hard wire gps to car?

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Mobile Video, GPS, and Navigation
Forum Discription: Mobile Video Head Units, DVD Players, LCD and TFT Monitors, Navigation, GPS, PS2, PS3, XBox, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=99379
Printed Date: April 27, 2024 at 7:40 PM

Topic: hard wire gps to car?

Posted By: foutong
Subject: hard wire gps to car?
Date Posted: November 26, 2007 at 5:36 PM

ok so i ordered TomTom ONE 3rd and i have a 93 honda civic dx. all i want to do is wire the gps charger under the dash so it doesnt use up my cig lighter. and have it start charging when the car is on. is this a bad idea? i was thinking just wiring it to one of my ignition wires.

Replies:

Posted By: techman93
Date Posted: November 26, 2007 at 11:28 PM

All our installs of XM and Sirius are not through the lighter. We find an ignition source to hook it to so it doesn't take up the lighter and we hide the wires so as little shows as possible. You have to make sure to use a female plug end so you won't have to cut wire. That way you can use in a different vehicle later.

Ignition BLACK / YELLOW Ignition Switch Harness

Switched 12V+ Yellow/Red At radio harness

use a factory ground bolt if you can find one or clear paint off a small piece of vehicle down to bare metal and use a self tapping screw with a soldered or crimp ring terminal to secure wire.

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The wire I'm test'n isn't doin' what it's supposed to be doin'... I am so glad I printed that tech sheet, with the wrong info.
Do it right the first time... or I might have to fix it for ya

Posted By: ibasspro
Date Posted: November 27, 2007 at 2:16 PM

Most of the time here, I will tap into the wires behind the cig. lighter. as usually it is a decent spot to find power & ground. Have never had a problem, & been doing it since I started installing, back when God was young & dirt was new lol

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used to be loud, used to be fast...now I am married LOL

Posted By: fknfbm
Date Posted: November 28, 2007 at 1:37 PM

Whatever you do dont cut the male end off. Im not sure if the tom tom is 12v or not. Most all the new Sirius and XM's are 5-6v so if you try to just hardwire it in you can call it toast.

Posted By: ibasspro
Date Posted: November 28, 2007 at 1:45 PM

yeah, i solder wires onto the end of the units cig. plug, so no chance of messing up the unit by giving it a full 12V, & it still keeps it's little fuse.

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used to be loud, used to be fast...now I am married LOL

Posted By: kylecm85
Date Posted: December 18, 2007 at 12:21 AM

yeah deff use the female end and the new tomtom is 6v im pretty sure so i would not cut it off and the easist place to find power is prob the radio or cig lighter thats always where i go when i hardwire dsr or gps.

Posted By: autobot240
Date Posted: December 23, 2007 at 9:26 AM

get a female cigarette lighter plug from best buy (its like 10 bucks), then plug the tomtoms cigarette plug in there, then hook the power to your radio's accessory and the ground to the ground

Posted By: omrebel
Date Posted: December 30, 2007 at 8:25 PM

I am trying to do the same thing with my TomTom Gps. I am glad I checked out this forum before I started hardwiring it myself. I still need help though. I want to be able to use the charger cord in another vehicle if necessary but want one to place out of site in my vehicle. I have an older charger that was used with another GPS device that fits but I wanted to get some advice on whether I can use it from a voltage standpoint. I know nothing about voltage so I need help.

The charger that came with the GPS says Input: 12/24v Output: 5V2A

The older charger I have says Input: 12-30v Output: 5.2V/2A

Can someone tell me if it is ok to use this older charger with the GPS unit? I don't want to fry the thing.

Thanks in advance!

Posted By: KPierson
Date Posted: December 30, 2007 at 11:25 PM

It should be OK, but if I were you I would contact TomTom about purchasing another charger. You don't mention anything about polarity, and it is possible that they are backwards between the two chargers - something that will definately damage your unit. Most 5vdc devices are typically rated to 5.5vdc max.

If you want to use the old charger at least hook it up and use a volt meter to measure what part of the plug is + and which one is - and compare it to the new charger.

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Kevin Pierson

Posted By: omrebel
Date Posted: December 31, 2007 at 4:51 PM

Earlier in the thread a couple of posters said to buy a female cigarette plug. I went to BestBuy and did not see one of these. Can anyone explain exactly what I need and where to look? I know the female end will accept the plug on the charger I have but what else is on this adapter? Does it just go from female to another male or to two wires? Is is something I will have to cut?

Thanks