Best place to put 12v in glove box?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 76
Likes: 4
From: Dallas
2014 E350 Cab
Best place to put 12v in glove box?
I just threw away my old, never-really-all-that-useful bluetooth speakerphone and purchased a Knivio BTC455 to replace it.
I hate having the console ashtray door permanently open, and I know the Knivio takes 5v, not 12v, so I can't just splice it to the cigarette lighter wire in the back.
So what I plan to do is splice an additional 12v outlet from that lighter and install the new 12v outlet in the glove box, then plug the Knivio there. That way both Knivio wires are going to my glove box, and I can mount it to the left of the sunglass tray and hide the wires easily.
I've gotten the ashtray out and the splice part looks really easy. But I'm not sure about the glove box part. Where's the best place to put the outlet so that I can mount it flush? Where is there enough space behind the glove box so the outlet will fit without getting near the airbags or anything else important? On the left side by the light? On top by the AUX jack? In the back?
Also, do I need to remove the glove box to do this?
Thanks for reading!
I hate having the console ashtray door permanently open, and I know the Knivio takes 5v, not 12v, so I can't just splice it to the cigarette lighter wire in the back.
So what I plan to do is splice an additional 12v outlet from that lighter and install the new 12v outlet in the glove box, then plug the Knivio there. That way both Knivio wires are going to my glove box, and I can mount it to the left of the sunglass tray and hide the wires easily.
I've gotten the ashtray out and the splice part looks really easy. But I'm not sure about the glove box part. Where's the best place to put the outlet so that I can mount it flush? Where is there enough space behind the glove box so the outlet will fit without getting near the airbags or anything else important? On the left side by the light? On top by the AUX jack? In the back?
Also, do I need to remove the glove box to do this?
Thanks for reading!
Super Moderator
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 5,295
Likes: 22
From: VA
THE C350
I have not seen this done on a w211 that said i haven't been around that long. I would honestly just take it apart and figure out where would work best for you. I decided to hide my cigarette lighter and adapter behind everything and run just the cord to the ash tray on my w203 and it made for a really nice clean look for my sat radio. This would leave you more space in the glove box and you could run just the power cord to the device through where the ipod kit would come in.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 76
Likes: 4
From: Dallas
2014 E350 Cab
Thanks. When you say "I decided to hide my cigarette lighter and adapter behind everything and run just the cord to the ash tray on my w203 and it made for a really nice clean look for my sat radio" do you mean you installed a new lighter and it's loose behind the dash or console? Is that safe? I was going to mount it because I thought it needed to be in a fixed place. If I don't need to mount it I'll do the same thing.
Super Moderator
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 5,295
Likes: 22
From: VA
THE C350
Mine was not loose it was attached to something behind the hvac (remember w203) so it was secured and wires would not get pinched. Then I routed the wires along factory wires and tied them together for safety. I would say its safe as the lighter i used had a fuse right after you taped into the normal lighter or wherever you decided to get power from and then the adapter has its own fuse. I also made a point to put it somewhere easy to access if i ever needed to change something.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 76
Likes: 4
From: Dallas
2014 E350 Cab
I think I'm going to go with something hidden in the area under that panel below the glove box (the one that opens with the Torx screws). I wonder if just using the industrial strength velcro will be good enough - then I could attach it directly to that panel for easy access when needed.
