Hey,

With the imminent incoming of my new phone which, from the price of it, I will be keeping for quite a while. I'm thinking of buying a proper phone mount and integrated charger (likely Brodit) rather than the 3.99 'clips on to air vent' holder I have.

Ideally I want one with the charger built in, but thanks to the mental positioning of the cigarette lighter, having a charger plugged in makes using the handbrake and gearstick rather difficult. So I'm looking at hardwiring through a blank dash switch to some form of power.

My main concerns are:

a) It's been 10 years since GCSE Electronics, and I'm pretty much more than rusty

I know nothing about car electronics, nor where I can grab power from in the Furby - I'm thinking the HU must have a 12v I can use?

c) As it's obviously going to come with a cigarette lighter adapter I'm assuming this means I can't simply lop off the end and wire directly into a live 12v feed? Will there be some form of transformer in the cigarette plug stepping it down from 12v which I'll have to preserve? And if so, anyone know the best way to do that?

Not even got the phone yet, so it's all speculation, and if it seems too much of an ****,then I'll just not bother. But any advice is greatly appreciated.

Here is mine i was on about Mort.

Its a Brodit holder, and a Dashmount bracket.

It runs off the headunit, and has Nokia Bluetooth set up too.

Hey, cheers. Couple of quick ones: Is the cable that goes into the phone part of the Bluetooth kit or the holder? And is it attached to the holder or do you connect it up independently of the holder?

It's mainly the wiring into the HU that I'm stuck on. In an ideal world I'd snip the whole cigarette adapter off the end and wire it straight into the 12v to the stereo. But I'm assuming 12v is too much for the phone as my home charger gives 5.7v @ 800mA, which means I need to keep the end on and wire in a cigarette socket (and find space for that bulk hidden behind the HU) or figure some other way.

If that cable goes straight onto the ISO connector it could be an easier way?

The cable goes straight into ISO, and it was part of the Brodit holder, the Nokia bit is just an add on.

Yeah, just looked into it. Brodit don't do a holder for my phone that's compatible with a carkit cable. And I'm not entirely sure that carkit is compatible with the phone from looking on the Nokia site?

Think I'm stuck with looking for a way to manually connect up the charger from the Active Brodit Holder. :(

N95 isnt it?

Hmm...i think they have a different charging port to my N73 thats why....

Feck the Nokia, just get and iPhone, and a Parrot....looks like a good set up from what ive seen!

More often than not there is a transformer in the plug.

I'd wire in a hidden ciggy ligher socket behind the dash so you don't have to butcher your phone charger.

The fave for me would be do like i have and have the wire run down the side of the cubby hole (Ive cut the corner off mine, both sides, one for phone one for iPod..)

Then wire a Aux Socket into your glovebox.

That way its hidden, and tidy.

More often than not there is a transformer in the plug.

I'd wire in a hidden ciggy ligher socket behind the dash so you don't have to butcher your phone charger.

I think this is my only option - just need to find enough space somewhere behind the dash to mount it all.

Either way I'll have to butcher the charger. Neither end comes off and I'd want the cable to go through the blank switch neatly. That means a snip and a re-solder on t'other side. Quite sad when it's a 35 quid item :(

I want the vent mount, as I need it high and central so I can use TomTom on the phone which means I can't really use the cubby hole to route the cable - will need to go in above the HU somewhere.

I don't really need a carkit, I have a BT headset if I need handsfree, I just want it to 'autocharge' when it's in the cradle - TomTom drinks battery and it's just easier than whipping out the charger and trying to hook the cable in the lid of the storage compartment, so it's not in the way of the gearstick, whenever I want to charge my phone.

And the iPod isn't a good enough phone to tempt me. I'm waiting for Gen2.

I got a brodit active holder and mounting bracket that goes over the air vent. Dead easy to fit just took the power from the switched live on the back of the radio (not the permanent live), I just used one of those scotchlock connector thingies. Got the extra cable for the holder which means I can charge my GPS receiver too. The wires come out through the blank switch next to the fuel flap switch. The only problem I had was getting the little box with the Brodit holder in above the radio and still getting the radio in.

Now I have a bluetooth car kit (courtesey of Wardy) and there is far too much wire behind the stereo. Oh well it works at least.

Just noticed your just up the road from me too...

