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Tapping into a 12v source at the dash
- Thread starter warrenpfo
- Start date
The cig lighter is a good'un for sure but will go on & off with the ignition & found this effected my GPS sometimes crashing/rebooting it 
So I bought a dedicated hard wired mini USB power supply for mine found a permanent supply in the loom below the steering coulomb & hard wired it in through a small local fuse & an illuminated switch 
You can often find a permanent live in the wiring loom feeding the radio very easily 
So I bought a dedicated hard wired mini USB power supply for mine found a permanent supply in the loom below the steering coulomb & hard wired it in through a small local fuse & an illuminated switch You can often find a permanent live in the wiring loom feeding the radio very easily
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The best place to tap into a live feed is at the battery, via a fuse of course. These things have a habit of multiplying and before you know it you'll have several devices running off a wire of unknown capacity if you just tap into something that shows positive under the dash. It's easy to get a wire from the battery into the cabin on a 100 as well so there's no excuse 
What he said. Pull in a decent feed and earth and run an auxiliary fuse box under the dash so everything has it's own earth leakage. Online autoelectric places do some great kits ...
A dedicated supply from the battery is a nice thing to have, but it's a bit OTT for a silly little 0.5amp supply for a SAT Nav isn't it 
I'd just pull the radio out, find the permanent live feed for the memory & use that So long as your very careful with the installation either soldering & heat shrinking as required or using the correct size insulation displacement connectors & a local fuse appropriately sized for the supply to the SAT NAV all will be absolutely fine Oh & use plenty of good quality insulation tape to secure all of the new cabling along existing looms etc keeping it all well clear of any sharp edges or moving parts such as the steering columb or pedals or heater controls
I've fed my SAT NAV from off of the permanent live feed to the radio using a 2amp local fuse for protection
I'd just pull the radio out, find the permanent live feed for the memory & use that So long as your very careful with the installation either soldering & heat shrinking as required or using the correct size insulation displacement connectors & a local fuse appropriately sized for the supply to the SAT NAV all will be absolutely fine Oh & use plenty of good quality insulation tape to secure all of the new cabling along existing looms etc keeping it all well clear of any sharp edges or moving parts such as the steering columb or pedals or heater controls I've fed my SAT NAV from off of the permanent live feed to the radio using a 2amp local fuse for protection
I find running a wire from the battery is quicker than taking your dash apart, hunting for and tapping into a wire and then putting your dash back together Modern vehicles have very little spare capacity in their wiring and some of it is barely adequate for the job it was designed for never mind additional loads. Just offering my opinion though.
Modern vehicles have very little spare capacity in their wiring and some of it is barely adequate for the job it was designed for never mind additional loads. Just offering my opinion though.
warrenpfo
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2010
- Messages
- 2,895
Jon
Would this do:
http://www.mobilecentre.co.uk/blue-sea- ... p-324.html
Or is it over the top or not good enough?
Would this do:
http://www.mobilecentre.co.uk/blue-sea- ... p-324.html
Or is it over the top or not good enough?
If you have quite a few devices you plan to power and all would be from some central position where that fuse box would go then it would 'do' but you may find it's more than you really need right now If you just want to power your GPS for now but build in some future proofing I really was just suggesting a wire from the battery via a maxi fuse close to the battery to a convenient point in the cab and then power your GPS from that. Then when you're ready to get fancy you can add a fuse box and power multiple devices. Fairly quick and simple to do and can be built on later.
If you just want to power your GPS for now but build in some future proofing I really was just suggesting a wire from the battery via a maxi fuse close to the battery to a convenient point in the cab and then power your GPS from that. Then when you're ready to get fancy you can add a fuse box and power multiple devices. Fairly quick and simple to do and can be built on later.
