If you’re like me, you probably have several items in your vehicle that needs to be kept charged with various USB cords. In my case it’s two GoPro cameras, my phone, and a scanner. All of which need a power cord and of course and outlet. Most newer vehicles have at least a couple USB ports and a 12v adapter somewhere on the main dash. But there’s never enough so now you need a splitter of some sort and before you know it, you have a mess of wires sticking out of your dashboard running all over the place. Not only are they unsightly, but they can also get tangled up on your turn signals, shifter, etc and they tend to block the your view of the dash cluster and various controls, like audio and climate.
I’ve been known to tuck wires along the edges of the windshield, or edge of some trim before but this time I would need to put in a lot more effort.
Thanks to the YouTube University, I was able to find the videos needed to how to remove various panels, controls, and touch screen so that I could run all my wires behind them. Now because my vehicle has spare powered wires hidden under the dash, I was able to do more than just hide some wires. I was able to eliminate them entirely from the main dash. So even though I had a few devices to power, none of the ports on the dash would be used.
After ordering a power hub from Amazon, which had three 12v ports and four USB ports, I also needed a 12v adapter (acquired from my local auto parts store) that I would wire directly into those spare wires hidden under the dash. Fortunately I had the needed tools and skill to do the soldering myself as well as the tools I would need to remove the touch screen and other panels.
Once everything was done I had a lot more power outlets (both 12v and USB) and it doesn’t look like I’m using any at all. The wires also come out from behind the dash very close to where they are needed and are barely noticeable. Actually, you don’t notice them at all unless you are looking for them. The only sacrifice, other than the time to do the job, was losing about 20% of my glove box to the power hub.
All in all, it was time well spent.
