Sat Nav Hard Wiring

[acetip]

hi all.

for those who have sat navs that require plugging into their cig lighter and wish to modify the wiring to s shorter feed wire (14 inches in my case).then i can post the method ive used.you can buy hard wiring usb kits TOMTOM supply one,but the method i used i think is cheaper and easier.a word of warning DO NOT cut the wire that goes from the cig lighter to the sat nav and connect it to a 12 volt supply,this will cook your device,as the plug that goes in your cig lighter reduces the supply from the 12 volt dowm to 5 volt.

my TOMTOM is the older model 910 its an all dancing all singing one usa/canada/europe maps, so ive seen no reason to change it,but its dimensions are larger than the later models,and tomtom dont make amounting kit for air vents etc for it.in the AURIS,if i mount it on the screen its a too far from the driving position to reach it. i could have got one of those bean bag mounts,but did not fancy that,though some people reckon they are ok,but as ive said the 910 is larger and heavier.so i use one of those stick on the dash pads,which ive put roughly in line with the door mirror on drivers side on the flattest part of the dash.when not in use its covered with a anti slip cloth to hide it.ive also have one of these on the passenger side, just incase the wife or who any one else decide to put anything on the dash and mark the fragile surface.the feed to the TOMTOM is taken from a plug fittd in a adapted switch blank at the bottom of the dash.and as stated this only requires 14 inches of cable.a lot neater.

if any one would like me to post the method i use then i will oblige.

[zetor]

hi all.

for those who have sat navs that require plugging into their cig lighter and wish to modify the wiring to s shorter feed wire (14 inches in my case).then i can post the method ive used.you can buy hard wiring usb kits TOMTOM supply one,but the method i used i think is cheaper and easier.a word of warning DO NOT cut the wire that goes from the cig lighter to the sat nav and connect it to a 12 volt supply,this will cook your device,as the plug that goes in your cig lighter reduces the supply from the 12 volt dowm to 5 volt.

my TOMTOM is the older model 910 its an all dancing all singing one usa/canada/europe maps, so ive seen no reason to change it,but its dimensions are larger than the later models,and tomtom dont make amounting kit for air vents etc for it.in the AURIS,if i mount it on the screen its a too far from the driving position to reach it. i could have got one of those bean bag mounts,but did not fancy that,though some people reckon they are ok,but as ive said the 910 is larger and heavier.so i use one of those stick on the dash pads,which ive put roughly in line with the door mirror on drivers side on the flattest part of the dash.when not in use its covered with a anti slip cloth to hide it.ive also have one of these on the passenger side, just incase the wife or who any one else decide to put anything on the dash and mark the fragile surface.the feed to the TOMTOM is taken from a plug fittd in a adapted switch blank at the bottom of the dash.and as stated this only requires 14 inches of cable.a lot neater.

if any one would like me to post the method i use then i will oblige.

Yes I for one would be interested in how you wired yours, I am planning on mounting mine using a Brodit clip and mount on an air vent and would like some ideas how to hide the cable to the 12v supply.

[acetip]

hi all.

for those who have sat navs that require plugging into their cig lighter and wish to modify the wiring to s shorter feed wire (14 inches in my case).then i can post the method ive used.you can buy hard wiring usb kits TOMTOM supply one,but the method i used i think is cheaper and easier.a word of warning DO NOT cut the wire that goes from the cig lighter to the sat nav and connect it to a 12 volt supply,this will cook your device,as the plug that goes in your cig lighter reduces the supply from the 12 volt dowm to 5 volt.

my TOMTOM is the older model 910 its an all dancing all singing one usa/canada/europe maps, so ive seen no reason to change it,but its dimensions are larger than the later models,and tomtom dont make amounting kit for air vents etc for it.in the AURIS,if i mount it on the screen its a too far from the driving position to reach it. i could have got one of those bean bag mounts,but did not fancy that,though some people reckon they are ok,but as ive said the 910 is larger and heavier.so i use one of those stick on the dash pads,which ive put roughly in line with the door mirror on drivers side on the flattest part of the dash.when not in use its covered with a anti slip cloth to hide it.ive also have one of these on the passenger side, just incase the wife or who any one else decide to put anything on the dash and mark the fragile surface.the feed to the TOMTOM is taken from a plug fittd in a adapted switch blank at the bottom of the dash.and as stated this only requires 14 inches of cable.a lot neater.

if any one would like me to post the method i use then i will oblige.

