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      08-02-2013, 04:19 PM   #1
nilfinite
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Firewall Access?

Anyone have any success finding firewall access from the engine compartment to the passenger compartment?

Want to plan out how to route cables for a STI-R or 9500ic or Laser Interceptor.

Thanks!
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      09-09-2013, 09:43 PM   #2
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Bumping this as I too am interested.

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Originally Posted by nilfinite View Post
Anyone have any success finding firewall access from the engine compartment to the passenger compartment?

Want to plan out how to route cables for a STI-R or 9500ic or Laser Interceptor.

Thanks!
Anyone know the answer to this?

Thanks in advance.
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      09-13-2013, 09:45 AM   #3
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I need the answer too. Gonna install a 9500ic soon and don't want to pay ridiculous installation costs for an easy job.
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      09-13-2013, 06:19 PM   #4
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if you take the cover for the positive terminal off it'll expose the fuse box area, if you look at the bottom left corner theres a couple of rubber sealed holes.
Cut a littl eslit in one and you can push a wire through and it'll come out behind the passenger glove box
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      09-13-2013, 08:08 PM   #5
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How do you get the wires OUT of the fusebox?

Quote:
Originally Posted by 1lyfe View Post
if you take the cover for the positive terminal off it'll expose the fuse box area, if you look at the bottom left corner theres a couple of rubber sealed holes.
Cut a little slit in one and you can push a wire through and it'll come out behind the passenger glove box
At the outset, I hope this applies to a 335! I get that one can access a hole near the fuse box as you say, but then how are wires routed out of the fusebox, which is itself generally sealed?

I wonder if the F30 3 series has the same unused rubber nipple under the steering column area/wires as the E90 did. That made wire runs very, very easy. Cut a small slit and pass through as needed.
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      09-25-2013, 05:19 PM   #6
Eric SS
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I'm going to look for this later. Hoping I can route the JB4 cable through it like I could on the E92
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      09-25-2013, 08:11 PM   #7
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Thanks, please keep us posted.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric SS View Post
I'm going to look for this later. Hoping I can route the JB4 cable through it like I could on the E92
Thanks, please keep us posted. Pics will be even better if it works!
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      10-11-2013, 06:27 PM   #8
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Bumping this-- anyone ever figure out firewall access? Pics?
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      10-12-2013, 09:33 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jws360 View Post
Bumping this-- anyone ever figure out firewall access? Pics?
Sure, you can find pics and info on my post about PDC Retrofit: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=869735
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      10-13-2013, 11:14 PM   #10
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Looks interesting- but what happened to under the steering wheel access?

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnieb View Post
Sure, you can find pics and info on my post about PDC Retrofit: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=869735

Never would have thought it possible to route as you did. I wonder if such will work on US based cars. Thanks! I'm still a but confused (my F30 335xi is on order), but will check when it eventually shows up.


On the E90 ther was a rubber like "nipple" under the steering wheel by the main harness entry. Made life easy. I wonder if the F30 has such as well.
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      10-20-2013, 02:47 PM   #11
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I wrote a DIY for the retrofit of a DEFA WarmUp interior heater (Termini 2100).

It's in German, but well illustrated. I used a pull-wire to route the cable through the firewall.
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File Type: pdf WarmUpF30.pdf (1.24 MB, 1983 views)
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      10-20-2013, 03:43 PM   #12
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Helpful & well written, but I have a question

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.Ho View Post
I wrote a DIY for the retrofit of a DEFA WarmUp interior heater (Termini 2100).

It's in German, but well illustrated. I used a pull-wire to route the cable through the firewall.
With the aid of a translating web site I could follow it. Well done and good pictures.

Does the entire glove compartment need to come out to run the wire? Or, was this needed to install your heater?

Thanks!
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      10-20-2013, 06:13 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jws360 View Post
Does the entire glove compartment need to come out to run the wire? Or, was this needed to install your heater?

Thanks!
After all, i think it is sufficient to remove the trim panel under the glove box and bring in in the pull wire from the engine compartment. Then grab the pull wire from the interior and fasten the cable at the end of the pull wire.
Then pull the wire together with the cable into the engine compartment.
In my case it is a cable of approx. 15mm diameter. So, the removal of the glovebox was helpful.
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      10-20-2013, 06:22 PM   #14
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Thanks, very helpful

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.Ho View Post
After all, i think it is sufficient to remove the trim panel under the glove box and bring in in the pull wire from the engine compartment. Then grab the pull wire from the interior and fasten the cable at the end of the pull wire.
Then pull the wire together with the cable into the engine compartment.
In my case it is a cable of approx. 15mm diameter. So, the removal of the glovebox was helpful.
Very helpful, thanks. I am looking to install a laser interceptor & need access for 2 narrow CAT 5 cables (I can cut the ends off & re-crimp new ones after running the cables). My 335xi is still in transit, I think, from South Africa. It will be a few weeks before I am able to look for myself.

Even though your write up was in German I used a translator, which helped quite a bit.
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      12-21-2013, 01:35 PM   #15
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This grommet worked!!

Just got a 2014 335xi & followed this thread for firewall access:

http://www.f30post.com/forums/showth...light=firewall

My 335 does NOT look the same- I have a rain funnel or the like not shown in these pics. However, I can confirm that the rightmost grommet (has a smaller arrow and closest to the fusebox) in the pic did work, although I needed a stiff and narrow fish tape. I used a heavy duty 3' long cable tie, which was initially too wide so I carefully cut it in half with a utility knife. NOTE: The pic below is from the link above. It is NOT my car.

Better still, there is a switched 12v power source on the lower dash cover I removed. Its the plug under the passenger footwell.

I'll finish the Laser Interceptor another day. Looks like rain is heading my way.
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Last edited by jws360; 12-21-2013 at 03:17 PM..
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