Where is the best place to run a power cable from battery to inside the vehicle?

The entire frame and chassis of the vehicle is grounded via a heavy gauge cable from the (-) post of the battery. Various jumpers are used to ensure the (-) 12 volt side of the battery is present on body panels, framework, etc. throughout the vehicle.

The *best* place to connect electrically operated devices (audio especially) in the vehicle is AT the (+) & (-) battery posts - or as CLOSE to those points as practical. Doing so, will reduce the chances of objectionable "noise" being introduced to the radio on the power leads. This is especially true when trying to connect the ground or (-) lead(s) for equipment. "Dirty" power can actually be heard through speakers as static, hiss, popping, whine, etc. The battery is the cleanest source of power in the vehicle and should be used whenever clean power is essential.

Battery positive cable usually runs down to the starter solenoid which rides on the outside of the starter. The heavy wire from the alternator usually runs to the same place. On some cars it runs straight to the battery pos. The alternator is live even when the key is off. It looks like the supply from alt to starter and/or starter to fuze box is or has been lost. The starter terminal also can have 1 or more supply cables on it that provide juice to the main system via your fuzebox.
I get the impression a little tampering has been done with the original wiring layout leading to your problems.
Nothing coming on on the dash leads me to think the starter/fuse box wire(s) are faulty.
Find another identical car if you can, engage the owner in some pleasantries, tell them your problem and have a look under the hood and check out where his wiring goes.
Alternatively, ask around for a friendly vehicle electrician who may be able to spot the problem right off.
Last chance is the ground cable is not making a good clean connection to the engine and or the frame. You can check this by getting a jumper cable and going from thebattery negative to a good point on the engine.
If it lights up, clean all your connections.

It could be a number of thing's , wouldn't think the battery cables or connections . If they were bad it would have started in the first place . Timing belt ! There again , it wouldn't start in the first place . The crank sensor would not have anything to do with the starter spinning the engine over . The fuel pump will only run for two seconds when the key is first turned on , this is to prime the fuel system ! The fuel pump will not be turned on again untill the engine is cranking , or running . The fuel pump is controlled by the PCM - engine computer through a relay (fuel pump relay) Samething for the starter control , has a relay . Testing for control of the relay ,.at the relay ! In the under hood fuse / relay box ! Find the starter motor relay an pull it out an look on the bottom , you will see four sets of numbers . 30 , 87 & 85 , 86 . 30 should have B+ volt , testing with a volt meter . 87 goes down to the starter solenoid . If you take a piece of 12 gage wire an jump these two spots in the fuse / relay box , the starter will engage if the battery , cables an the starter are good ! The other two 85 & 86 are the contol side of the relay .86 should have B+ voltage an 85 goes to the PCM , where it will supplie a ground IF ,there are no problems with the park neutral safety switch . Or also if your vehicle has a anti-theft system an no problems ! Also your vehicle has a relay called a ASD - auto shut down relay , this relay powers up a lot of systems on your vehicle , i would also check it , Relays do good bad .
How to voltage drop test starter motor circuit

http://www.bbbind.com/free_tsb.html free wiring diagrams , do you know what a wiring diagram is ? How to read one , to find testing points in a electrical circuit ?
Starter Voltage Drop
VEHICLE RELAYS Operation Diagnosis
Good luck i hope i have given you enough info to diagnose this correctly

battery is dead, jump start vehicle and then drive to nearest auto parts store and have them check your charging system, which is free, you can purchase a battery there and they will install it for free, Tim

Hello there and thank you for choosing fixya
OK the best way to do this so you dont mess up the electronics in the vehical are as follows
First connect the 2 cables to the vehicle's battery red on positive and black on negative..
Now on the other vehicle the one needing charging. place the red cable on the positive battery post and take the black (negative) cable and place it on the negative battery post
now make sure the key is turned off in the vehicle that needs charging
now start the other vehicle first and leave run for about 30- 45 seconds then attempt to start the vehicle that is needing a charge once it has started quickly remove the cables off of the vehicles and you are good to go simply leave the car running to let the battery charge for at least 10 min ok
Hope this is very helpful for you please do me a favor and give this solution a rating this rating helps our asker's get the best possible solutions
Best regards Michael

