you... usually charges anywhere from 15-25 bucks for the calibration.

check out these links by FireStik...

http://www.firestik.com/Meas-SWR.htm#Setting%20SWR

http://www.firestik.com/Meas-SWR.htm#SWR Testing

http://www.firestik.com/Meas-SWR.htm#63 Things

http://www.firestik.com/Meas-SWR.htm#CoaxCable Processing

 

Subscribing.


Maybe we can do this to my truck at the mod day.


Excellent work!

 

Thanks for the info MonkeyProof. I did forget to mention the tune. Very important if you want to:
a. be able to talk to other people
b. want to keep you cb working for longer then 6 months.

Most local shops will do it. Mine cost $15. It takes about 15-30 minutes.

 

Lets do it! I have to install my Hella lights too.

 

I'm down if we do it together.



Is there a way to get the magnetic base of a magnet mount detached from the antenna or should I get a new one?

 

and thats exactly why i bought a 3" firestik :] lol.

 

^^ LOL. Good call!

Derek, I don't really know, but I can only guess so. Why not?

You could also just get a new one but they're a little pricey I think.

 

I think it was around 10-12 feet. You don't need much surprisingly.

 

sick build were did you get that antena?

 

Nice job!

One important thing that most people need to know when running the coaxial in your vehicle is to never wrap or coil up any excess coaxial cable. In order to get ta proper SWR calibration you need to spread the entire coaxial out. If you purchase a 18 foot cable and only need 10 feet to get from your Antennae to your radio, you will need to somehow route the 8 feet of excess coaxial. I had to do this in my 1987 Toyota single cap pickup and the way I did it was to make an entire loop around the cab of my truck so that I wouldn't have to tie up the excess. I figured this out when I couldn't get a good calibration on my radio/antennae and I took it to a shop that does professional installs of cb's and radio's...etc...
When the tech saw my coaxial coiled up he laughed and told me that was a no–no. He helped me reroute it and I got my calibration as close to perfect as possible.

Coiling or wrapping up excess coaxial when using a linear amp is a BIG no–no as the coaxial will heat up where it is coiled or gathered up and that spells disaster. Think about running a power tool off of a 100 foot extension cord that is still coiled up...the coils do get hot, hot enough to burn a ring into the carpet (I know this first hand ).

 

Agreed! Thanks for the info!

 

Did you see my post? I've had a lot of comments about the box and requests to duplicate for them....
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/210373-cb-box-build.html

 

No I didn't but thanks for sharing!

 

Coax needs to be in incriments of 3 feet.
Here's my set up