[stevedolce]

i've got a GPS that i want to hardwire power for..is there a way to take the 12V power supply and hard wire it? i ASSUME i can tap into a hot wire and solder it to the positive tip of the 12v supply(the part that would plug into the cig lighter) and the black to the ground? or am i missing something?

 

[venom]

It's easier to goto an autoparts store and pick up a spare cig lighter socket and splice the wires into your existing lighter, plug it into the GPS and tuck the whole shebang under the top piece of the center stack.
That way if you ever need to remove it for something, you can unplug it and take it out since you don't molest the plug for the GPS :mr-t:

 

[stevedolce]

so i assume on the back of the cig lighter socket i buy, there will be a hot and a ground? i splice the hot into the red wire and tie the ground to the body of the jeep somewhere>

 

[venom]

yup, that's how I did it
used 3M sire tap connectors to tap into the wires coming off of the factory lighter

 

[stevedolce]

is there an accessory fusebox i need to pull fuse from when i make cnnection? the only box i found with the main one under hood next to battery..

 

[venom]

I just tapped right into the factory wires
theyre still fused on the lighter fuse

 

[MichaelW]

I got the auxillary port for my Garmin. It had bare wire leads on one end then a plug to the Garmin on the other. I used one of my switches to power or not the garmin and the other data connections to plug to my scanner so it will switch towers and systems depneding on where I am according to the GPS. :smokin:

 

[venom]

I had to pull my GPS out to use it in the zoo tahoe today
just popped the dash top off and unplugged it

 

[2K1TJ]

Be careful!

I read on the other forum that a member did this and fried his GPS! That model only required like 4 or 5 volts and he wired it to the vehicle's 12v. I guess there's a convertor(or whatever it's called) built in to the factory plug???

 

[venom]

thats why I used the cig plug that came with the gps and just essentially made a hidden plug for it

 

[Roklimo]

Be careful!

I read on the other forum that a member did this and fried his GPS! That model only required like 4 or 5 volts and he wired it to the vehicle's 12v. I guess there's a convertor(or whatever it's called) built in to the factory plug???

My Garmin Nuvi 760 adapter that plugs into the cig lighter has a circuit board and about 6 wires that go to the GPS. My solution was to buy a 12v receptacle and wire it into the back of the switched power receptacle in the dash (like Venom stated above). Then I routed it up above the drivers visor. This also retains the fuse built into the plug. Here's some pics...

 

[Ipe]

Thats a nice, clean installation you've done Roklimo. I've got a GPSMap60Cx so I'm not all that familiar with the Nuvi. Why do you have it plugged into your aux port? Audio for turn by turn? MP3's? :bounce: Swedish midget tossing? :innocent: :laughing:

 

[Ipe]

OBTW - When I added a hard wire for my GPSMap60Cx I just added a cig lighter adapter inside the dash. It was the easiest way to do it.

 

[Roklimo]

Thats a nice, clean installation you've done Roklimo. I've got a GPSMap60Cx so I'm not all that familiar with the Nuvi. Why do you have it plugged into your aux port? Audio for turn by turn? MP3's? :bounce: Swedish midget tossing? :innocent: :laughing:

All of the above...except the midget tossing thing.:laughing::laughing::laughing:

It does bluethooth with my phone, and has a media player. I have about a thousand MP3's jammed on a 4gb SDHC card that I listen to on it. I have also listened to audio books on it. The aux in works much better than any crappy FM transmitter...

 

[1TallJKer]

Definately stick with the cig plug, unless you want to pull it apart and use the internals.

There is a small circuit board inside the lighter plug that steps down the voltage and keeps you from frying your GPS.

You can take apart the plug, pull out the circuit board and connect that to your power source, but I would advise against doing that unless you know what you are doing.

The same holds true for any item that uses a cigarette lighter plug.

 

[Dustoff '68]

So when your GPS finally fries, what's the point...I see nothing wrong with the old fashioned way charge her up, hook her up, turn her on, when she starts dying (the battery), just re-charge her...why all the drama...???

 

[Roklimo]

So when your GPS finally fries, what's the point...I see nothing wrong with the old fashioned way charge her up, hook her up, turn her on, when she starts dying (the battery), just re-charge her...why all the drama...???

No drama. I use it every day, for hands free phone use, and listening to music. The navigation is secondary. Just don't want all those loose wires hanging everywhere. If the GPS "fries", then I will use the same receptacle I installed to plug in the next one.

Besides, if I wanted to do it "the old fashioned way" I wouldn't have bought a JK. I would be sporting a 65hp CJ2A with no top or passenger seat.:laughing2::laughing2::laughing2:

 

[Dustoff '68]

Bubble heads...always have a way with words...must be that nitrogen overload...:thefinger::beer:

 

[Ipe]

I've been running my GPS powered off a hidden cig outlet for months and did the same in a previous vehicle as well. I considered cutting the plug off and getting fancy but decided that it wasn't worth it and the chances to screw up were too great.

This is my install:

Everything in place:

Hard mounted base plate with power and antenna cables

Cradle mounted in base with power and antenna cables

 

[Alec W]

OBTW - When I added a hard wire for my GPSMap60Cx I just added a cig lighter adapter inside the dash. It was the easiest way to do it.

I just cut the cig plug off and hard wired it with a 3 amp fuse. It's been fine for years (had it wired the same way in my last truck too).