DIY: 12volt socket/outlet in your door panels

[gshadow325]

I understand, I just go by what information is provided and shown. You dind't state anything about soldering or finer details (I've been guilty of that and I tend to have to remember not everyone has as much technical knowledge as some of us) and I don't know your background so I erred on the side of caution and assumed it wasn't done. I apologize for that if it offended you in any way.

I like to make things look OEM, so I tend to stray away from extra fuseholders when there are plenty of spare slots in the OEM fuse block that just needs to be wired up (I actually spliced up the OEM foglight harness from the fuseblock to the PIAA's in my bumper for thicker gauge wiring and to use the factory fuse slot instead of running the PIAA harness.)

As for the fuses, the member before me addressed my concern about amperage draws and motor peak amperage and such. Again more or less being cautious, I tend to want to build things tougher than they need to be and expected other members (not you persay, but others who may use this mod) to load up those circuits with more than phones and such.

Its still a great mod either way.

Post Note-

I know the line about arcing and such is pretty textbook sounding, but I've seen poorly done wiring (mostly by ghetto rigged and/or crappy audio/video jobs) where the wires work loose cause issues in more than just one circuit and sometimes even arc to the body.

no offense taken. i know the internet does not allow for sarcasm!! LOL. You are right there rbother about the "ghetto rigging" for every one good shop there are 5 bad ones!

also take into consideration, i was/am exited about this thing i dreamed up and was eager to share!! it was a slow friday afternoon in my shop so i said what the heck...lemme try this and see what happens!! i try to make it look as stock as possible too

thanks for you suggestions, i hope whoever does this mod reads thru the whole thread...i think i will edit the first post to tell them to read thru the thread to see how it progressed!

 

[emelianenkov]

Very good mod! Once my fiancée and I have little passengers of our own, I'll be doing this to keep them occupied in the back seat

I also enjoy the proper conversation and respect for the other users. That's why T4R is one of the best forums! Practically no flame wars

 

[Lewis&Clark]

EDIT: I did this with inline fuses on the power line. I used a 7.5amp fuse. I also soldered the wires in the door. I only showed you guys the idea and how to execute it.

I'm planning to do this awesome mod sometime in the next 3-4 weeks, but I plan to do some things differently.

Instead of using 12 volt sockets for cigarette lighter-type power chargers, I want to use dual USB sockets. One for each door except the driver's, so each of my passengers will have access to two USB ports for charging their stuff.

I haven't yet picked out the socket I'd like, but I know I want to use sockets that have enough amps and watts so that each passenger could charge a phone and a full size table at the highest possible charging speed, all simultaneously. Granted, it'd be rare that everyone in my car would be doing that all at once, but I don't want to worry about monitoring who's doing what.

So the 2 questions I have (I'm not an electrician, so I'm learning this as I go):

1. If, theoretically, everyone were doing that with their door's sockets, I figure I'd be putting too much strain on the existing power wires running through the doors; I presume it would blow a fuse or short the system. I assume running my own wires is critical for this?

2. At what point are you putting too much strain on the car battery and need to consider a second one? Note that I do not have a fridge or any other high-powered accessories, but may some day in the future. I also don't yet have any driving lights or offloading lights, though I am putting those on before this year ends.

Any thoughts would be appreciated and helpful.

dt

 

[CCWSW]

This is definitely on my hit list of mods to make! This has been one of the most useful threads I have found! I also like the respect shown here in the thread! As an electrical dumb*ss myself, I'm going to attempt this on my 04 and hope to get results this good!

 

[nevada]

i like this, why don't they come from the factory with such a thing?

one thing I would do differently, is get the 12v socket with the cap. so it can be capped when not in use. to prevent liquid or other small items from dropping in, then shorting it out.

 

[28.]

i like this, why don't they come from the factory with such a thing?

one thing I would do differently, is get the 12v socket with the cap. so it can be capped when not in use. to prevent liquid or other small items from dropping in, then shorting it out.

That's what I did...

 

[snukkums]

This is awesome I am looking at as many ideas as possible for adding more power slots. I really wish I could add some to the back seats without cutting into the air ducting though. I am thinking about running some usb cables to the top sides inside the center console, pointing out the back and having the power coming off the existing outlet or tapping into the cigarette lighter wiring. Which sounds like its there even though I do not have a cigarette lighter. I will post up pictures of my project or ideas after I move this week and have time to look at it.

