So I had an amp, sound processor and speakers installed in my new Prius 2 Eco and now it seems like the invertor and engine noise in the cabin has increased. At first I thought it was a ground loop issue or alternator whine, but after working with the installer and my own personal testing, I'm 95% sure that this is not the case and that the noise is coming from the engine compartment. There are only two things that I can figure are going on: I've either become more aware of the noises that were already there after the upgrade since I'm listening closer, or I believe that some of the trim under the dash may not have been reinstalled correctly. I was able to locate where the installer ran the wire for the amp power to the battery and its entering the engine compartment at the same point as the steering column. There is no covering around the drive shaft and that seems odd to me. (see attached picture the red wire on the left in the amp power) I’m wondering if the installer removed something and didn’t put it back. I was hoping that some of you wouldn’t mind peaking under your dashes and letting me know if yours looks the same.
If you are drawing more power, the Inverter may be working harder. There is no alternator. Any chance the 'drive shaft' is the steering column? Sorry I don't have a 2016.
Yes. My bad, instead of "driveshaft" I meant steering column. I understand that I'm drawing more power, but even when I disconnect the amp power I'm getting the same volume of noise.
I was hoping someone could just stick their head down in the floor board and verify if their steering column looks like mine. (see the picture above) If its different a picture would be great. I could use that to make the installer replace the missing part.
Mine basically looks the same (now I wish I hadn't looked under there - ha). Here's mine: Basically the same as yours. I hope that helps.
There should be some sort of rubber insulating boot behind the plastic sealing the bulkhead/firewall that seals the the opening in the firewall to the column. The installer has opened it and ran the wire through. Now you have an area where noise, moisture and debris can enter the cabin. Very unprofessional. There are areas where wires are routed that are completely sealed and he should have used them. I would ask him to fix his mistake and route the power wire properly. You are literally hearing your engine/drivetrain louder because there's now a hole between you and your engine letting noise pass through. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
After looking on the gen 3 forum I think I might try to reroute the power along the hood lease cable. Has anyone tried that with the Gen 4? It looks like it was the "Toyota" method according to a couple different install manuals.
So the grommet where the parking brake goes through the firewall is not large enough to accommodate two 8 gauge power lines. I ended up going through the grommet for the main wire harness, which is located just above the accelerator. This was a huge PITA! The grommet popped out and I had real difficult getting the lines to go through the grommet. After a little more than 2 hours I finally got them through. Once I reattached the drive shaft boot that the installer had pushed aside to run the power lines, the noise I had been experiencing was greatly reduced. Word of advice if you're have a system installed make sure they run the power through the wiring harness grommet. In speaking to a couple people, running the power through the drive shaft boot is a common short cut for installers.
I ran my 4 gauge amp wire through the wire harness on the passenger side behind the glove box. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
