Hardwiring need advice please.

[cannydanny]

hi, i'm hoping someone can advice me if i'm hardwiring my devices in correctly. I was going to hardwire a 4 way cigarette adapter thats available from maplins to a red live and a black neg supply from either the radio or the existing cigarette socket, but this 4 way connector has an output of 12v so i guess i can't use it, because most or all gps recievers an etc need a 5v supply, and from what i've read i am led to believe the existing cigarette socket has the hardware already in it to reduce the output from 12v to 5v, is this correct, so would it be ok to hardwire another cigarette socket into a supply behind the dash and use it. Only problem is i need to have power supplied to more than one device, gps receiver phone charger, and pda. can anyone give me a little advice please.I don't suppose anyone knows of a piece of equipment that will allow me to connect all these items at the same time.
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Palm T3 pda, TTN 3 & 5, Holux cr100 cradle.
Nokia smartphone, ttn5mobile, holux gpslim236

[mikealder]

Well use one of these it does supply out 12V from each socket, the leads to your PDA/ GPS etc. have the 5V regulator built in to the plug that goes into the socket, works just fine for me, I just need to tidy the mess of cables up - Mike

[cannydanny]

Thx mike for such a quick reply, that was exactly the adapter i had in mind, I didn't realise the plugs on the on the power cords supplied with the devices, had these regulators built in, i'm chuffed now, can i ask you if you have cut the cigarette plug off the 4 way adapter and connected it to a pos and neg supply, do you know if i need to put an in line fuse on to be on the safe side or is that not needed.
Thankyou very much.
_________________
Palm T3 pda, TTN 3 & 5, Holux cr100 cradle.
Nokia smartphone, ttn5mobile, holux gpslim236

[mikealder]

No I have not cut the plug off it just goes straight into the existing socket, if you want to do this make sure you get wires the correct way around and you will need a fuse, I would sugest 5A should be OK. With amount of "extra" wiring I have in the car its just a matter of time before I sort it out, the mains 240V wiring had to take presidence over the low voltage stuff - Mike

[cannydanny]

once again mike thankyou for your advice, its very much appreciated, i'm more or less all ready to hardwire the 4 way adapter, just one point that you mentioned, i know that i need to use a red pos and a black neg feed but how will i know which is the pos and neg wiring from the adapted, is there anyway to tell.
thankyou.
_________________
Palm T3 pda, TTN 3 & 5, Holux cr100 cradle.
Nokia smartphone, ttn5mobile, holux gpslim236

[oddsock]

If you don't have a meter to check the polarity ..take the plug to bits (the one on the end of the lead that comes off your 4 way splitter) and the one that goes to the center pin will be +ve/live .If you then mark it with tape you should be ok.

Dave
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TomTom one v1,tomtom one v 3,TT Start20,Garmin Oregon 300,Nuvi 300
Garmin Quest

[cannydanny]

thanks again i'm very grateful for your help.
_________________
Palm T3 pda, TTN 3 & 5, Holux cr100 cradle.
Nokia smartphone, ttn5mobile, holux gpslim236

[ianjohnstone]

you can buy an inline extention cig lead from most DIY notor shops than just cut the plug off and hard wire into your 12v supply then use the female socket to plug your tom tom lead into. Put it all behind the dash and you have no wires showing

Ian

[cannydanny]

so i'm finally ready to wire up my devices and from kind advice that has been given to me this is what i should do.

1. i,m using a 4 way cigarette adapter, which i cut off the lighter socket plug, add an inline fuse 5amp should be ok
2. use the wires attached to the existing cigarette socket brown (live) and black (neg) and connect the 4 way adapter to these wires.
3. tape up and make good

can anyone tell me if this is right, as you can see i'm not an auto electrician,

thankyou
_________________
Palm T3 pda, TTN 3 & 5, Holux cr100 cradle.
Nokia smartphone, ttn5mobile, holux gpslim236

[mikealder]

Use screw terminals (Choc Block) to attach the cables not just tape, also beware messing around in the area behind a dashboard of a modern car if it has airbags fitted, if you set one off you will end up injured and with a costly repair bill - Mike

[cannydanny]

thx mike for your reply, yes i have all the connectors ready, yes i know how cluttered and dangerous it can be behind the dash, i had planned to use the pos and neg feed to the radio,but could not get near, so decided to use the wires on the existing cigarette socket which is in my centre console, do you know if the brown wire is the live and black is neg,
_________________
Palm T3 pda, TTN 3 & 5, Holux cr100 cradle.
Nokia smartphone, ttn5mobile, holux gpslim236

[mikealder]

Not too sure and it depends on the car, but the centre contact of the lighter socket is the pos and the outer "barrel" is the neg, I would have though the black wire is connected to the outer barrel and the brown to the centre pip contact if it is wired anything like logical - Mike

[cannydanny]

thx again mike, i'll have a look later today, just waiting for my holux gps slim to arrive so i can have a try out before i hardwire the socket, apparently its supposed to be the business.
_________________
Palm T3 pda, TTN 3 & 5, Holux cr100 cradle.
Nokia smartphone, ttn5mobile, holux gpslim236

[Ian666]

you can buy an inline extention cig lead from most DIY notor shops than just cut the plug off and hard wire into your 12v supply then use the female socket to plug your tom tom lead into. Put it all behind the dash and you have no wires showing

Mike

Still think you are better doing it this way as it is both clean, tidy and cost effective.

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