I've only done a little electrical project on my tractor before so I'm willing to take any suggestions you might have.

I've found a clean way to mount my Garmin GPS on the left side of the steering wheel just above the air vent with this ProClip gizmo that I got off the web.

Now I'd like to add a 12V socket somewhere under the dash so that i can plug it in permanently. I don't plan to take it anywhere with me. At the same time I don't want to hard wire it as I might want to change the charger with one that has traffic support.

I was thinking that my best bet might be to run a new circuit from the battery with one of those ATC fuse holders to protect the circuit. This is what I did when adding a new circuit for worklamps for my tractor. I added a relay to the circuit on my tractor to ensure that the lamps won't come on when my kids play with it.

I don't think I have the same problem with the GPS as I don't let my kids in the front seat :-).

That said, it would be neat to have it hooked up like the OEM 12V circuit which keeps the power for 10 min after you take the key out. That way I would never ever have to turn it off or on.

I'm interested in any ideas you can provide. Chances are high that I will just go for the simplist installation option which might be to run a new circuit and follow the factory wiring aross the front of the hood, under and over to the passenger side, and into the dash through a new hole in one of the existing rubber boots that have some wiring going into the cabin already.

Any idea on what size of fuse I should use for this and what guage of wire? I highly doubt the GPS draws much current. I was thinking a 10 or 20 A fuse.
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My thought would be to splice into the OEM 12V outlet. The circuit should be fine to hold it. I don't know if you spliced into it if it would stay on for the 10 minutes after key off but that is probably how I would do it for simplicity.

 

go to radioshack or walmart and get a $3 cigarette lighter port. it comes with positive and negative and should have an inline fuse and you can hard wire it in to the back of your radio and have it mounted behind the dash. this way you dont cut your charger.

 

The lighter port sounds like a good idea. Don't mind the noob question here but where would I get the power from behind the radio?

 

if you have an aftermarket radio it will be really easy. you can look at the manual for the wiring diagram and see what color is the power and what color is the ground and just get a tap-splice connector and your good to go. it may be harder to find the correct wires if your using the stock radio. you could always run a new wire from the battery for power if you have the stock radio and just ground it nearby where you install it

 

There should be a power wire that is hot all the time at the radio plug and also one thats only hot with the key. You could also use the cigarette lighter port and just power it up off of the OEM 12V plug or OEM cigarette lighter, both should have a power wire there.

 

Thats what I did in the wifes Toyota. Wired cig. lighter port into fuse box, grounded it and viola...power to the cell phone even when ignition is turned off.

 

Hmm.. cigarette lighter port sounds like a good plan. Its even a separate outlet. I'll start digging behind the dash.

 

I am planning a similar install for my Garmin over the center tray on the dash. I plan to drill a hole in the upper cover then a small slit in the rubber mat. I am considering the
12v plug vice the cigarette lighter just out of pure laziness and the hope the delay will be there as well. I will post pics on a new thread along with my ipod in the glovebox cable route too. Good luck.

 

Why would you want it wired to constant 12v? Wire it swtiched 12v so that it turns on and off with the key.

 

I really don't feel like ripping the dash out to find a switched 12v source. I suppose when I feel a little more adventurous, I will re-route but, for now, I am happy with the vampire taps off the 12v source.

 

This is a pretty simple solution ... if you're on "F150Forums" site you can find a thread for hard wiring radar detectors (search "radar detector" and its probably the first item). It has all the same basic instructions but includes pictures with the instructions. Instead of wiring the radar detector, just wire in the cig adapater.
(Sorry, I tried to post the link to the thread but it put a bunch of *** on the link, so I guess that's not allowed).

Basically - just get a "Add-A-Circuit" and use one of the open fuses in your fuse panel. You can find the extra fuse locations in your manual, they're labelled as spares. Now your line is fused and you've gotten clean electricity without needing to splice in to anything. There is a perfect spot for the ground behind the fuse panel that is easily available to you without having to pull anything off the truck to get to it.

Tuck that adapter up behind the glove box and run your GPS behind the dash (best you can) to the adapter. The line will stay "hot" in the same manner as your radio (ie: it turns off after the key is out of the ignition and a door opens, or after 10 mins, etc).