CB radios are recommended for a lot of off-road groups, as well as traditional uses. There are many ways to install this; the way presented here offers a cheap and effective way to do this if you are pressed for time and money, and use your CB radio infrequently.
1
Select a CB radio. For this exercise, the smallest Cobra was selected. It sells for about USD$35 at Walmart Online. You will also probably find it in local shops from $50-$60. There are other radios from Midland, Radioshack with similar dimensions. (Prices as at Sept 2007, feel free to update.)
2
Select a suitable location. A good location would be under the AC controls alongside of the cigarette lighter. When taking the plastic off you’ll see that you’d have to cut into the wall behind the plastic, it’s not deep enough to fit the radio. It’s possible but not quick, and the mic cord would be in the way of the transfer case shifter. Other ideas:
On YouTube, there’s a video where someone mounted it behind the plastic below the steering wheel. There’s a lot of room but no way to adjust volume and change the channels without pulling down the cover which can’t be done while driving.
Consider the side of the driver’s seat. This is a good compromise to have a quick install and will only fit the smallest Cobra or other CB. Mag light mounts are often seen here also.
3
Install the mounting.On the frame below the seat there’s a stock hole. This is probably suitable in cars that have power seats but perfect for the lower bolt.
4
Install your own bolt and nut combo to fit the hole and stock CB radio mount. Line the mount up vertical then drill a hole into the frame to install a top bolt and nut on the frame. The radio can only be screwed into the mount from the top. It's a tight fit. With two bolts through the mount and seat frame it’ll hold strong. Do this step first so you can place the radio in position and get locations for the wiring.
5
Install the wiring. There’s a hole in the carpet by the front driver’s side seat, insert you power wire for the radio below this running it under the carpet toward the hood release. You’ll have to pull out the plastic trim to get it there.
6
Fix the power wires. Acknowledging that this is quick and dirty version, you can take a little shortcut to wire. Purchase a mini and add a fuse wire. This is a wire mounted to a mini fuse adapter that goes into the fuse box slot and accepts a mini fuse on top of it (10 amp). The inside fuse box, located on the driver's side of the dash has a few spare slots but none of them are wired to the box. In one case, where the Manual denoted that the fuse for the rear 12v outlet was missing, it worked fine - just plug it into the fuse box, plug the fuse in then the power cable. For the ground, locate the (two) bolts with ground wires and put my ground wire on one. There is static from the fuse box and ground if settings are all the way up but when you have a good signal the CB is still clear.
7
Install the mike mount: Mount the mike. This is a hard one but try mounting the mike on the left side of the steering wheel. This keeps the mike control on the same side as the CB radio. It's another tight fit, so check that the door will close properly before you drill the holes. With the mike installed here, you can’t get in and out of the jeep, without seeing and almost tripping over the wire. To eliminate this, stick the wire under the plastic trim above the hood release, down the side under the plastic at the door and come out right at the CB radio. It'll look clean, always mounted and never in the doorway by your feet and if you stretch it tight, you'll have enough cord to reach your head easily.
8
Drill through the lower dash to mount. However, if the CB is ever removed the mike holes will be the only visible trace of this whole CB install.
9
Install antenna cable. Now that the CB is wired up and working you can get to the antenna cable. Drill a small hole an the bottom of the plastic trim where the cable will exit into the trim. This is so when the plastic trim is installed over the cable it doesn’t pinch the cable. Run the cable through the plastic trim to the rear seat belt bolts they’ll be a break in the carpet. Then lower the set and run it under the carpet alongside the rest of the rear wiring. Once it hits the rear remove the plastic trim and run it up the driver’s side rear corner plastic until it’s just above the rear glass level. Bring it out of the plastic. It’ll hang from under the glass and weather stripping but if you ever sell the liberty it’s an easy uninstall with no drilled hole to patch or seal later.
10
Install antenna mount. By now everything is installed and in place, except for mounting the CB antenna. Although there are better ways to fabricate a mount, a homemade solution is this:
Buy a trailer hitch wiring kit with mounting bracket included. This is USD$10 at Walmart. The mounting bracket is a small "L" shape. Inspect it, make sure the mounting bracket looks strong, at least 1/8” metal, remember this piece is why you are buying the kit.
There are 4 mounting holes on the corners and one big one in the middle. If you drill the two opposite holes (top left and bottom right) wide enough, they’ll fit the screw for the antenna mount and the bolt from rear tire mount. With an antenna spring in between the antenna, it’s strong enough to hold the antenna and easily replaceable. Original author has 4' fiberglass antenna; it sways but stays.
