Garmin SatNav and hard wiring...

[webchem]

Okay here is a quick question...

I have a Garmin Nuvi SatNav - before anyone says its pants, its not, although I do wish I had waited a couple of months and bought the widescreen version...

On my previous car (a Volvo 850), the cigarette lighters were only live when the ignition was on. On my lovely Audi A6 they are live ALL the time. This means that the little LED is running on the 12 socket permanently if I leave it plugged in (which is preferable).

1. How easy is it to hardwire into the 12V system so I don't have to keep plugging and unplugging?
2. If this is tough, is it possible to change the set-up of the cig-lighter so that it only works when the ignition is on.

I know LED's take up tiny amounts of current, but I just don't like the idea of it being on all the time. The plug does get warm (although not tested this when not under load).

Sorry turned into long thread...

:1zhelp:

[KiwiA6]

Hi Julian,

Not sure about the 2001, but on my '98 it was dead easy - I've just wired a reversing camera monitor in.

The fuses on mine are located on the right hand end of the dash - behind a cover visible when you open the drivers door. It was simple to get in behind here and locate a fuse that is switched by the ignition. I just soldered a splice into the fused side of that feed, and away I went! From memory, I think it was the heaters for the washers.

Good luck.

[webchem]

How did you get to the fused side of the feed, or am I being thick?

Does the fuse box tray slide out somehow?

Don't really want to start de-attaching and re-attaching stuff unless I have to. It does look like there are a couple of clips...

[KiwiA6]

It's actually not too bad, but if you are unsure it should be a cheap job for an Auto Electrician to sort for you.

Sorry for the huge post, but I have tried to make it simple - not sure what your level of DIY mechanic is!

It is actually much easier than it sounds - you may surprise yourself! :Blush:

Here's how to do it on mine - hopefully your model is similar:


Remove the half-circle fuse box cover - found on the end of the dash. In fact, it looks like the end of the dash itself, but you will find a small slot to prise it open with a screwdriver. Take care not to damage the dash.
There is a small piece of trim that goes just above the steering wheel. This should just pull straight off - it is held on the back by two fairly strong spring clips; a good tug should remove it.
You will see two screws now exposed, that hold the lower dash panel in place. Remove these.
There are two more screws in the footwell holding the bottom of the panel. Remove these.
The last screw is behind the fuse box cover you removed in step 1, near the top of the dash. There is a hole you can pass your screwdriver through to get to the last hole.
The entire lower panel will now hinge down. Pull it away from the pedals to release it from the two retaining clips.
You will need to disconnect the wires that feed the footwell lights - this is just a plug.
Remove the lower panel and store it on the back seat.
You can now see all the wires on the back of the wiring loom.All of the above will only take you 2 minutes.

Now, you need to identify what wire you want to use. To do this, you need a small circuit tester - basically a probe with a light in the handle. These are available from any auto shop and are cheap as.

The probe will have a wire with and alligator clip on it. Attach this to any good earth - I used a bolt head holding the dash in place.

The other end of the probe is generally sharp for piercing through wire insulation. However, try and avoid doing this, as it leaves a hole which can start corrosion in the wire, and cause a failure at a later date.

Instead, use the point to probe the fuses themselves. You can actually do this part before removing the panel, as you are now working on the 'customer' side of the fuse panel.

For your application, you will only need a 5 amp fuse, so start touching your probe to the small area of metal showing on the back of the fuse. When you get a live wire, the bulb in the probe will light up.

You now need to locate a 5A fuse that is on a switched feed - i.e. one that goes out when you switch the key off. It will really help you later if you can find one that is on the outer edge of the fuse box, not in the middle of all the fuses. I was able to use one on the top row that is for the heated windscreen washers.

Once you have located that, you need to work out which side of the circuit is the side protected by the fuse. To do that, remove the fuse and then test each side of the fuse holder with the key turned on. Whichever side DOES NOT light up is the side you want to join in to. On mine, it was the side towards the rear of the car.

Now that you have identified the circuit, you need to join in to the wire on the back.

This can be quite tricky, as there are a lot of wires and they are quite short. Try and avoid using the 'vampire' style plastic joiners that crimp over the wire - they are cheap and easy to use, but they are a poor electrical connection and can cause issues later. They are also not good when the wires you are joining are different diameters.

I soldered my wire in. I actually had to join a short piece of wire in to the existing one to make it longer, as when I cut it the tension on it pulled the ends apart.

Once you have made the join, cover it well with heat shrink or good insulation tape to avoid it shorting.

This will now have given you your live, switched feed to your device. Of course, you still need to decide how you are mounting the unit itself.

The easiest way could be to just get another cigarette lighter from an accessory shop, and mount that on the lower dash panel. This means you can still unplug the unit and remove it from the car.

If you do this, then all you need to do is connect your live feed to one side of the lighter, and run a wire from the other side to a good earth point.

Job done!

Good luck. :beerchug:

[webchem]

Wow thanks mate - thats a post and a half!

I will have a look this week sometime and report back - or I might chicken out and ask a Sparky to have a go...

Cheers

Julian

:beerchug: