wiring questions

[emd001]

Hey all,
So the truck is finally getting to the point where I am starting to get tired of seeing all the wires hanging out in places where I can hide them. Anyway I have a galls switch box laying around and I want to mount that in the truck and use it to run everything except for the radios (which already go to the battery). my questions:

1) Can i snip the ends off of the cig adapters to my GPS and everything else and hook them up to to the wires from the switch box?

2) if 1 = true: I have a uniden 369t hooked up to a cig lighter adapter, if i snip the cig adapter off do I need to step the 12v down somehow before going to the tip that plugs into the scanner or will it be ok?

3) if 1 and 2 are true, would id be good enough to soldier all the connections and then wrap them or is there a better way to secure the connections?

Thanks yall

 

[OCO]

1: You need to get a DVM out and measure the voltages before clipping anything. Be very careful in noting polarity of the equipment end of all plugs.
2: Same answer as 1: and whatever you do, it's going to need a regulated 6 volt supply.
3: I always soldered and then a double layer of heat shrink tubing, making sure there weren't any sharp protrusions from the soldered joint.

Rather than destroy your mobile cords, why not see if you can get new plugs and make up new power cords where you can replace them? I think your biggest problem will be the fact that most of the units use something other than 12 volts...

 

[NCFire11]

If it is something that does not use 12V, you are going to need to drop the voltage to whatever you need, using a voltage regulator. Run a 12V from a master switch or from the battery to the regulator, then you can put the regulated voltage to any of your switches.

 

[OCO]

I'm betting that there'll be multiple regulated voltages required. That's why I suggested the DVM. The 6 volt spec was specifically for the Uniden scanner.There seems to be a conspiracy amongst mobile device manufacturers to avoid using a common voltage.

 

[NCFire11]

I'm betting that there'll be multiple regulated voltages required. That's why I suggested the DVM. The 6 volt spec was specifically for the Uniden scanner.There seems to be a conspiracy amongst mobile device manufacturers to avoid using a common voltage.

No doubt there-they want you to have to buy 4 adapters instead of just one.


Also, if you need +5v, you can get what you need from any cell phone car charger with a USB port, just a thought.

 

[OCO]

I've never checked, but the Verizon mobile chargers I've got always seem to cook the heck out of the phones ... not sure if they're regulated very well.. Note the OP is trying to dump all the power port plugs....

 

[NCFire11]

I've never checked, but the Verizon mobile chargers I've got always seem to cook the heck out of the phones ... not sure if they're regulated very well.. Note the OP is trying to dump all the power port plugs....

OEM phone chargers like Rocketfish are great, I don't own any Verizon brand chargers. I also didn't think about it but they are not designed to handle much load.....

 

[emd001]

hmm well instead of having to worry about getting the right voltage drops can I just get a few of those "cigeratte lighter" plugs and just run all the cig adapters to the devices behind the dash or hidden somewhere? or is that a fire waiting to happen?

 

[BillyFred]

Properly fused it's not a fire waiting to happen. I have the same issue and I mounded a 3 place cigarette lighter unit inside my console and plugged the stuff into it. You're dealing with low current so it should be an issue. The only problem I've had is the plug working its way loose over many thousands of miles. You might want to consider where you put it and how easy it is to re-seat the plugs. This is not something that happens often. I have 83K on the current truck and I thing I've had to re-seat one plug twice.