Hi,

I'm planning on wiring my GPS unit into the car so I don't have to have the power lead plugged into the 12V cigarette outlet.

My plan was to either take 12V from under the cigarette socket and run the lead up the side to the glovebox and then into the hole in the centre of the dash. Are there any other more convenient places, such as the light for the glovebox where I can take the 12V for the GPS? I don't think the current draw is very high but suspect the 12V in the glovebox is not switched with the ignition - so would be live all the time.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the dash area? Or any other ideas where I can take 12V without having to remove too much trim?

Thanks in advance!

Isn't there a fuse box below the glove box  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Yes, but not sure if it's switched. You could take one from the front aux socket, thats switched. The rear one is a constant on. Just got to watch your warranty if you hard wire it then start getting electrical problems!

Hello Liberty555, as npinks says, there is a fuse box behind the glove box, the hand book pages 207/8 shows the spare circuits.
I have wired in a Garmin 1490T, which is an almost exact fit in the dashboard OE GPS location. I took the power from F5, an unused circuit which is switched on/off by the ignition. Mine actually had a 10 amp blade fuse in place; I replaced this with a 10 amp blade fuse from Jaycar which has a fly lead from it so you can connect the GPS power supply to it. I connected this to a accessory cigar lighter socket, cable tied to the bulkhead crossmember, so that the Garmin power supply plugged directly in - this is important, since you must not feed 12 volts direct to the Garmin. Other GPS makes may be different. I also put a switch in the circuit so that I don't have to have the GPS on when the ignition is on. There is a very good location inside the glovebox just behind and above the latch for this switch; it appears to be a mounting for an additional light to the glove box which is not used - at least on a 2009 SE here in Australia. Feeding the cable into the OE 'box' in the dashboard involves cutting a small hole in the base; this will be covered by the rubber mat when you remove the GPS. I should add that all the wiring is quite straightforward, there's even an easily accessible earth point on the centre console, and can be removed with no markings on the vehicle apart from the hole in the centre box which can, as I said, be covered by the original rubber mat. I should add that you need to remove the glovebox to do all this, about a 5 minute job. I also removed part of the centre console to gain access to the original GPS box for cutting the hole.
My purpose in all of this was to make it less obvious to a sneak thief that the GPS was an add on, and not to have any visible fitting points or holes when finally removing it from the vehicle. It is, too all intents and purposes, permanently in the car but can be removed for map and software updates.
Sorry about being longwinded, but hope it helps.

Wow! Thanks for the detailed reply - this is exactly what Ineeded!

I have purchased a 12V female cigarette lighter socker and also a Garmin 12V male socket with th USB power output - The socket is fused alread but will get Jaycar item you mentioned - that is excellent advice!

I'm going to make a bracket for the Garmin as I have a phobia of drilling holes in my car!

Thanks again!

Just a quick question...

I've looked at Jaycar - is it a regular blade fuse or a small (mini) blade fuse you used?

I don't have the car with me at the moment...

Cheers

Glad it has helped; the fuse box behind the glove box uses mini blade fuses, which is what you need. They are about $6 each from Jaycar with the fly lead, I could not find another supplier - I got two, just in case! I'm very much of your view regarding drilling holes that aren't absolutely necessary, but my prime aim was not to give any obvious indication that the unit was an 'add on', hence the hidden wiring and no visible fittings. One other point, if you fit the cigarette lighter socket to the crossbar behind the glove box, do it over to the left of the bar (nearside) otherwise it will foul on the glovebox when you close it. Oh, and another thing, my LR dealership didn't have a problem with taking power from the fuse box, but would not accept cutting into the wiring loom to get a supply.
Hope it all goes well.

Fantastic - thats perfect.

I'll order the bits from Jaycar too. I might even photo document i and put it together as a how-to-do for the site... Cheers

I've put a picture in my gallery of the final installation which might be of interest; I sprayed the original shiny black screen surround with matt black plastic paint so that it merged a bit better.
Cheers

How did you keep the GPS in place - is it just a friction fit, or did you have a couple of spacers at the back to stop it falling 'into' the hole ?

Got my 1490T today and am off to Jaycar later to get the fuse etc.

Thanks,
Bill. 2010 Td4e Baltic Blue

bcdaus wrote:

How did you keep the GPS in place - is it just a friction fit, or did you have a couple of spacers at the back to stop it falling 'into' the hole ?

Got my 1490T today and am off to Jaycar later to get the fuse etc.

Thanks,
Bill.

Is there a way to wire it to the audio system of the car as well? 2010 Freelander 2 Select TD4 auto....gone
2011 Freelander 2 TD4 auto ...current

I would not think so. There is no audio output from the Sat Nav. In any case if the sat nav used the audio system it would be interfering with the music / speech from radio, cd etc.

The sound from the sat nav internal speaker is fine.

Bryan

Morning bcdaus, As bjb134 says, the 1490 is a good fit into the dashboard aperture and no spacers are needed. I fitted a strip of self adhesive black felt - available from craft shops- along part of the top edge, but not covering the power button. This gives a very snug fit but its' main purpose is to stop the power button being pressed down when fitted. The way mine is installed it comes on with the ignition (if the isolator switch is 'on') and, when the ignition is switched off, a screen appears showing external power has been lost but giving you the option of leaving the unit on via its' internal battery. If you don't choose that option, it switches itself off after a few seconds, but will come back on with the ignition. As Bryan says there is no problem with the unit sound, plenty of volume and clarity. One thing I was a bit concerned about was whether reception would be effected by being 'in' the dash rather than being on the wind screen, but no problems at all; even the traffic system works well.

Just an update:

I ran power from the fuse box as planned. It took a few goes to find 12V which was switched with the ignition and not always on - but got there in the end.

I found that my GPS would not fit neatly in the dash hole (it’s a Garmin 3760 - the one that looks like an iphone…) so instead I ran 12V under the dash and up the drivers side A-Pillar, which neatly pops out in the corner near the window. Then I just mounted the GPS on the usual bracket just to the right of the intrument binacle. When I turn the car on, it comes on, when I turn it off, it auto powers off. Very handy.

Thanks for the advice.

Now just to run the ipod from the dash rather than the audio input... any ideas?