bcolins
Active Member
- Joined
- August 21, 2012
- Messages
- 89
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- City, State
- Cedar Park (Austin) Tejas
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2002 XLS 4.0 4x4
I wanted two power ports in the panel at the front of my center console for my GPS and Detector, or phone charging. I ordered two motorcycle power ports with hinged covers and USB plugs from a China seller on eBay. I think they were $12 for both shipped and took about 2 weeks to show up.
My 2002 XLS has a perfect flat area at the front of the center console tray/bin. The space behind that area is tight,....so I did have to make some easy mods to the power ports in order to make them fit in this location.
There is only one screw holding the center console in. its under the rubber mat in the front storage bin (possibly an ashtray if ordered that way??)
After bending the terminals on the back flat to allow the ports to fit in the limited depth available, I rotated one power port 180 degrees in its black plastic attachment bezel to point the terminals inward where there is more depth. I made a carboard template to fit the area where I was mounting the ports, and then by eye, positioned two quarters where I wanted the ports to be, and traced around them with a ball point. A quarter is about 1" in diameter and that was the size hole I needed for my ports. After cutting out the holes I had traced, I held the template in place on the console and using a ball point pen, I traced the holes onto the console area. I then marked the centers of those holes, and drilled them out starting with a small drill and progessing into my largest drill bit. that was about a 9/16 hole, so I hand finished the holes VERY slowly with a dremel tool with a small sanding drum installed. This plastic is soft, and cuts/sands/melts readily, so go slowly, and check the fit of your power ports frequently. I found that when I thought the hole was still just a bit too small,......I could press the power ports firmly and they would press into place and the lock tabs securely clicked locking them in place.
I used a T-type electrical connector for the hot side from the wires there that run to the power port further back in the console, and found a metal screw that was a grounding point for the negative side of the ports.
Pics follow.
My 2002 XLS has a perfect flat area at the front of the center console tray/bin. The space behind that area is tight,....so I did have to make some easy mods to the power ports in order to make them fit in this location.
There is only one screw holding the center console in. its under the rubber mat in the front storage bin (possibly an ashtray if ordered that way??)
After bending the terminals on the back flat to allow the ports to fit in the limited depth available, I rotated one power port 180 degrees in its black plastic attachment bezel to point the terminals inward where there is more depth. I made a carboard template to fit the area where I was mounting the ports, and then by eye, positioned two quarters where I wanted the ports to be, and traced around them with a ball point. A quarter is about 1" in diameter and that was the size hole I needed for my ports. After cutting out the holes I had traced, I held the template in place on the console and using a ball point pen, I traced the holes onto the console area. I then marked the centers of those holes, and drilled them out starting with a small drill and progessing into my largest drill bit. that was about a 9/16 hole, so I hand finished the holes VERY slowly with a dremel tool with a small sanding drum installed. This plastic is soft, and cuts/sands/melts readily, so go slowly, and check the fit of your power ports frequently. I found that when I thought the hole was still just a bit too small,......I could press the power ports firmly and they would press into place and the lock tabs securely clicked locking them in place.
I used a T-type electrical connector for the hot side from the wires there that run to the power port further back in the console, and found a metal screw that was a grounding point for the negative side of the ports.
Pics follow.
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