Ive recently bought a windscreen mount phone holder and have mounted it on the right hand side of the windscreen above the dash.

My question is would it be possible to run a phone charger lead from the fuse box below up to this position on the right of the steering wheel..?

I have a 12v phone charger and presumably there are some transformers or electronics in this which would maybe need to hidden in the fuse box as well

Anyone done something similar?

Ive recently bought a windscreen mount phone holder and have mounted it on the right hand side of the windscreen above the dash.

My question is would it be possible to run a phone charger lead from the fuse box below up to this position on the right of the steering wheel..?

I have a 12v phone charger and presumably there are some transformers or electronics in this which would maybe need to hidden in the fuse box as well

Anyone done something similar?

If you want to avoid wiring, get an extension lead. I had one running from the socket to under the rear of the driver's seat. The lead (from my satnav in this case), then plugged into this, was tucked under the trim along the sill, tucked behind the trim behind the bonnet release handle and then run vertically up the leading edge of the fuse box cover (on the outside). Worked really well and couldn't be spotted once installed.

Or got to your local Halfords and butter up the guy at the Ripspeed desk and ask him if you can have one of the "Satnav hardwire kits" - its and aux lighter socket that you wire onto the switched live at the back of the radio and an earth cable and hide the socket under the dash - you the feed the phone charger cable under the dash and up the trim on the side of the dash where the fuse box is!

Sounds like some fun ideas to play around with.. When I get some time this weekend I will have a play around and let you know which solution I go with.

Cheers for the suggestions guys

Easy. Use extension cig lighter. Pull up center console. Cut off plug and join to existing socket wires. Run cable to front; up behind console on n/s. Cut hole in rear of glovebox and fix socket in. Had mine like this for a couple of years. No problems and nothing to see or move about for use. Satnav wire fits though side of glovebox lid.

HTH

I was going to run a 12v from a switched wire on the back of the headunit (non standard pioneer) and poke the wire through under the steering wheel and run it up the side of the driver side door and then into my phone..

Is a 12v from the back of the headunit a safe bet or should I aim to put a new wire into the fusebox on the driver side?

Funny that you should post this today when I am looking at doing the same. Rather than doing it the hard way like this, I think I'll try hard wiring a USB female extension cable and run it into the glove box from behind? That way I have a more universal plug I can use for an MP3 player, Satnav, PSP or whatever.

I'm no electrician though, so I'd need to be pretty confident that I was doing the right thing before attacking it. If you could provide some photos of how you complete the job, that would be top banana.

I couldn't find any threads on getting to the switched live behind the headunit, has it been done here?

EDIT: Googling leads me to something like this being an ideal solution. It'll add another fused circuit to the car by plugging into the fuse box. Just need to find a fuse that turns on or off with the car as you need. The existing cigarette lighter circuit perhaps? Running suitable wire from that device to a stripped-out 12v -> 5v USB car charger to step the voltage properly insulated etc., or in your case a car charger built for whatever you want to charge?

Fuse box -> 'Add-a-circuit' -> Your device/generic USB cigarette lighter adapter-> device to be charged.

Could anyone with electronic knowledge better than mine think why that wouldn't work?

Edited 5 March, 200917 yr by Domokun

Is there a fuse socket ready for the estates 12v socket in the back or is it run off the same fuse as the front socket?

With regards to the power to the headunit.. It is only on when the key is in and the ignition is on.. That means it is switched. My plan was to get an extension wire such as Cigar Lighter Plug Extension Lead and snip off the male end, splice into the headunit power cable and connect the live from the extension to this power cable and then run the whole thing over the right hand side of the car.

Behind the trim I could then just plug my existing charger into it and charge the phone!

The alternative would be for me to somehow take a feed out of the fusebox and run it up which would avoid the issues of trapsing cable across the whole car.

Could anyone post a pic of the fuseboard circling a point where I could get a 12v feed and a ground?

Thanks!