Objectives

1) Hardwiring the Satnav charger
I mount the satnav to the right of the driver (RHD in the UK) and I didn't want the charging cable to trail across the dashboard from the cigarette lighter socket. I also wanted to preserve the integrity of the Garmin charger cable I had, so no cutting up the cable etc. I also needed capacity for 2) below.

2) Multipurpose USB charging solution
A USB charger integrated into the arm rest between the seats, which could charge anything you throw a USB cable at.

For both solutions, it should be hidden, not modify the car unnecessarily, be removable and not take too much time.

Solution

Step 1 - ignition switched power.

Whichever solution I opted for, I needed ignition switched power. There is an auxiliary 12v supply in the boot (aka the trunk) which I discounted immediately as too much faffing. There is also a 12v supply in the glove box, but I couldn't find it. I planned to take a parallel connection off the base of the cigarette lighter socket but the nice guys at Chiltern of Bovingdon sorted a lead for me whilst the car was in for something else. If you aren't as lucky as me, you will simply need to remove the centre console (there are how tos for this from Rev Sam etc).

Step 2 - USB charging solution
I wanted a surface mount USB charging solution. I looked at various options which involved hard wiring adaptors and so on, but ideally I wanted something that looked like a cigarette lighter socket. I considered replacing the cigarette lighter socket, but this would involve modifying the existing car, and cables would then be visible during charging.
Instead, I opted for a a blue sea dual USB charger socket: Dual USB Charger Socket - Blue Sea Systems
This has received good quality reviews, plenty of technical data, and seems able to charge even the most power hungry USB device, like ipads etc.

I bought this from Force 4 Chandlery in the UK:
Blue Sea Dual USB Charger Socket - Only £21.95 - Force 4 Chandlery
Few places stock this in the UK and they were very prompt and updated me on the order as it was on back order. It still arrived within a few days so thumbs up for them.

The socket is ideal as you can remove the square surround and the waterproof cap. The unit is also not very deep. I mounted it to the rear of the armrest storage, where there is plenty of space, by simply drilling a hole:


Note, you only need to remove 4 screws to lift this piece out to work on. There are plenty of videos already showing you how to do this if you aren't sure. I then just needed a section of cable and a couple of connectors and this was wired in. I decided there was no need to separately fuse this as the circuit is already fused. It is probably unwise to try and light a cigarette and charge USB items at the same time, but my cigarette lighter has been removed in any case. Nobody will ever smoke in my car!

I can now connect two phones, or similar devices. There is space in the box for them to be hidden away whilst charging, or the cables can come out of the front of the box to the side of the magnetic clip.

Step 3 - Satnav charging solution

There are various hardwiring solutions for satnav charging (I have a garmin) but none of them provided a connection for the traffic monitoring and many of them had poor quality control resulting in negative reviews. The units also seemed quite bulky making it harder to hide the unit.

I decided to stick with the genuine Garmin charger cable so I needed to put an extension cigarette lighter socket in ... somewhere! I used one of these and cut off the mount so that the socket was extremely slimline (only slightly bigger than the garmin plug):

I then found that there was space in the fusebox on the driver's side. You can see the finished setup in this picture. The hole in the fusebox cover makes it easy to run the cable out and up to the windscreen bu just pushing it into the gap between the dashboard and the rubber seal:


Inside the fuse box, there is space to coil up the spare cable:


And finally, in this picture you can just see the space for the Garmin charger connected into the cigarette lighter socket I cut down to size:


I then ran some cable for the new socket under the dashboard and under the steering wheel and eventually behind the carpet to the armrest. Importantly I did not need to remove *any* part of the dashboard to do this. I simply pushed a cable through from the fuse box area, under the steering column (there are plenty of spaces to push the cable through) and eventually behind the carpet to eventually poke through under the armrest. Connected it up and all is done. It is best to leave the cable without connectors on when pushing it through the gaps and getting is behind the carpet. Once you have it into the armrest you can crimp/add connectors as you wish and connect it to the same 12v supply as the USB charger.

The beauty of this solution is that it only takes me a few minutes to fish out the satnav charger cable if I want to remove it for use in another car. Otherwise, it just stays in there when I leave the car.


The only issue I am having is where to put the traffic receiver. It is small enough to slip behind various rubber seals of the door/screen and looks very neat. However, it rarely seems to get a traffic signal if I do. I have the heated screen so it is also a bit hit and miss if just leave it on the top of the dashboard (plus it looks a mess). I will keep experimenting.

Hope this helps,

Stephen
London, UK

 

Well done!




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Great work Stephen. I ended up routing the wire between the wooden dash and plastic moulding which is fine until it has to come out near the stereo to get to standard usb charger in cigarette lighter socket.

I like the idea of hardwiring in a socket by the fusebox. Did you run that cable all the way to under the armrest to connect to the standard socket?

Thanks,

Jody

 

There's a 3 pin auxiliary power connector (Ignition +12v, battery +12v, Ground) behind the Glove Box. In most models you need to add a relay in the empty position in the Luggage Compartment fusebox to enable it. It can be used to power SatNav etc with the cable emerging at any point on the dash.

The 3 pin connector is used as the supply for the Jaguar Auxiliary Power Socket C2A1403 which can be fitted to all models. On the XK8 the Power Socket fits in the Glove Box.

Graham

 

Hi Graham,

Thanks for that, I did think about the glove box option but I like the option of having a socket the way Stephen installed it, so makes easy removal of usb cable from my HTC car Dock.

Can I just tap into the extra socket into 3 pin auxiliary power connector (Ignition +12v, battery +12v, Ground) or best to tap into socket in arm rest?

 

Yes. I alread had the aux power in the arm rest. So to picture the routing, I am the driver sat on the right (RHD in the UK). The Cable runs from the fusebox area on the right, weaving under the steering wheel to top of the carpet to the side of the centre console. It then takes a sharp turn where I tucked it up under the edge of the leather/top of the carpet and ran it back to the arm rest. the whole process took me less than 5 minutes.

I'll take some more pictures when it stops snowing outside (yes, it is still snowing in London today...).

As for using the auxilliary power in the glove box - sure, and this was my original plan. However, I don't know how you would get the cable from the one side of the car to the other without removing parts of the dashboard, although there might be an easy way I don't know. The arm rest is a great location because you have lots of space to deal with any wiring and connectors, it is easy to access, and you can easily push cables up into the space at the join between the carpet and the leather.

 

Either approach works. What you want to feed and where it's to be fitted is the deciding factor.



With the Radio and Centre Console out (about 10 mins after you've done it a few times!), it's easy to route cables front to back or footwell to footwell.

Graham

 

Hi Graham,


It is indeed snowing in London, I've just cycled home from Covent Garden.

I've had my share of fun and games removing the centre console when I installed my Ipod Bluetooth stereo: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e2/#post605294
Anyhow, I don't have an aux socket inside the armrest but the standard cigarette lighter. I assume I can just tap into the wires into that one or will it b too much load?

Thanks,

Jody