OK, so I'm currently using my lighter port for my radar detector and I just bought a new Garmin 760 (Unfortunately my early 2000 didn't come with Nav) that is mounted with a nice vent-mount on the AC vent in the dash nearest the driver's door. It actually looks pretty good there and very easy to read and operate while driving. I plan to buy a power cord for hard wiring it since the W210 only has one 12V (lighter) port.

So the question is: Does anybody have any experience as to where the best place behind the dash is to tap into 12V?

Thanks in Advance.

 

Remove the ash trade and tap it into the switched 12v power suppy of the lighter. Ground lead is there if you need it also have the 12 volt for dimmer . That what I use for my S/C gauges.

 

hi vrodman
i am in australia & have been looking for a dash mount for a gps do you have a email address of company you bought mount thanks.
regards
george

 

Hi George,

Just Google "Akron GN047" or "Akron GN047 swivel air vent mount" You can find it for $9.00USD or less!! It's designed for Garmin and I'm not sure if it will work other GPS' It seems to work so far pretty well for my Garmin. It's not rock solid, but it doesn't let the GPS bounce around while driving. For $9 bucks you can't really go wrong with it. Good Luck

 

your best bet is get a tester light and tap into the fuse box (driverside) this is how I set up my K40 radar detector and it works great and its clean. I have it set up so that it will only turn off/on when the car is on/off hence why you need the tester. im sure you can set up your Navi the same way.

you have to splice your positive wire to the fuse and than negative to a bolt. Same set up in my x S class as well oh incase your wondering how I knew which wire was positive I was lucky mine was white/black, white strip = positive

good luck

 

Hey Armani thanks,

Question though. I'm only aware of fuse boxes under the rear seat and under the hood on drivers side. Are you suggesting going through the firewall? Or is there another fuse box under the dash on driver's side that I just haven't seen yet? Thanks

 

sooooo your telling me after all these years you don't know about the secret compartment lol once you open the door (driverside), its the side wall next to the two vents...im in my car right now and you can see a smell insert where you would need a flathead to take the cover off. I had a 99 E430 so I'm 99.99% positive you have one as well.

 

hi vrodman
thanks for your speedy reply.
regards
george

 

The fuse box under the hood on the drivers side has a huge pass thru hole into the cabin. The top cover of that fuse box is held on by about 6 screws and then the fuse blocks can be lifted up and out. Down in the bottom of the box is a big piece of foam just laying there covering up a hole thats probably big enough to stick your arm thru. There is also a fuse panel on the side of the dash as someone else mentioned but I figured I'd pass the info on the firewall hole just in case you ever need to run wires from outside the cabin.

 

Hey Armani,

I did indeed find the "secret compartment" To think I could have been stashing my drugs there all these years! I do find it interesting that the owners manual nor the insert in the main fuse box makes any reference to these fuses. Looks like they are fog lights and other lights. Sure glad I never blew one of these.

Anyway thanks for the help. Cheers