The best or more professional way to run the cables is to drill a hole thru the firewall. You need to use wire ties on the cables and route the cables along the factory wiring harness. Try to route to the shortest distance and use a rubber grommet where you have the hole drilled in the firewall. The grommet will keep the cable from getting damaged by the sharp edges of the hole that you drilled. Also the largest possible diameter cable is better because you will get more amperage to the power inverter. Hope this helps :)

nonsense--should be easy according to autozone.com:

3.3L Engine

See Figures 9, 10 and 11

1. Disconnect the negative - battery cable. Raise and safely support the front of the vehicle on jackstands.

Fig. Fig. 9: Disconnect the negative battery cable

1. Remove the three bolts attaching the starter to the engine/transaxle.

Fig. Fig. 10: Remove the three starter mounting bolts

1. Remove the starter from the the transmission housing. Position the starter to gain access to the wiring connectors.
2. Remove the battery positive cable nut from the starter and remove the cable.

Fig. Fig. 11: Remove the battery positive cable nut from the starter and remove the cable

1. Disconnect the push on solenoid connector.
2. Remove the starter from the vehicle.

To install:

1. Clean all wire terminals of dirt, grease or corrosion.
2. Attach the electrical wire connectors and secure with the mounting nuts. Tighten the starter solenoid B+ nut to 90 inch lbs. (10 Nm) and the solenoid wire-to-starter nut to 55 inch lbs. (6 Nm).
3. Hold the starter motor in place, then secure in place with the 3 attaching bolts. Tighten the bolts to 40 ft. lbs. (54 Nm).
4. Lower the vehicle.
5. Connect the negative - battery cable.

3.5L Engine
See Figures 9 and 12

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Raise and support the vehicle.
3. For easier servicing, do not remove the wiring from the starter motor at this time.
4. Remove the three bolts attaching the starter to the engine.

Fig. Fig. 12: Remove the three bolts attaching the starter to the engine

1. Remove the starter solenoid assembly from the transfer housing. Position the starter to gain access to the wiring connectors.
2. Remove the battery positive cable nut from starter and remove the cable.
3. Disconnect the push on solenoid connector.
4. Remove the starter from the vehicle.

To install:

1. Clean all wire terminals of dirt, grease or corrosion.
2. Attach the electrical wire connectors and secure with the mounting nuts. Tighten the starter solenoid B+ nut to 90 inch lbs. (10 Nm) and the solenoid wire-to-starter nut to 55 inch lbs. (6 Nm).
3. Hold the starter motor in place, then secure in place with the 3 attaching bolts. Tighten the bolts to 40 ft. lbs. (54 Nm).
4. Lower the vehicle.
5. Connect the negative battery cable.

Well depending on how you checked them could matter. If you just checked to see if the wires were on good, than you need to do more, take a multi-meter and check if your altenator is putting out the correct voltage and amperage, then check the battery and do the same. Both are reading correctly then check your grounds

If you disconnected the battery cables during the fuel pump work you may have disturbed a not so good connection.
It could be the battery cables, or the terminals.
if they are top mount batt terminals, remove them and scrape the inside of the terminals with a pocket knife, to make sure there is no crust. sometimes they look ok but the crust is a disguise.
take a blade and slice open the cable insulation up by the terminal enough to get a peak at the wire inside to make sure there is no corrosion in the cable under the insulation . If there is white frosty corrosion in there, its best to replace it.
If you cant afford to replace it/them you can strip it back and try cleaning it real good with an alkylin base cleaner like purpe power cleaner
The electrons flow on the outside of the wire, if there is corrosion on the wire it can hinder the current.
also check the ground cable to the engine.