Awesome post though even though its kinda old.

 

[gshadow325]

This is awesome I am looking at as many ideas as possible for adding more power slots. I really wish I could add some to the back seats without cutting into the air ducting though. I am thinking about running some usb cables to the top sides inside the center console, pointing out the back and having the power coming off the existing outlet or tapping into the cigarette lighter wiring. Which sounds like its there even though I do not have a cigarette lighter. I will post up pictures of my project or ideas after I move this week and have time to look at it.

Awesome post though even though its kinda old.

door panels are super duper easy to take off. front doors two screws, 1 pop rivit and unclip a few harnesses.

the window motors are thick guage power feeds. it will be fine to support the 12volts needed for the usb adapters and they only doing most 5amps.

one of the easiest and best mods i made up for the t4r, next one was my under hood lighting mod.

 

[snukkums]

door panels are super duper easy to take off. front doors two screws, 1 pop rivit and unclip a few harnesses.

the window motors are thick guage power feeds. it will be fine to support the 12volts needed for the usb adapters and they only doing most 5amps.

one of the easiest and best mods i made up for the t4r, next one was my under hood lighting mod.

OK cool, only reason I do not want them in the door is because I like to put cables in low traffic areas where they are less likely to get pulled or something. If it was not for that I would totally put them in the door.

I was changing my oil the other day and was thinking I need an underhood light like every time I open the hood lol.

 

[Mike07SE]

Great share on this idea. Just did this myself today. This will also help out with the kids and their electronics, as well as the wife or whoever else, is riding shotgun.

Thanks!

PS - The links to your photos in the original write-up look like they're broken.

 

[gshadow325]

Great share on this idea. Just did this myself today. This will also help out with the kids and their electronics, as well as the wife or whoever else, is riding shotgun.

Thanks!

PS - The links to your photos in the original write-up look like they're broken.

looks like you are right. photobucket sucks.

if you really need photos i can look into updating the links.

 

[hoodoo]

looks like you are right. photobucket sucks.

if you really need photos i can look into updating the links.

Yes, please update your photo links. Mucho appreciated!

 

[CookieRoe]

Yes, please update your photo links. Mucho appreciated!

Yes, [MENTION=93434]gshadow325[/MENTION] , if you can. However hoodoo, I doubt it b/c that would be labor intensive and shadow is a busy guy. I could kick myself for not printing out some of his DIYs. Urghhh. (particularly his "Cluster always on MOD with dimmer" mod :naughty: )

I'm contemplating reassigning my photos from photobucket to imgur or flickr.

 

[Bumbo]

looks like you are right. photobucket sucks.

if you really need photos i can look into updating the links.

Use imgur instead... free and none of this bandwidth limits of Photobucket.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

 

[gshadow325]

Use imgur instead... free and none of this bandwidth limits of Photobucket.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

thats what they said with photobucket years ago and look at where i am at now. 1000's of photos stuck with them a holes

 

[Bumbo]

thats what they said with photobucket years ago and look at where i am at now. 1000's of photos stuck with them a holes

Ever hear the saying, No such thing as free... I have had it happen to me too, back in the days even before photobucket.

Over the years I have learned that anything free in life will often come with some type of catch or caveat.

If you want a free solution, you pretty much need to migrate and roll with the punches as things change.

I only use those sites for forum sharing, never to store my masters or originals... all that stuff goes into a paid storage service and is replicated onsite using a Synology NAS.

The only downside I can see on the photobucket side is having broken links to forums posts... that would irritate me too.

 

[zimdba]

looks like you are right. photobucket sucks.

if you really need photos i can look into updating the links.

There's a Chrome Extension that helps: Photobucket Hotlink Fix 1.3.9

 

[gshadow325]

I know no free lunch.

Problem is the same plan I had last year is now 400.bucks.

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

I know no free lunch.

Problem is the same plan I had last year is now 400.bucks.

I'd just buy a large flash drive/external hard drive and store all photos for later access. Plug in the device and upload photos quickly if you need to share them with others otherwise don't rely on some company to store your photos on a permanent basis

 

[gshadow325]

I'd just buy a large flash drive/external hard drive and store all photos for later access. Plug in the device and upload photos quickly if you need to share them with others otherwise don't rely on some company to store your photos on a permanent basis

in no way am i concerned about the files being lost. i have that on my hard drive but its just all the links that are gone now!