Best place to hardwire a Sat Nav?

[JimmyPop]

I've tried looking through the forum but can't seem to get the answer I'm looking for.

I have a Garmin Nuvi 1200 which sits to my right next to the A-Pillar using the windscreen holder. I like the position but unfortunately it's a pain having to trail the charging cable all the way to the cigarette lighter. I've been trying to work out the best way to hardwire cable so that it is hidden but I'm not sure what the best way to do this is - would I best served trying to feed the charging cable through to the centre console behind the AC controls/radio and wiring it in there or is there a suitable power supply which can be used around the A-Pillar? I suspect I would need to wire it through to the centre console to fit the 12V-5V adaptor.

Also, has anyone had any experience using something like this power supply or would I best to wire in another cigarette lighter socket to use?

 

[dgm]

I posted the following a while back when hardwiring my Snooper Sapphire via the radio power supply.

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4522&start=0

 

[a11y]

Mine's a bit of a bodge job, but only because I don't want to leave the power cable permanently in the car (the plug into the back of my TomTom is veryy fiddly and best left attached). I spliced into the wiring at the rear of the cigarette lighter, fed the wire along the underside of the trim on the centre console, down and under the driver's seat, and tucked under the edge of the driver's door frame to exit (with a flying lead cigarette lighter socket) next to the boot release button. I then just tuck the cable between the door and dash and job done.

I use the same satnav unit in my van so this is easiest.

 

[JimmyPop]

I've decided to use one of the empty fuse slots in the fusebox. Cobbled together a cable using an inline blade fuseholder attached to a cigarette lighter. Just need to find a suitable place for connecting to earth. I plugged it in quickly to see it was working but accidentally didn't secure the earth properly. The cable moved, sparked and blew the fuse in my sat nav charger :?

 

[JimmyPop]

Finally sorted - managed to run the power supply over to the vent to the right of the steering wheel and pull the cable out through there. Very subtle and leaves my sat nav in my ideal position. Hope it doesn't leave me with a new rattle behind the dash though...

 

[spareone3]

Finally sorted - managed to run the power supply over to the vent to the right of the steering wheel and pull the cable out through there. Very subtle and leaves my sat nav in my ideal position. Hope it doesn't leave me with a new rattle behind the dash though...

Hi, did you earth this cable at the fuse box or nearer the driver vent? Did you manage to route the cable without removing too much trim?
TIA

 

[andysat]

Any pics jimmypop mate?

 

[JimmyPop]

Sorry, never took any photos when it was apart.

Finally sorted - managed to run the power supply over to the vent to the right of the steering wheel and pull the cable out through there. Very subtle and leaves my sat nav in my ideal position. Hope it doesn't leave me with a new rattle behind the dash though...

Hi, did you earth this cable at the fuse box or nearer the driver vent? Did you manage to route the cable without removing too much trim?
TIA

I used an inline fuse holder and earthed it to one of the screws near the glovebox. I fed the cable behind the glovebox and deposited the socket behind the ashtray/roof buttons. From there I fed the charger cable under the steering wheel cowl, up and through one of the vents. Works well!