hardwiring electrical 12v accessories in dash ? 98 accord coupe ex

Discussion in 'Accord' started by 3ntropy, Feb 3, 2006.

  1. 3ntropy

    3ntropy Guest

    Hi guys,

    So I upgraded from my 91 hatchback civic std to a nice 98 accord coupe
    ex
    stick shift with leather and coolness.
    Now my old car didnt even have a lighter which hurt me like hell being
    the
    gadget freak that I am. So more than anything else , I was most happy
    about
    the 12v outlet that I got. I can finally charge my cell phone like
    everyone
    else Goddammit.
    OK the next problem was how to plug in the mp3 player, which I did with
    an
    pie aux input converter. Now I have a few other devices which are
    demanding
    that 12v socket for themselves. For eg: gps, pocket pc, cell phone, AA
    charger, mp3 player, digital camera etc etc.
    I thought that the best way to solve this without making an
    entanglement of
    wires was to hard wire them in to the electrical system somehow and
    hide the
    wires. So I can keep the 12v outlet free and hardwire other regualar
    stuff
    under the dash. I also foresee that i may replace/remove/upgrade/sell
    some
    of the devices, so their chargers cant exactly be soldered in directly.
    So I
    bought this thing
    http://www.lenmar.com/details.asp?model=SPP04
    intending to wire it to the car and sticking it hidden under the dash
    somewhere. This way I am only cutting off one lighter head and not all
    of
    all the chargers. And this also allows me to unplug and remove a
    charger if
    needed(the hidden wiring will be done is a semi-permanent kind of way)

    About the current requirements, since most devices are electronic, I
    dont
    foresee more than the standard 10amps fuse being needed.

    Now I want to ask you experts how I should hardwire this 4 socket cigg
    outlet to the car 12v system?
    I did lots of research and found about fuse-taps , but I found it was
    not
    recommended cuz it damages the fuse holder. Even when I decided to do
    it
    anyway, I found that my car actually has those tiny fuses, not the same
    size
    as my old civic! I dont even know if there are fuse taps for this size.
    I
    was also hoping there would be some unused fuse in there that I could
    use?
    like the seat heater, which my car doesnt have? Do such fuses have no
    power
    connected at all?

    Is there any other way which does not involve cutting up factory wiring
    and
    that I can do as an amateur?
    and if you do have to splice wires, which ones?
    Please help :)

    Thanks,
    3ntropy
     
    3ntropy, Feb 3, 2006
    #1
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