Anyone made a hole in the console door?

[mad_dog97]

Bit of a random question, but one thing that I wish the center console door had, is a hole to feed a small power cable through. I'd like to charge my phone with the power point inside the console, but don't want to have to 'hide' the phone inside when I do. I've done it a couple times, and ended up forgetting to take the phone with me.

It seems like it would be possible to drill a small hole on one side of the console door, but I wasn't sure how brittle it would be, and I wouldn't want to completely destroy the door.

Anyone done something similar, or have any good work arounds?

 

[ExplorerM]

I noticed the other that the console between the front seats has a channel on either side of the latch. I use the power outlet in there for my cell charger and run the cord in the channel so the hatch door closes and no need to drill holes.

 

[yow04xplr]

i noticed the other that the console between the front seats has a channel on either side of the latch. I use the power outlet in there for my cell charger and run the cord in the channel so the hatch door closes and no need to drill holes.

+1

 

[jrmexplorer]

Bit of a random question, but one thing that I wish the center console door had, is a hole to feed a small power cable through. I'd like to charge my phone with the power point inside the console, but don't want to have to 'hide' the phone inside when I do. I've done it a couple times, and ended up forgetting to take the phone with me.

It seems like it would be possible to drill a small hole on one side of the console door, but I wasn't sure how brittle it would be, and I wouldn't want to completely destroy the door.

Anyone done something similar, or have any good work arounds?

Are you talking about on the 2011, 2012 Explorer? I believe there is a channel as others have stated.

 

[chimoman]

Yes there is a channel

 

[mad_dog97]

Sorry . . I should have been clearer . . There is a hole in the larger center console. I was referring to the small console in the front (under the radio/climate controls). This is the one that is accessed by a push button and includes a power point, SD(Nav), and the USB connections.

 

[jrmexplorer]

Sorry . . I should have been clearer . . There is a hole in the larger center console. I was referring to the small console in the front (under the radio/climate controls). This is the one that is accessed by a push button and includes a power point, SD(Nav), and the USB connections.

Oh, ok. I would think a sharp drill bit and drilling carefully (maybe use some painter's tape to avoid marring the surface) would work fine. If you do end up breaking it, I'm guessing the part isn't too expensive on fordparts.com.

 

[Captfx]

The hole will have to be big enough for the connector to fit through.

 

[jrmexplorer]

The other option is to use the power in the center console and feed the cord through the hole in that. Or -- use the power on the back of the center console and feed the cable to the front.

 

[Jimmy-B]

This is an omission IMHO - I like to have my phone plugged in by USB cable and sitting in its Brodit mount by the steering wheel. So I have to wedge the cable around the edge of the door.

It's a minor point, but worth addressing for the future.

 

[VinceL]

I have done something similar (running a wire through a lid) and I found a simple solution. First off, it takes a very steady hand to get good results, that and a soldering iron.

Since I wanted to run a wire with a connector on it through a cover, but wanted to keep the hole as small as possible (no wider than the wire itself), I decided to cut a small channel from the edge of the cover that was only big enough for the wire to fit through. That way, I could just open the cover to feed the connector through, and then close the lid with the wire tucked into the channel.

Since drilling so close to the edge would have been difficult, if not impossible without using a template, I decided I could use a soldering iron to melt the channel. I practiced a few times on a scrap piece of plastic to get the feel down. I very carefully used the hot iron to melt a very small channel in the lid. I used and exacto knife and a small rasp to clean up the edges. It worked quite well. I wish I had taken some photos to illustrate!

The type of plastic can make a big difference in how it goes, as my practice pieces were of a softer, lower melting temp plastic than the actual lid. That made things a little interesting.

Of course, it will stink like crazy, and if you don't have a steady hand, it can look like crap, but if done properly, can look like it was meant to be there all along.

 

[gpzrider]

If you want a great phone cradle that attaches to the air vents, google XWAY by Tetrax . 30 dollars on amazon, fantastic product. I just leave the small door open with the power cord running up.