Why not drill the hole for the cable in the corner of the blank, so the switch could be removed, pop the cable in and the swich can go back over the top with no need to bodge the charger

I got a brodit active holder and mounting bracket that goes over the air vent. Dead easy to fit just took the power from the switched live on the back of the radio (not the permanent live), I just used one of those scotchlock connector thingies. Got the extra cable for the holder which means I can charge my GPS receiver too. The wires come out through the blank switch next to the fuel flap switch. The only problem I had was getting the little box with the Brodit holder in above the radio and still getting the radio in.

Did you chop off the cigarette bit then? or wire in a new socket for it? Any Photos?

To Tom: that would almost kill me with my semi-OCD. I need a hole in the centre of the blank that is the exact diameter of the cable. Otherwise I'd do my nut in!

Here are a couple of pictures from my car, apologies for the quality but my phone is crap in the dark.

Hope this gives some idea of what it looks like. I haven't bothered putting the switch blank back because I tuck the gps cable back in their.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm looking to do (with the blank though) I just need to figure out how to wire the power. Did your Holder come with a cable with a cigarette adapter on the end? or was it a different plug?

Here is mine i was on about Mort.

Its a Brodit holder, and a Dashmount bracket.

It runs off the headunit, and has Nokia Bluetooth set up too.

nice slippers!!!

My Brodit holder came with bare wires, you need to add a fuse and then I connected it through the power supply to the radio - I used the switched supply so it only works when the ignition is on. If you use those scotchlock connector thingies you don't need to actually cut any wires. Whole job took about half an hour.

VRStu has a wiring diagram on his website you can use to work out which wires to use for the power.

Yeah, just worried about the voltage going through it. Phone turned up today and the charger chucks out 5v @ 800mA. Not sure of the current from the HU, but 12v is a lot more than 5 to be throwing directly into the phone :(

Why not take apart the cigarete adapter end of the charger (you should be able to un-screw something off the tip of the charger then un-do a screw or somthing and should come apart).... then de-solder the wire coming off it and stick that through your whole in the balnk switch.

Then re-solder the wire back in then get yourself one of these:

Cigarette Lighter Extension

Then chop the male end off the extension and wire it into a switched live behind your dash and obviously earth it... then just plug your phone charger into the female end and tuck it all away and jobs a good 'n' you won't of had to totally wreck your charger and your phone will be charged when your ignition is on!

That's the plan, but I think the adapter has a moulded connection, so there'll be some cutting anyway if it's connected to the outside of the cable. My current charger is like this: I'd have to cut the wire or at least the 'nipple' on the entry to the adapter. My current Nokia car-charger is also glued together, and not screwed, so taking it apart would be more of a 'controlled destruction' if it's the same design. :(

Keeping the adapter on the end is the way I'll have to go - with a socket like the one you linked to. It's just finding the room now. As that'll be a large bulk (say, 6in x 1.5in) to fit above the HU behind the dash, plus the actual wiring. And having never taken the HU out, I don't know what space is available. It may be easy?

From what i understand it can be an a*se to get the stereo out of the fabia! But there should be anough room to have a cable running down to the back of stereo and then have the adapter running sort of length ways behind the blank switches.

Think it will be a matter of opening her up and paying it by ere!!

The Brodit active holders are specific to the phone and output the correct voltage etc, there is a little box connected to it that presumably sorts out the voltage and handily has a little red light to tell you it's working.

Yeah, but I can't chop off the cigarette adapter and wire into the 12v line; It's just a normal power jack on the phone end, so all voltage stuff gets sorted in the adapter. So means I need to either keep the adapter on, or open it and re-house it using a 12v line instead of a cigarette socket. Which will be neater, and possibly smaller. Hmmm

if you take the cigarette lighter plug apart, you should see a small circuit board. One wire will be connected a small metal pin, this is your + supply. The other will be going to the little tabs that surroung and grip into the socket, this is the ground or - connection. What you need to do is modify this, inserting an inline fuse into the + supply and connect to the switched 12v feed in the car.

What ampage fuse would you recommend?

If that is a brodit one there should be an option for one for permanent installation with a molex connector. I think it might cost a bit more but you won't need to butcher it.

With the fag lighter version there should be a fuse located in the end of the charger, you should be able to unscrew the end and there will be a glass fuse inside.

What phone have you got by the way?