Dash Power Point Outlet

[vibrtor]

ATTENTION: IGNORE THIS WIRING DESCRIPTION: SCROLL DOWN FOR PROPER HOOKUP!! - VibrtorSome time ago there was some detailed info regarding rewiring the console power point outlet and the 110v outlet to be "hot" even when the ignition was off. But no info (that I found) was shown for the power point outlet on the dash. So here's the fix for it:Circuit routing: Ign switch --> Fuse block --> junction block (behind glove box) --> power point outlet. After a lot of wire tracing, I found that all you need to do is the following:1) Remove the lower steering column cover (3 philips screws) to access the ign. switch connector.2) Disconnect the plug from the switch socket. (It's a white plug with 6 wires... maybe 7 wires - one connector may have 2 white/black ground wires coming off it)3) The white wire is the 12v feed for the power outlet circuit (as well as other circuits). The red/blue wire receives the 12v feed when the ign switch is turned to Acc or On. That wire feeds the power outlet circuit shown above. So, all you have to do is run the red/blue wire to an "always on" circuit. I did this very easily by removing that wire from the plug and splicing it into the white wire via a splice connector. Now, you ask, "how do I get that wire out of the plug?" It's a piece of cake, once you figure it out, but describing it so you'll understand it is gonna be a real challenge. But I'll do the best I can.On the top of the plug body is a rectangular insert (same color as the plug) that is flush with the plug body. You'll notice it has a small slot that allows you to pry it up with a teeny weenie screwdriver (a jewler's screwdriver will work). Gently pry it up about 1/16" - THAT'S ALL IT MOVES! You'll hear it snap open. DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE IT!! Now...this is where it gets tough to describe... locate the red/blue connector, Above the connector, you'll see a very small clip that holds the connector in place. Using the same teeny weenie screwdriver, slide it between the connector and the clip and gently pry up on it. It should lock in the open position. Then reach behind and slide the wire and connector out of the plug. Now, then, all you have to do is get a splice joint (Radio Shack) and splice the white and red/blue wires together. No cutting of wires is necessary. It'd be a good idea, too, to wrap the exposed connector with electrical tape. If you're able to figure out (via my phenomenal instructions) how to remove the red/blue connector from the plug, you may want to remove the white wire connector too. It makes the splicing easier. Just remember to reinstall it. Reinstalling is easy - just slide it back in and it will lock itself. REMEMBER TO RECLOSE THE INSERT ON TOP OF THE PLUG.If you can't figure out how to get the connector(s) out, you can still splice the two wires, but you'll have to cut the red/blue wire.Now you have a power outlet that works all the time! P.S. No, I don't have a camera. If I did, I would've included pictures.

[JohnC]

Won't the inverter be powered up all the time also, causing a continuos drain on the battery? Even if you are not using the AC outlet the inverter draws current, although I do not know how much.

[joatmon]

He's not talking about the inverter, but the 12V outlet, the "cigarette lighter" outlet.The mod to the inverter was to make it avaiable to be turned on without having the ignition on, it was still controlled by the inverter power switch in the dash, it wasn't on all the time, although I did leave mine on overnight once with no load and didn;t notice any battery problems the next day. Still not recommended to leave it on all the time, for safety reasons if nothing elsee, but it is still controllable via the normal switch, just that you don;t need the key to turn it on. But that is a different thread.nice mod vibrtor.

[vibrtor]

ATTENTION!! DON'T DO THIS MOD YET!! I found a glitch tonight. The line from that feed is powering up the clock display even when the ignition is off. In addition, the radio won't shut off unless you turn it off manually.I'll work on the situation tomorrow and repost.

[JohnC]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »He's not talking about the inverter, but the 12V outlet, the "cigarette lighter" outlet. Ooooh....never mind. thanks for the explaination.

[vibrtor]

I believe I've now got the solution to the problem. It's a fairly simple procedure. I'll work on it this weekend and post the results.

[vibrtor]

OK, Gang - here's what we've got:Because of the circuit layout and the fact that the fuse is at the beginning of the circuit, finding a hot source while still maintaining a fused circuit was not in the cards. In addition, the line feeding the power outlet also feeds several other accessories, two of which pose a problem with an "always hot" condition - the radio and the auto trans control.So, I decided to bypass the circuit altogether and run a separate hot line to the outlet. I also ran a separate ground wire. This way you can just remove the existing plug from the outlet and hook up your own wires. It's pretty simple:Perform steps 1 and 2 above. I then spliced (Radio Shack 64-3052) into the hot line (white wire) as detailed originally and ran a wire directly to the hot side of the power outlet (the grey wire from the factory plug is the hot side). But, now you don't have to mess with removing the connectors from the plug body. You probably still want to remove the plug from the ignition switch, though - it just makes splicing easier. Now (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT), in order to protect the circuit I installed an inline mini blade fuse holder (RS 270-1237). This fuse holder is rated at 30 amps, but there's no fuse in it anyhow, so just put in your own 15 amp fuse, which is the rating of the factory circuit. Since the wires on the fuse holder aren't long enough to make the entire run, I spliced a piece of 16 gauge wire onto the power outlet side (you could use 18 gauge, too) and crimped a female quick-connector (example: RS 64-3039/3049) onto the end which slips onto the power outlet . I then used a similar connector for the ground wire (you may need to "widen" the connector a little, since the ground-side blade on the outlet is a little larger. HoweverRadio Shack sells 3/16 and 1/4 inch quick connects. I just had the smaller one, and they can be widened with a small screwdriver. Run the other end of the ground wire to any metal surface under the dash. I found a small hole in a support bracket for the steering column. So I crimped a spade lug (RS 64-3033) onto the wire and secured it with a small machine screw and nut. Where you decide to connect it is up to you.Just to keep things pretty (but then who's gonna look), I wrapped the two lines together with electric tape and then secured them to a factory harness with a couple wire ties. This way they won't create some kind of rattle under the dash. I HATE rattles! I also secured the factory plug and wire with some tape so it, too, wouldn't rattle around. Incidently, the connectors and splice joints are also available at Walmart. I just referenced RS so you could see what I used. Here's a "picture" of the connection:HOT SIDE:Hot line(white wire at ignition switch) Fuse Holder (15 amp fuse) 16/18 ga. wire female quick connector --> power outlet (hot side)GROUND: Spade lug/Screw eye 16/18 ga. wire female quick connector --> power outlet (ground side)That's it! It works, it's protected and it's an easy reconnect to the factory setup, if you ever decide to. But why would you want to - it's nothing more than a glorified cigarette lighter (the factory fuse location is CIG) and they used to be ALWAYS hot. Unless you leave something in the outlet that constantly draws current, there's no problem. Even if it's a cellphone, eventually they shut down after charging, so that won't kill the battery. I don't think it'd drain it, even if you left the phone on. There's too little power draw.