MarkH

That is the correct spot. It is fairly high up and as I said I removed mine, drilled and then replaced it, but its hard to get out with 4 clips on it and mine popped out (I was working alone) and fell into the cover under the engine that I had to fish out). If you shine a light from the inside you should be able to find it looking in the engine compartment (preferably a dark environment) to see if there is anything in front of it. There wasn't on mine, but you should drill slow just to be sure. You need to have 3 hands to do this it seems.

I put in an ICOM IC-208H. Added 45amp PowerPole connectors onto the provided unit wiring. Due to fuse size I had to backfeed the wire from the engine compartment into the vehicle through the 3/4 inch hole I drilled through the white cap. Used a pre-made short cable (ring terminal to powerpoles) from battery to the unit wire. I console mounted it (still plenty of leg room) on the driver side with speaker side out (don't need an external spkr that way). Used a Larsen 2/70 trunk mount on driver side of trunk lid and fed cable behind felt, down side of back seat and along door sill passing under driver seat to console. I could have remoted the control head to the front of the coin box, but decided against it. As your Yaesu has the mic connected to the control head that probaby wouldn't be practical. If you send an email to cheltonpei@yahoo.com I'll try to send some photos.

I popped the plastic cap out (not easy as you have to push on 4 clips simultaneously) and drilled a 3/4" hole through the center (easier out of the car) and run the wire through with a grommet. I should put some RTV or other sealant around it as well to make sure water doesn't get in, but haven't gotten to that part yet. Its pretty tight with the grommet, but not completely water-tight. I have not had any issues yet as its pretty high up on the firewall. A word of warning. I did this myself and when I popped out being under the dashboard it dropped down onto the panel underneath the engine. After much swearing and fishing with a coat hanger I was able to retrieve it, drill the hole and pop back in. In hindsight I should have had someone reach down it it behind the battery and hold/catch it.

I use a heavy bean bag type mount (its around $30) and put it right on the dashtop compartment cover (never use that space to store anything) and run the plug right down the side of the center stack to the cigar plug. Its reachable, easily removable and I haven't lost it yet on any sharp turns. There are no telltale suction cup rings.

I have the 2010 Ford Fusion SE and in the process of installing an amatuer radio. I have been trying to figure out how to pass a 10 gauge wire pair from the cabin to the battery. I see a semi-punched oval above the wiring grommet, so if the 2010 is like the 2009 according to prior replies I should be able to remove the oval and then there is a cap to push or drill through and that should be a safe location. Can anyone confirm this for the 2010 model before I start pulling things off and any other helpful hints?