Yes I for one would be interested in how you wired yours, I am planning on mounting mine using a Brodit clip and mount on an air vent and would like some ideas how to hide the cable to the 12v supply.

hi zetor.

is your sat nav a tomtom as mine is as wiring precausions i used may not apply.

[zetor]

hi zetor.

is your sat nav a tomtom as mine is as wiring precausions i used may not apply.

I have a Tom Tom GO630, I was just wondering if you were able to hide the cable from the TT to the power supply.

[acetip]

hi zetor.

is your sat nav a tomtom as mine is as wiring precausions i used may not apply.

I have a Tom Tom GO630, I was just wondering if you were able to hide the cable from the TT to the power supply.

hi zetor

sorry for not getting back earlier but had big pc problems.

only difference to your tomtom wiring is you have a usb connection at the sat nav where mine is a jack plug.so much the same.

some cars have a power outlet provided for things like i-pods etc that have 5 volt outlets so all is needed is to get a usb connector (maplins) and fit it to the power socket lead.thats if is in a conveniet place.

i had a choice off fitting a usb/jackplug connector or a plug and socket to the switch blank,i opted for the plug and socket,you can get this on www.cbsonline.co.uk if ou click on the pdf option the scroll down to page 80 its at the bottom.i then purchased a socket adaptor from maplins, part no FE42V.

if you have a vice then things are a lot easier.i marked off the DEAD CENTRE of the blank (very inportent) and drilled with a pilot hole,best use a hand drill,the hole size is reccomended to be 18mm but the largest i had was 13.5mm.after the pilot hole i gradually in increased the hole with bigger drills till i reached the 13 .5mm one.

if you find your largest drill wont fit in your hand drill just hold the drill in the vice and twist the blank on the drill.i found the nut for the socket (which you cant use)is the same size across the flats as the blanks width is

handy i put the blank in the vice with the nut centerised and used a round file to open it up.this does not give you the 18mm cos of the threas in the nut,i then filed some more untill with pressure i could screw the socket thread into the blank, i put a little glue on the thread to secure it.making sure the hinge on the dust cap was central.

the plug has screw conections but i found these very small so opted for soldering them.make sure the plastic cover is on first before wiring.becarefull when stripping back insulation from the 3 wires as the white sensor wire is small diameter,making sure the pos wire (red)and the white wires are twisted together well.when the wiring is done to stop any chance of these wires being pulled loose i fitted a small TY WRAP cable loosly and cut the tail back just leaving enough to get a pair of pliers on then i then pushed the cover on and screwed up.the unscrewed the cover and tightened the TY WRAP cut off the tail as close as possible.

as the hole in the cover is much larger than the cable i mixed a bit of araldite and put it around the cable hole,when it dried it blended in so you would hardly notice it was there.

the adaptor socket for the pos and neg feed has to be soldered bit fiddly.when done push charger plug into adaptor and secure in place with insulation tape so the dont come apart.i forgot to mention.fit you sat nav in its usual place and judge where you need to cut the charger cable to reach you chosen blank spot,add a little for safety.

the switch panel right to the bottom of the dash is removable be brave and start at the bottom of the dash near bonnet catch.(see page 28 in handbook)it helps if you remove all the switches first,dont use a screwdriver but a thin small kitchen knife covered with a handkerchief (thin and strong).

i fitted the charger to a vertical metal strut inside the dash with a TY-WRAP the earth wire i twisted around a harness at the back of that dash that goes down behind the plastic trim in the footwell,just pulls off.there is an earthing point already there to wire.

i fitted insulated spade connectors to the charger cable then connected it to the blank socket,then coiled up the rest of the cable from the charger and secured it to a horizontal strut joined to thje vertical one and again using a TY-WRAP.the pos lead i connected to the grey wire on the multi connector for the door mirror switch its nearest the end of the connector.this gives a feed with ign or acc on.i made sure when refitting the panel the wires would not foul anything.before connecting the tomtom i checked at the dash socket first then the jack plug into the tomtom

to see that i was getting the 5 volt required,i did this with a borrowed volt meter.the door mirors are covered by a 7.5 anp fuse,the tomtom by a 2 amp fuse in the charger,but for peace of mind i fitted a 3 amp inline fuse to the feed (pos) to the charger.i think that covers it all.

i anm attempting for the first time to load some photos on here so if they dont show put it down to a siily old git.

the tomtom only takes milli amps when in use so will not overload your wiring.

sorry cant upload pics for some reason.only managed one