So I'm getting my headliner replaced as well as the visors. I also have a couple of Parrot Minkitt 2 bluetooth to phone dialers that I've used in this jag and my 1999 Suburban, They work great except that after all these years the batteries are crap but they do work on USB power just fine. It looks to me like there might be enough room inside of that top center console to fit one of those small USB 12V to 5V power supplies with the USB cord slightly hanging out? This Parrot dialer slips over the visor so it's right there. I's probably switch the filament bulbs to LED so that the power being drawn on this circuit isn't overloaded.

Has anyone done something like this?

 

One approach I'm looking at is to add a power converter (step down) inside the overhead console panel. I've not had mine off yet. I'm afraid of breaking the old plastic. Perhaps this is the right time to do this though?

So in looking at the canned solutions with a hard wired input to 12V and a USB cable output with a MINI/USB-B male on it that would fit my Parrot Minikit the problem is they all look too bulky to fit anywhere on the inside of the console.

But this is a different sort of solution:


It's very small and while I would have to solder the cables to the board the specs sound intriguing.

I think I would install 2 of these, one for the Parrot Minikit and another for a potential dash cam.

Do we have any electronics types out there to tell if this is a wrong or right approach?

 

I tapped into the mirror circuit and installed a device 12v to 5v USB out

 

I don't want to have an onboard USB socket. I'd prefer that I could directly wire a Mini USB male plug on a short piece of cable instead of cutting a hole and fitting a USB socket in the console housing. I think the unit I selected can be easily fit in one of the recess inside the console panel perhaps with Velcro glued to the panel and the backside of the power supply? I'm just wondering if there's an electronics issue with the power supply I linked to? It's the smallest I could fine.

 

Sounds like room is very limited to fit a USB power supply up there. Instead, what if you located the power supply in a spot with more room, such as under the dash? Get a long USB extension cable and run that up there. Tuck it under the windshield pillar trim and edge of the headliner. No bulky power supply crammed into a tight space.

If your dialer is clipped to the visor, you could even run the extension cable via the visor pivot, versus going all the way over to the center.

 

I thought I already posted this but it's not here. My backup plan is to run a wire along the edge as you suggest. The first owner had a full Parrot system installed but removed it prior to sale. That's what you did back then. I chose a more economic solution which also allowed me to move it from car to car. I also bought a Garmin GPS which I used in my trip to Montana and Glacier & Yellowstone parks. That unit has built into it the functions of the Parrot minikit. But it's huge and cumbersome by today's standards.
I'll be using my cell phone for GPS duties. In driving my car back from the shop I tried using Jaguar one after having made a wrong turn. My lord is that atrocious. I finally had to turn it off as it kept getting my route more and more snarled. It auto corrects horribly even with the latest map.