Bruce In Philly

In my '09 C2S, I want to bury a three-socket power source behind the center console. Does anyone know any good 12V hot and ground operated by the ignition key?

In pretty much all my cars, I put one of those Radio Shack three or four cigarette lighter socket things under the dash where I hook my V1 power cord, a micro USB cord to power my phone, and an extra USB style for passenger phone.

I was going to wire my V1 to the overhead light, but I still want the power for the other reasons.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanx
Bruce in Philly

Mike in CA

I have the V1 in my '09 C2S wired to the fuse panel, Row C, Fuse position 1. It's switched with the ignition and is used for the AWD control unit for the 997 TT but is obviously unused in my car, and no doubt yours as well. You could use this as the power source for your multi-socket adaptor. Anywhere you find a screw into the metal chassis itself will act as a suitable ground (I found a spot behind the fuse panel). Just be careful if you're running multiple devices that the circuit is properly fused. The 10A fuse I used is more than adequate for the V1 alone. You may know this already, but a fuse tap like the one in the second pic makes piggybacking on an existing fuse easy, They are also available at Radio Shack.

Bruce In Philly

Thanx Mike,

Where did you find ground?

Bruce

Mike in CA

I found one behind the fuse panel, which I partially removed to thread the power wire through from behind. I can't remember exactly where the ground was, but it was a screw that went directly into the metal bodywork. Any fastener that is in direct contact with the metal chassis should give you a good ground. I use a multi-meter to check for power and ground.

Marine Blue

Would one single socket support three by chance? If yes I believe you should have a socket in the passenger footwell and maybe you can simply plug in the 3 in 1 adaptor?

I plan on running my V1 wire around the window sill and into that socket so it is easily reversible and won't interfere with any other accessories in the car.

Mike in CA

In my '09 Carrera S the accessory socket in the passenger footwell is hot all the time; it's not switched with the ignition. IMO, it's a PITA to have to remember to turn on or shut off the radar detector every time you use the car. I also don't like having wires or plugs dangling in the footwell, but YMMV on both those issues. FWIW, using a vacant spot in the fuse panel doesn't interfere with any other accessories.....

Minok

Is there a way to know or adjust if an unused fuse position is powered all the time or ignition key setting? Typically this is known by wire color (red vs brown or something) but can one see this easily when you remove the fuse panel to plug things in on the backside?

I'm going to wire in a detector solution as well and will run its power needs all the way back to the fuse panel for a dedicated fuse. I don't want fuses in line along the run because if it blows I then have to dig out the inline fuse location.

Mike in CA

For my V1, I used the supplied direct wire power adaptor which includes a socket for the RJ11 jack (phone cord) to the V1, power wire with spade connector, as well as the inline fuse and ground wire. I'm sure other detectors have similar arrangements. All of this is tucked behind the fuse panel where I can easily get to it, so I kept the inline fuse.

There's no reliable way to determine what wires are switched at the panel by sight. I started by finding fuse positions on the fuse chart that were associated with options that I either didn't have or with less critical accessories. Then I used a multi-meter to test which of those fuse positions were hot only when the ignition was switch on. If you don't have a multi-meter an inexpensive 12V test light will also work. But there's no way to tell just by looking at the panel or wiring.

hakaida702

Somewhat related, but possibly not question here. Have any of you thought about mounting the V1 on the passenger side of the rear view mirror and use the V1 connection to confirm threats?

http://www.valentine1.com/v1info/v1connection/

I'm thinking I want to mount a V1 on the passenger side of the rear view mirror so it's out of my sight and I would just use the V1 connection for warnings.

Spyerx

As mentioned, 12v plugs on the 997 are hot all the time, not ideal for accessories as you may kill your battery. Best to find a switched fuse.

My v1 is mounted to left of mirror, I have the v1 remote display on top of steering wheel, in front of tach. That way I can just glance down and through peripheral vision, not up to right, to see where radar is coming from.

Use an add-a-fuse (preferred) or fuse tap to tap into a switched fuse. I can't recall which fuse slot I used but there were several. When you remove the 3 screws in the fuse panel, the lower rocker around it pulls right out, then you have options for ground and wire routing.

I ran the wire up inside the weather stripping, then inside the top of the a-pillar, then inside the headliner to the mount point.

Super-easy to do and took no more than an hour, including being careful during the wire routing.

Mike in CA

I should have mentioned in the earlier post that for the V1, and probably most other detectors, the inline fuse is rated for 1AMP. None of the automotive fuses in the panel is rated for less than 7.5A. If you tap onto any of them, without using the inline fuse, you risk the possiblity that if something goes wrong your detector could be fried long before the fuse in the panel would blow.

Minok

If I can find an unused fuse slot (ie nothing on my car is powered by it), and use that to power the detector solution, I'll insert the lower rated fuse in that slot.. so I'd put in a 1A fuse if that were the case.

But if the detector blows the 1A fuse that itself indicates there's a grave problem with the detector.

The fuse is there to protect the rest of the cars electrical system from damage from a failed component, not to protect the component form the car. ;-)

Bruce In Philly

Thanks again Mike,

I just finished the installation. I used one of those bussman inserts and used fuse position 5, for PDK. I used the same bank as you since you showed it is controlled by the ignition switch - the fuse diagram shows it is on the same power bus.

For the record, you remove the carpet surrounding the fuse box by removing the three screws on the fuse box. This does not remove the box, just the carpet insert. The fuse box is snapped in but don't try to remove it... trust me on this one. The fuse box has a hole in it as shown in Mike's picture, to run the hot line.

Just next to the fuse box, closer to you and the door, is a chassis screw holding some some plastic cable holders. I used this for the ground.

Easy.

Bruce in Phillly.

Mike in CA

You're welcome, Bruce. It's been almost 4 years since I did the install and now that you mention it I remember and you're right, it was just the carpet piece, not the fuse panel itself. Glad I didn't mess you up with that bit of faulty info and that everything else worked out.

fskof

Here is a pic that I hope will help