Hardwire a charger

[ginner]

Morning,

 

Im looking a running a tablet in my car, on a non permanent basis (just velcro tape for the minute at least).

 

I use my phone in the one USB slot that my head unit has, so to power the tablet I want to hard wire a charger into the car.

 

To do so what is it that i need?

 

Read through a lot of tablet install threads, but cant quite determine what i need.

 

I want to run the power from the cigarette lighter in the passenger footwell, assuming that only powers up when the ignition is on?

 

Cheers

 

Dan

[d95gas]

You could use something like THIS hardwire kit which will make the job neater, straight forward job

[ZMANALEX]

Just installed one of these at the weekend to allow extended mapping time as my lap top battery is not the best.

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-12v-modified-sinewave-300w-inverter-n66ju

[ZMANALEX]

[ginner]

Im look for something more discreet i can wire in along these lines:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DURAGADGET-Quality-Hardwire-Satnavs-Tablets/dp/B008OVL2VI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_263_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=415njTeDxiL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=R1TQQP5730XMFHEVNQRX

 

But not sure if thats what i need?

 

Definitely see the merits of the USB one though, but at this point cant see the need as the existing tablet and phone i have will cover everything i need off, and only installing the tablet as i had it lying around, and want to run the torque app or something similar.

 

Cheers

 

Dan

[Hodaka]

Im look for something more discreet i can wire in along these lines:

 

https://www.amazon.c...P5730XMFHEVNQRX

 

But not sure if thats what i need?

 

If it were me, yeah I think I'd go for something like that and use a piggy back fuse tap to tap into the driver's side fuse box. You can run the cables behind the trim up to the centre console quite easily.

 

You'd need to use a volt meter to find an appropriate fuse location - if I remember correctly I think you're looking for the ACC (accessories) fuses?

Edited August 15, 2016 by Hodaka

[ginner]

So i use the piggy back fuse to replace the one for the cigarette lighter, put the original fuse in for the lighter circuit then fuse the power to the table. Then find a grounding point for the negative side?

[Hodaka]

So i use the piggy back fuse to replace the one for the cigarette lighter, put the original fuse in for the lighter circuit then fuse the power to the table. Then find a grounding point for the negative side?

 

Yeah that should work. I'm pretty sure you can piggy back any of the fuses, as long as it comes on when you need it to.

 

Thinking about it, I did something similar for my dash cam. Here's a pic of my driver's side fusebox, with the trim removed:

 

• Piggy back fuse is the one with the yellow fuse (circle #1)
  
• This goes to the positive (red) wire of the converter, which is the black box to the right of the black conduit (circle #2)
  
• Black wire goes to ground as you mentioned. In this particular case, I used a nut I found just above the fuse box. I undid it and used a crimp ring terminal to attach the ground wire. You can just about see the nut (circle #3)
  

One thing to note when using the piggy back fuse taps, is that orientation does matter. It shouldn't be detrimental, but if you insert it the wrong way, the original fuse will carry the current for the new circuit as well. So depending on how much current the new circuit draws, it could lead to the original fuse blowing.

 

Here's a simple pic I found online when I was doing it. The live side should be the left side.

 

 

Easy way of checking it would be to stick in the piggy back fuse tap without the original fuse. If you've orientated it correctly, your new circuit (tablet) should receive power, whereas if you've got it the wrong way around it won't. Once you know which way to orientate it, don't forget to stick the original fuse back in

 

Although I would double check on your own car, from my pic above, it looks like the top row of fuses has the live (12v) on the bottom side.

 

Hopefully that makes sense?

Edited August 15, 2016 by Hodaka

[ginner]

Brilliant, thanks ever so much for your help!

[Hodaka]

No problem. Just post back on here if you have more questions

 

Oh and if you plan to buy the piggy back fuse taps from that link, please double check the mini fuses are the correct ones for the driver's side fuse box. I'm pretty sure they are, but I bought both the standard and mini ones when I bought them, as I was in a rush and was too lazy to check!