[xroads]

When I bought this car new, sat nav was not an optional extra. Swapping to an android double din unit, fascia and adapter kits was costly. You often ended up with a rattling rat's nest of wires and adapter modules behind the dash. So I resorted to an add on unit, not ideal, but did the job when needed

So, I finally decided to put the Rio's cubby hole to good use. It now serves as a secure mount point and USB power outlet for my TomTom satnav.

No more messy dangling wires or sloppy suction mounts. It looks pretty neat mounted there, and is far enough from the air bag. It does obscure the srs/airbag lights, but can easily be lifted up if required. This also keeps it legal, as it's now securely fixed to the dash and not obstructing screen visibility.

Installation pics and notes to follow shortly

Let's see how it fairs with daily use.

 

[xroads]

Installation Notes:

The 12v USB module provides up to 5v 3A, 15 watts of power. This was bought from eBay for under a fiver. The module was mounted to the underside of the cubby hole with padded adhesive tape, hot glue and a cable tie!

The 12v power feed was dropped down and taken from behind the cigarette lighter socket.

I made my own low profile micro usb fly lead, which keeps the satnav at minimal distance from the dash.

The existing TomTom suction mount was taken apart into 3 pieces(lock cup, base cup, sucker). Then drilled, dremelled and hacked to fit in the roof of the cubby hole.

The wing nut fixing for the mount allows it to be adjusted depth wise in/out and rotated left/right, in addition to the ball/socket movement. Rubber washers were also used to hold it snug tight.

 

[Frontzie]

Brilliant idea!

 

[iooi]

Very neat.

 

[trips1]

good work did the same with my Tom Tom apart from the power supply wish i had your now how

 

[xroads]

Cool, it's pretty simple, 2 wires taken from cigarette lighter for 12v supply to usb module.

Mines is fairing well, no rattles or glare issues. If I'm being picky, I could add an external power on/off switch rather than unplugging/plugging usb cable. However, I rarely use it, maybe once a month.

I was initially worried about attracting opportunist thieves, but it looks fairly integrated, and it's an old car now.

 

[tacka_87]

S.Now you got me thinking about this great idea. It looks nice