Accessories power source

[AndyRevill]

Hi,

I'm installing a GPS unit in my 2003 disco TD5 and want to power it off the Accessories circuit and am struggling to find a suitable point to connect into. The fuse box under the steering wheel has a spare relay socket but it seems one pin is permanently live and the others don't have power at any time?

Anyone got any sneaky solutions?

cheers, Andy

[waynep]

I see you have a dual battery system.
Wouldn't it be better to run it off the second battery on a permanent circuit ?
That way it would stay powered up when you were out of the car, and retain it's satellite lock.
Those things don't draw much current, so not much chance of draining your second battery.

Well that's how I run mine anyway. As mine is a PDA as well it comes out overnight.

[AndyRevill]

that's a good idea, except I don't have the 2nd battery permanently installed. The GPS has a good internal rechargable battery, so it can be set to stay on if I want it to when the car is turned off.

Thanks anyway,

Andy

[CowsGoMoo]

Personally I run mine from full time power. There's a nice connecter under my D2's seat which accepts a spade connector perfectly. Thick purple wire from memory. I'm guessing it's for electric seats or seat heater.

I just leave my GPS running all the time. Never gets turned off normally. In fact I found it would act as an early warning when the battery was going. If the GPS turned off during cranking the battery was getting old and tired. Next service they tested the battery and sure enough it needed changing (5 years- original).

[101RRS]

The car radio has switchable power - if you are only going to take power just for the GPS take it from there. Also most radios have switchable power out to run a power arerial so this may also be an option (however some switch off if the CD is being used)

Garry

[Relay]

Dunno if it's easy to get to. But I'll often borrow the accessory supply from the cigarette lighter socket on a lot of cars. It'd come with a lead for it anyway right?

[duncanw]

Dunno if it's easy to get to. But I'll often borrow the accessory supply from the cigarette lighter socket on a lot of cars. It'd come with a lead for it anyway right?

Its easy on the D1's, pull off the kick panel underneath the bit that folds down, so that you can see a bunch of wires going heading toward the centre console area.

For me it was the green wire with white stripe like in the picture, its the one where I've got the blue clip on for the accessories. But the best way to check is undo the centre console and lift it up so that you can see the wires going into the cig lighter, from there either put a clip on there to feed from or trace it back a bit so that its more accessible.

http://lh3.google.com/duncan.c.wild/RzaSNEOQz8I/AAAAAAAAAVk/iTLcJE5YUr0/cig%20lighter%20wire.jpg?imgmax=720

[AndyRevill]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'd been wondering how easy it might be to get at the back of the cig lighter socket - guess I'll find out in the next few days :)

Thanks again,

Andy

[Relay]

Please tell me they're not scotch locks...*shudders* Make sure ya solder connections please!:D

[Nathan]

Please tell me they're not scotch locks...*shudders* Make sure ya solder connections please!:D

Down with Scotch Locks!!! :mad:

[DEFENDERZOOK]

ahh.....scotch locks.......


some people swear by them........

others swear at them.........




they are great if you need to get out of trouble briefly......and quickly......
but in the long term will fail and cause more trouble than they are worth......

[AndyRevill]

If I go down that route I will definitely be soldering any connections - only used those once and didn't like them - doesn't mean they don't work.

On a similar note, anyone seen or used "fuse taps" that allow you to tap into the B+ side of a blade fuse? seen them on US web sites but nothing here.

Andy

[EchiDna]

the way I've found power sources in my 110 and in previous vehicles is pretty simple - look at the optional extras listing and see what you dont have...
each item you don't have that requires power will still be on the loom at least to a certain point in the vehicle (as aluded to earlier in this thread with regard to heated seats...).

take a peek at your rave disc that you bought from Inc and you can find out exactly where in the vehicle such electrical pick up points are :)

in my 110 I ran a new set of 6mm wires from the battery (earth, active on ingnition and always active) to a new bus bar (for the earth) and new fuseboxes (for the two types of active) in the overhead console - makes additional accesories easy to add :)

[duncanw]

Please tell me they're not scotch locks...*shudders* Make sure ya solder connections please!:D

haha yeah they are.... I thought it would be a bugger of a job to get my soldering iron in there and not burn anything else :eek:

[jwb]

On a similar note, anyone seen or used "fuse taps" that allow you to tap into the B+ side of a blade fuse? seen them on US web sites but nothing here.

Andy

I picked some up from Pirhana Offroad some time ago. Great idea.

[streaky]

As with all things on the 'wants list'...it's a matter of finding the right dealer & part.
Here's a neat solution available from Cole Hershe (google their web site for your nearest distributor)
I use one for switched accessories and one for perminantly live accessories.
The are available with four, six, eight or ten fueses. I've also included the box with the part number for the 8 fused item.

Hope this helps.

Regards.

S.

[drivesafe]

If that’s the type of fuse holder your after, I carry the 8 way fuse holder in that form, have a look at the bottom of the web page at the link bellow.


8 Way Fuse holder (http://www.traxide.com.au/relays_7.html)

Cheers

[AndyRevill]

If that’s the type of fuse holder your after, I carry the 8 way fuse holder in that form, have a look at the bottom of the web page at the link bellow.


8 Way Fuse holder (http://www.traxide.com.au/relays_7.html)

Cheers

Don't think that's quite what I'm after - though could have done with one last year when I was refurbishing the switchbox on the boat!

before I start cutting wires I'll try and track down some fuse taps - they obviously exist over here.

Thanks for the ideas

Andy

[justinc]

Don't think that's quite what I'm after - though could have done with one last year when I was refurbishing the switchbox on the boat!

before I start cutting wires I'll try and track down some fuse taps - they obviously exist over here.

Thanks for the ideas

Andy

...Just don't hook it up to the DVD player Andy...:p

JC

[duncanw]

As with all things on the 'wants list'...it's a matter of finding the right dealer & part.
Here's a neat solution available from Cole Hershe (google their web site for your nearest distributor)
I use one for switched accessories and one for perminantly live accessories.
The are available with four, six, eight or ten fueses. I've also included the box with the part number for the 8 fused item.

Hope this helps.

Regards.

S.

How did you wire up a box so that its switchable ? I've been looking around awhile now for something like this fusebox... Im guessing you didn't use the cig lighter wire as the fuse would blow...

[Utemad]

How did you wire up a box so that its switchable ? I've been looking around awhile now for something like this fusebox... Im guessing you didn't use the cig lighter wire as the fuse would blow...

Run it through a relay which is switched using accessory power.

[duncanw]

Ok lets pretend I don't know much about electronics, I want to keep the smoke inside the wires.

What relay type do I need to feed a 8 way blade fuse holder ? I'm guessing the bigger the better, a 60 amp changeover relay ? or will the smoke come out of the wires if I do that ?

The setup
========

Big wire coming from the battery connected to a relay, relay connected to the cig ligter wire and the other side of the relay feeding the fusebox holder ?

[drivesafe]

It all depends on what you intend to run off the fuse panel.

With the exception of just a couple of device, such as a large inverter or a compressor, most things don’t use all that much power and you can usually get away with a standard 40 amp horn relay.

On the other hand, as a 60 amp relay uses no more power than a 40, it can’t hurt to use one of them and give yourself the ability to run more gear with out having to change the relay in the future.

Cheers

[AndyRevill]

OK, so having started this thread thinking I was just going to run a small wire for my GPS, I'm now entertaining the possibility of a relay and 8-way fuse box "just in case" - how big are these and where's a good spot to mount it? I'm thinking on the drop down panel that covers the fusebox under the steering wheel, but are they small enough to mount there?

cheers, Andy