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Rat's Nest under my seat?

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Old 08-07-2011 | 08:59 AM
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Question Rat's Nest under my seat?

So I got my WeatherTech floor mats and while I'm giving the truck an introduction to my shopvac I find this under the seat. What did this go to/why was this done? A sound system?


RatsNestUndrDrvSeat by DakRat, on Flickr


RatsNestUndrDrvSeat_zoom_top by DakRat, on Flickr


RatsNestUndrDrvSeat_zoom_middle by DakRat, on Flickr


RatsNestUndrDrvSeat_zoom_bottom by DakRat, on Flickr
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 09:30 AM
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I would track all that ugliness down and pull that fire ridden birds nest out.
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Eimer123
I would track all that ugliness down and pull that fire ridden birds nest out.
Yeah, I almost did that yesterday. As to me it's a bunch of useless extra wires. I didn't think it was a fire risk as I did touch each exposed wire with the key in the on position (playing the radio) and didn't receive any kisses from the truck, but if that could turn into unwanted heated seats I'll take em out asap.

If it wasn't for this forum I'd probably have done it already, but figured maybe someone could tell me why this was done, and being a curious human, it would be nice to know.
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 10:19 AM
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On the subject of removing all this, anybody got a picture of what power seat wiring is supposed to look like?
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by EliteTempleton
as I did touch each exposed wire with the key in the on position (playing the radio) and didn't receive any kisses from the truck, but if that could turn into unwanted heated seats I'll take em out asap..
you would not feel anything from just touching a live dc wire. cjust like touching the positive terminal on the battery. Current does not flow unless it is to ground. before just ripping everything out, you need to use a volt meter and check to see if there is any power from the wiring to ground.
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 01:22 PM
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Originally Posted by jkeaton
you would not feel anything from just touching a live dc wire. cjust like touching the positive terminal on the battery. Current does not flow unless it is to ground. before just ripping everything out, you need to use a volt meter and check to see if there is any power from the wiring to ground.
Never messed with volt meters, but father in-law will be back in town in a week or so and he knows how to use them. If I go find his meter, is it simple? Or should I just wait a week, and wrap the exposed wires in electric tape in the mean time?

Do I just clip/poke/etc one end onto the exposed end of a wire and the other end to a ground (what ground? one of the wires labeled as ground, the frame of the truck, the metal seat slider you see in the pic, etc?) I'm at work for a couple more hours so I can't just go look for it and see if it's an obvious tool to use or not for me till later.

Sounds like you agree it should be removed?

I figured I'd unravel the electrical tape and remove whatever looked to be aftermarket/unprofessional. Like those white wires for example. Then put new tape on it of course. But, I'm making the assumption the thicker red wire you see going under the seat on the right of the rail was factory and used to power the seat (which does work).

Is the seat powered by wires I don't see and that red wire, which disappears from my view by diving under the center console, is also something I'd want to remove?

I can see this might get 'fun'...
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 02:47 PM
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that looks like wiring for a sub or amp through high level inputs. and by the looks of the power wire being around 16-18 guage i hope it was not for anything bigger than a bazooka bass cannon.
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 02:54 PM
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Dude don't remove it. U got ground, speakers wires, power and REM. Now all u need is an amp and a sub!
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 03:08 PM
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Originally Posted by MitsuRaider
Dude don't remove it. U got ground, speakers wires, power and REM. Now all u need is an amp and a sub!
I don't even know what REM is.

This truck has the factory sound upgrade, tweeters & whatnot. I'm quite happy with the quality of sound I have now. Of course the truck I traded in had stock sound and the radio faded in and out, plus you had to wait like 30 seconds before the radio even worked at all. So what I have now is a major improvement.

Plus if I understand ballsout correctly it's low quality wire? Which would be ripe for a fire hazard, if overloaded, this I do know.

Then, here again, LOL if we weren't talking about wiring and sound I'd think a bazooka bass cannon was either an illegal fishing tool or something I'd want to take to an outdoor firing range.
 
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Old 08-07-2011 | 03:15 PM
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REM is the remote wire to turn on the amp and yes the wire is beyond crap, it is fine for speaker wire but not big enough for power and ground for an amp bigger that 40watts.

and a bass cannon is just an all in one sub/amp/enclosure. they are not really powerful but work great to add some bass if you are running aftermarket door speakers.
 


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