Yeah, the damn GPS doesn't turn off by itself. How dumb is that?
Ok, here is my level of ignorance, never having worked on a car's electrical before. I assume that you just melt the plastic off of a spot on the existing wire and patch in the new wire to that spot, hitting it with something to seal it and some shrinkable coating.
Where can I find a wiring diagram for my truck? I assume a power line is going to be red.
OK, some not good assumptions.
1. Power leads not always red.
2. You don't melt off plastic.
Best if you can get an experienced friend to help you. If not, here is some basic guidance.
Great source for wiring docs:
Auto - Online Repair Info
http://search.ebscohost.com/
ID: rrcc
PW: rebsco
Select: Auto Repair Reference Center
Fill in: Find Your Vehicle
Follow prompts down to Wiring Diagrams.
Go to auto parts store and get a 12 volt outlet, some red wire, some black wire, and some wire taps; 18 gauge wire will be fine. The wire taps are little folding plastic things with two channels on each side and a metal piece with two slots in the middle. One of the channels goes all the way across; the other has a plastic stop about 3/4 of the way down it. You lay the source wire in the continuous channel, and the new wire in the other channel, each laying in one of the slots in the metal piece. You then fold the two halves together and squeeze it with a pair of pliers; this pushes the metal slots thru the wire insulation, thus tapping the new wire to the old one inside the plastic shell. No tape, insulation or shrinktube needed on these. Use red for power and black for ground. I put my extra outlet inside the center console between the seats.
As an alternative, you can rewire the existing cigarette outlet in the dash. Use the wire taps to connect a red wire from the chosen switched power feed to the back of the existing outlet's power lead, making sure that you cut the existing outlet power lead wire where it goes back into the wiring harness. Will use the existing ground connection, so only one wire to fool with. Only possible down side - if you actually use the lighter as a lighter, might pull too much current, pop fuse, and silence your radio. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.
