Creating switch panel - thoughts?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

MikeTheApeman

Full Access Member
Joined
May 6, 2009
Posts
397
Reaction score
1
Location
The armpit of America - New Joisey
Background: I had a little 3-port Cig Adapter thing sitting in the upper cubby of my 'hoe since day one. This one's a little unique because it also provides a 5v USB port - useful since my cell phones all use USB to charge. But...it's ugly.

I decided I really didn't need 3 extra Cig Outlets, so I opened the thing up and hacked 2 of the outlets out of the box. I'm in the process of building a new faceplate for it from some DVD cases. (Yes, DVD cases. Cut the front plastic out of 2 of them, Loctite Super Glue...voila!) Here's where I need some thoughts / advice:

1 - I was going to mount 2 mini-toggles on the plate. One to control the LED cupholder/cubby/maybe footwell lights, the other as future use to control aux reverse lights. I can't think of any other mods / additions I would be doing in the future that would require another switch, so I'm open to ideas that might help me figure out if i should install a 3rd and just not wire it up. (See #2 for a possible 3rd switch.)

2 - My plan, since this thing plugs into the 12v outlet was to clip the cord and hardwire it in. The unit has a 5v fuse in the plug, so I know if I hardwire it in that I should put a fuse inline with the power. Here's where I need some advice. Should I run a wire direct to the battery and fuse it in the engine compartment, or do you guys think it'd be okay hardwiring into the accessory outlet, still fusing inline? I also was looking at the fuse diagrams and notice there are 2 fuses not used - LH HID and RH HID. Assuming those are used in Denali's or another model for HID Headlights, could very well be wrong though. If my assumption is correct, would those fuse positions in a Tahoe be wired up and just not fused? If so, maybe I can tap that power somewhere and use the fuse position in the fuse box?
Oh. the other thought I had was maybe adding a 3rd switch to turn the entire unit on and off, but I guess that would depend on what power source I use (constant vs. ignition).

Any ideas here?
 
OP
OP
M

MikeTheApeman

Full Access Member
Joined
May 6, 2009
Posts
397
Reaction score
1
Location
The armpit of America - New Joisey
SO....attempted to hook this thing up tonight. Yeah...no. Blew the capacitor on the circuit board up. No clue why other than by removing the 2 "extra" outlets I changed the overall resistance of the unit, and the resistor onboard wasn't big enough to handle the load.

Now, instead of adding switches and a panel, I think I might get brave and try doing this:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/13/how-to-add-usb-power-to-your-alarm-clock/

But instead of in an alarm clock, putting the USB port right in the dash or center console.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
128,789
Posts
1,805,480
Members
91,772
Latest member
dvnt
Top