[Tiago47]

hi all,
great to be part of this forum of Focus fans!

question: does anybody passed the power cable of you Garmin from behind the dash?

i use a Garmin Nuvi always sticked to the windshield. the only mod i would do is to send the power cable from the lighter plug in into the dashboard and behind. so it will be hidden.
try to find any spot where to pass the cable and couldn't.
i noticed an small cup in the middle of the dashboard close to the windshield between the vents: do you have any idea what is this for?

any help/idea would be appreciated.

thank you,

 

[SPIinDisguise]

I don't know where you set the GPS at, but if you somehow bought more wiring and hardwired it, run it down the A-piilar or something. Just an idea.

 

[Tiago47]

good point, but i place the GPS in the middle of the windshield just above the dashboard.
the goal is to have it in sight while driving.
make sense?

 

[SPIinDisguise]

Right, I see what you are trying to do. I was just saying it would be easier to hide the wire if it was up higher.

I have an MK1 so I don't know a whole lot about the dash on an MK3. Have you tried to pop that circle thing off? I don't know the best route you can go with this. Just read around on the forum see what you come up with.

 

[Tiago47]

I have a picture to show you where i would reach with the cable.
i bought an USB cable long enough but couldn't find the best routing.
marked in yellow is the know i asked about. does anybody know what is this for and if i could remove it to reach the bottom of the dash???

thank you guys for your help!

 

[BeastMD]

I have a picture to show you where i would reach with the cable.
i bought an USB cable long enough but couldn't find the best routing.
marked in yellow is the know i asked about. does anybody know what is this for and if i could remove it to reach the bottom of the dash???

thank you guys for your help!

Thats the sensor for automatic headlights if you have that option.

 

[Tiago47]

does anybody know how to get with the power cable to the base of the windshield above the dash?
any ideas/help?

 

[SPIinDisguise]

All you have to do is drill yourself a non conspicuous hole. Then put a colored grommet around it to keep the wire right and fill the hole.

 

[hinge271982]

Same issue man, plus a radar detector. I was going to make a new 12v cigg under the dash and run them along the bottom of the windshield down the driver side and under. Ill try it and take pics...

 

[Tiago47]

sounds great!
please show me you do it when done.
thanks

 

[Pennut]

Personally I wouldn't go through all the trouble and effort to hot wire a cable and then have a suction cup mount. I don't use suction cup mounts (except when I rent a car) for a couple of reasons. 1) Puts the GPS further away from your hand. 2) Being on a windshield mount, the GPS unit is exposed to more sunlight = hotter temps. 3) unless you are removing the suction cup mount every time you leave the vehicle, it says to potential thieves "hey! I got a GPS to steal!"

 

[dego23]

I have been wanting to mount my GPS to my dash. So is there anything that I can add to my dash that would make the suction cup to that? I've wanted to put it in front of the RPM gauge but it wouldn't stick there.

 

[Tiago47]

Personally I wouldn't go through all the trouble and effort to hot wire a cable and then have a suction cup mount. I don't use suction cup mounts (except when I rent a car) for a couple of reasons. 1) Puts the GPS further away from your hand. 2) Being on a windshield mount, the GPS unit is exposed to more sunlight = hotter temps. 3) unless you are removing the suction cup mount every time you leave the vehicle, it says to potential thieves "hey! I got a GPS to steal!"

So what would be the alternative then?

 

[rebelx]

So what would be the alternative then?

I use Garmin's friction mount (the old model, not the new one), but I don't want to have it permanently wired in there, so not sure if it would work for you.

 

[Pennut]

So what would be the alternative then?

Well I had the proclip mount that put the GPS under the right middle air vent:
http://www.proclipusa.com/dashboard...ngled-mount-854620-13344.cmsv?p_leftorright=0
But I didn't like how I had to look over away from the road.
I'm now using a Kuda mount, which was stupid expensive. After shipping and all total cost was like $105. I wired up another 12V socket under my dash near the hood release.




Still not 100% satisfied as my power cord hangs down too much. So I may try to run the cord up under the dash.

 

[SilverPony2001]

I just wired a gentex mirror doing basically what this guy did:

http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-...-hard-wiring-radar-detector-other-device.html

 

[Pennut]

Well it would be easy to run the wire up to my Kuda mount. BUT, correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a converter built in the end of the GPS cord which houses a fuse and a voltage reducer. I think a GPS runs on about 5 volts. So my issue is, even if I were to run the cord up through the dash, I would have to either leave the power cord plugged into the 12v outlet, or unplug-plug it in each time to use it still. My other concern is that I think my GPS which has traffic and weather, uses the power cord as an antenna to receive data. If I run it up behind the dash, wondering if it would affect the signal.

 

[hinge271982]

I cut the cord and used a fuse with the same amp as what was in the 12v plug at the end and just hard wired it in to my obd2 port. Running the cord down the side of the dash. Works great.

 

[Pennut]

Yeah I understand the fuse, but again, isn't there also a adapter in the end of the power plug to step down the voltage from 12V to 5V? I would think if you ran 12v straight into your GPS, it would fry it.

 

[hinge271982]

Everything you put in your car is 12v DC. Your talking about amperage. Yes put an inline fuse in for whatever aperage is in the end of your plug in for the gps. It will be fine. Everything in your car is 12 volt. Amperage through a fuse is what your talking about.