Can I drill through the side panel of the center console to run wiring? (see picture) (1 Viewer)

[CWolg]

Alright team, question for you all. Can I drill a hole through the sidewall panel of the center console storage box to run the wiring for my ham radio body? See the picture below, and the panel noted with the red arrow. I am thinking about a 1" hole saw and installing grommets to run the wires through. Currently the wiring comes from under the driver's door sill plate, under the carpet, and into the area under the driver's seat where the radio body is tucked away. I'm looking to move all of that into the console storage box to make the radio body easier to access, and not have to worry about things getting caught and pulled when moving the seat.

Any reason I can't drill through there? Anything I need to worry about hitting or avoiding? I appreciate any guidance!

 

[tbisaacs]

Alright team, question for you all. Can I drill a hole through the sidewall panel of the center console storage box to run the wiring for my ham radio body? See the picture below, and the panel noted with the red arrow. I am thinking about a 1" hole saw and installing grommets to run the wires through. Currently the wiring comes from under the driver's door sill plate, under the carpet, and into the area under the driver's seat where the radio body is tucked away. I'm looking to move all of that into the console storage box to make the radio body easier to access, and not have to worry about things getting caught and pulled when moving the seat.

Any reason I can't drill through there? Anything I need to worry about hitting or avoiding? I appreciate any guidance!
View attachment 3195954

The rear panel pries off easily and you can see inside.

There are coolant pipes for the cool box I believe they are on passenger side

 

[CWolg]

The rear panel pries off easily and you can see inside.

There are coolant pipes for the cool box I believe they are on passenger side

Ah forgot to mention, I've got an HE without the coolbox, so thankfully I won't need to worry about that.

And I suppose once I pop off that rear panel I should be able to see straight back?

 

[tbisaacs]

Ah forgot to mention, I've got an HE without the coolbox, so thankfully I won't need to worry about that.

And I suppose once I pop off that rear panel I should be able to see straight back?

Yea it’s pretty straightforward

 

[Alpine4X4]

Just a word of caution installing a two way radio inside an enclosed area, many newer radios have a thermal lockout that prevents transmit when the unit gets over a certain temperature. Most cases it's not an issue, unless you're one of those guys that likes to talk continuously, and at higher power settings.

 

[manofthewoods]

Just a word of caution installing a two way radio inside an enclosed area, many newer radios have a thermal lockout that prevents transmit when the unit gets over a certain temperature. Most cases it's not an issue, unless you're one of those guys that likes to talk continuously, and at higher power settings.

The above is an appropriate observation. My rig (Yaesu FT8900) has a fan, but I've never heard it run. It's also in an enclosed area in my 80 series.

 

[CWolg]

Just a word of caution installing a two way radio inside an enclosed area, many newer radios have a thermal lockout that prevents transmit when the unit gets over a certain temperature. Most cases it's not an issue, unless you're one of those guys that likes to talk continuously, and at higher power settings.

Thanks, I appreciate that. I figure it's all a compromise of air flow, the potential for the cables to get snagged, and it getting kicked by a kid or dog.

 

[CWolg]

The above is an appropriate observation. My rig (Yaesu FT8900) has a fan, but I've never heard it run. It's also in an enclosed area in my 80 series.

Good to know. And I'm using the Yaesu FTM-400XDR.

 

[CWolg]

Exploratory surgery was successful. And thank you to @tbisaacs for the courage to grab the rear panel, hit it with my purse, and yank it off. For anyone else who may be interested, I've attached some pictures of what I was able to see. It looks like there is plenty of clearance to safely drill an opening into the storage box. Also, there is enough play where the plastic panel meets the carpeting that I should be able to run my cables under that piece of plastic, through the newly created hole, and into the storage box. This will also help keep the wiring out of the way when adjusting the seat.

 

[Julian73]

Rather than drilling in from the side, permanently marring the outside of main box, why not bring cables up from carpet 'behind' the back panel, or if cable diameters are too big then notch the bottom of the back panel, bring cables up forward of the metal bracket and then into the side of console box.

 

[CWolg]

Rather than drilling in from the side, permanently marring the outside of main box, why not bring cables up from carpet 'behind' the back panel, or if cable diameters are too big then notch the bottom of the back panel, bring cables up forward of the metal bracket and then into the side of console box.

Yup, that's exactly the plan.

 

[CWolg]

Here's the final product - I used a hole saw to cut an access hole from inside the console box, installed a rubber grommet, and ran the cables up under the plastic along the driver's seat and into the box. The cables are then tucked away and clear of the seat when moving. Worked really well.

 

[Alpine4X4]

Here's the final product - I used a hole saw to cut an access hole from inside the console box, installed a rubber grommet, and ran the cables up under the plastic along the driver's seat and into the box. The cables are then tucked away and clear of the seat when moving. Worked really well.

View attachment 3203604

View attachment 3203605

You may want to put some wire loom around those wires so the edge of the plastic console doesn't rub a hole into to wires under vibration.

 

[CWolg]

You may want to put some wire loom around those wires so the edge of the plastic console doesn't rub a hole into to wires under vibration.

Very good idea, thank you.