Hi, just thought i'd share what i've just done on my Sedici.

I wanted to be able to charge my phone whilst i'm driving as I use it as my satnav and often do long calls. I can't use the cigarette lighter because i've got a Griffin iTrip in there, plus i mount my phone on a RAM mount to the right of the steering wheel.

Essentially what i've done is parallel off the cigarette lighter feed, attached a Belkin Micro USB and run a micro usb cable behind the dash and up to my phone.

Here's how I did it.....

....remember to take the keys out the car so there's no power to anything....

1. remove panel underneath steering wheel. There are two screws underneath and then it pops out when you pull it.




2. Pop up the trim next to the air vent and feed in some chase wire/string. I used telephone wire. Careful when popping up the trim because it marks easily (like the boot lining). I used a plastic bike tyre lever.

3. Attach the USB cable (that you will connect to your phone) to the chase wire a few inches from the end. Don't attach it at the end otherwise it won't fit through the hole next to the vent.

4. Pull the USB cable through to an appropriate length, remove the chase wire and push the trim back down.


5. To store the cable i'm threading it into the side air vent. Looks tidy enough.


6. Route the USB cable behind the centre storage area and leave on other side. Make sure it's away from any moving parts like the steering rack adjustment.


7. Next I took a Belkin Micro USB thingy that I got for a tenner and taped it into a cigarette lighter shell (that I had lying around). I may have used a bit too much insulation tape....


8. Reach around the back of the centre panel and pull out the socket that attaches to the main cigarette lighter. Attach two pieces of wire to the back of it and attach these wires to the new Belkin/cigarettelighter/insulationtape mutant in a parallel config. How you do this is up to you and depends on how neat you want to be. I prepared two wires with crocodile clip ends so I can remove later if I want to.


9. Test the connection. Turn the car key to the first notch and see if the Belkin green light turns on. If it doesn't then check your wiring.

10. Plug the cigarette lighter socket back into the back of the main cigarette lighter. This was an absolute git to do and my hand now looks like i've been self-harming but I got there in the end. It'll either take you 20 seconds or 20 minutes. It took me 20 minutes! Picture below shows a photo I took blindly to see where the socket was.


11. Once that's done plug in the USB cable to the Belkin socket and you're done.

I'm amazed I actually managed to do it without electrocuting myself or blowing something up, plus it's quite a tidy solution, at face value! There's the possibility of plugging in a USB hub and sending USB cables either to the glove box or to the centre console where the 4x4 switch is. Won't bother for now because I don't need it and I don't want to put too much load on my crappy wiring!


I'm going to get another Belkin USB thingy to put into the back of the car. The blurb says that it fits flush in a cigarette lighter socket but it doesn't so i'm going to have to fashion something to make it look smart in the back. The wiring is already there behind the panel on the right. Will post about that when I do it.

Let me know if any of you try it! I can send through full res photos if you want them.

This is a great guide! I am looking to fashion something similar in my Punto and it has made my mental plan a lot clearer.

Running a parallel off the existing cig lighter is my concern though.
I ideally want to put a usb cable set up like this one,
a 12v feed in the glovebox,
a 12v feed in the centre 'ashtray' in the back,
another USB in the same centre ashtray
and finally a 12v feed in the boot.

This may seem excessive to most, but there is method to my madness.

My concern is that if I run all these from a parallel from the existing cig lighter, it is likely to overload the wiring? Should I run a set of new wires for each outlet directly from the battery? If so, how would I go about wiring in the ignition?(So it is only on when the ignition is on so as not to drain the battery if something is left plugged in)

Sorry for the long post! :devil:

Hey, thanks for that.

I must admit i had to have a long hard think about putting a parallel off the lighter socket due to my poor grasp of electronics and my uncanny ability to set fire to things, but i figured that there are cigarette lighter splitters on the market which mean you can draw much more power through the socket than my iTrip and phone ever could.

Below is a 3x 12v splitter with 1 USB port. This is only one 12v socket off what you're suggesting.
http://goo.gl/08pX

Don't quote me on this but generally you have about 5amps to play with in a car 12v socket so find out what all the equipment you're planning on adding adds up to and see if you're over the limit. Fuse box would be a good place to check the max amp limit for the 12v socket.

If you're going straight from the battery you'd have to set up more fuses and it could get messy, especially if you start interfering with the ignition. Don't know if that could have an affect on things like immobilisers.

Let me know how you get on!