1
Select a CB radio. For this exercise, the smallest Cobra was selected. It sells for about USD$35 at Walmart Online. You will also probably find it in local shops from $50-$60. There are other radios from Midland, Radioshack with similar dimensions. (Prices as at Sept 2007, feel free to update.)
2
Select a suitable location. A good location would be under the AC controls alongside of the cigarette lighter. When taking the plastic off you’ll see that you’d have to cut into the wall behind the plastic, it’s not deep enough to fit the radio. It’s possible but not quick, and the mic cord would be in the way of the transfer case shifter. Other ideas:
On YouTube, there’s a video where someone mounted it behind the plastic below the steering wheel. There’s a lot of room but no way to adjust volume and change the channels without pulling down the cover which can’t be done while driving.
Consider the side of the driver’s seat. This is a good compromise to have a quick install and will only fit the smallest Cobra or other CB. Mag light mounts are often seen here also.
3
Install the mounting.On the frame below the seat there’s a stock hole. This is probably suitable in cars that have power seats but perfect for the lower bolt.
4
Install your own bolt and nut combo to fit the hole and stock CB radio mount. Line the mount up vertical then drill a hole into the frame to install a top bolt and nut on the frame. The radio can only be screwed into the mount from the top. It's a tight fit. With two bolts through the mount and seat frame it’ll hold strong. Do this step first so you can place the radio in position and get locations for the wiring.
5
Install the wiring. There’s a hole in the carpet by the front driver’s side seat, insert you power wire for the radio below this running it under the carpet toward the hood release. You’ll have to pull out the plastic trim to get it there.
6
Fix the power wires. Acknowledging that this is quick and dirty version, you can take a little shortcut to wire. Purchase a mini and add a fuse wire. This is a wire mounted to a mini fuse adapter that goes into the fuse box slot and accepts a mini fuse on top of it (10 amp). The inside fuse box, located on the driver's side of the dash has a few spare slots but none of them are wired to the box. In one case, where the Manual denoted that the fuse for the rear 12v outlet was missing, it worked fine - just plug it into the fuse box, plug the fuse in then the power cable. For the ground, locate the (two) bolts with ground wires and put my ground wire on one. There is static from the fuse box and ground if settings are all the way up but when you have a good signal the CB is still clear.
7
Install the mike mount: Mount the mike. This is a hard one but try mounting the mike on the left side of the steering wheel. This keeps the mike control on the same side as the CB radio. It's another tight fit, so check that the door will close properly before you drill the holes. With the mike installed here, you can’t get in and out of the jeep, without seeing and almost tripping over the wire. To eliminate this, stick the wire under the plastic trim above the hood release, down the side under the plastic at the door and come out right at the CB radio. It'll look clean, always mounted and never in the doorway by your feet and if you stretch it tight, you'll have enough cord to reach your head easily.
8
Drill through the lower dash to mount. However, if the CB is ever removed the mike holes will be the only visible trace of this whole CB install.
9
Install antenna cable. Now that the CB is wired up and working you can get to the antenna cable. Drill a small hole an the bottom of the plastic trim where the cable will exit into the trim. This is so when the plastic trim is installed over the cable it doesn’t pinch the cable. Run the cable through the plastic trim to the rear seat belt bolts they’ll be a break in the carpet. Then lower the set and run it under the carpet alongside the rest of the rear wiring. Once it hits the rear remove the plastic trim and run it up the driver’s side rear corner plastic until it’s just above the rear glass level. Bring it out of the plastic. It’ll hang from under the glass and weather stripping but if you ever sell the liberty it’s an easy uninstall with no drilled hole to patch or seal later.
10
Install antenna mount. By now everything is installed and in place, except for mounting the CB antenna. Although there are better ways to fabricate a mount, a homemade solution is this:
Buy a trailer hitch wiring kit with mounting bracket included. This is USD$10 at Walmart. The mounting bracket is a small "L" shape. Inspect it, make sure the mounting bracket looks strong, at least 1/8” metal, remember this piece is why you are buying the kit.
There are 4 mounting holes on the corners and one big one in the middle. If you drill the two opposite holes (top left and bottom right) wide enough, they’ll fit the screw for the antenna mount and the bolt from rear tire mount. With an antenna spring in between the antenna, it’s strong enough to hold the antenna and easily replaceable. Original author has 4' fiberglass antenna; it sways but stays.
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