Stealth Qi Wireless Charging in a 2016 XSport

[Lexingtonian]

Having just received my iPhone X I thought I would share this quick little project, probably took me 30 minutes to complete.

I purchased a cheap/decent Qi wireless charger from Amazon. Just about any will do. I went with this one as, from it's measurements I could tell it had a nice tight (small) coil.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072L9P2Z4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Got it home and took it apart removing the guts.

I put the black heat-shrink on the micro-usb connector and hot glued it to the board.

The Explorer has a nice flat, out-of-the-way location to place the phone on top of the console pocket. I wanted the phone on the flat spot next to the "Sync" button but there wasn't enough room and the plastic was too thick to get a good solid Qi Charging signal so I had to use the area behind it.

Yeah yeah the flash shows all the dust and dirt! (sorry bout that) Those of you with the black-on-black XSport interiors know that you cant see anything in these things...

So I sized up the space on the back of the console pocket flap then used a little 100 grit sand paper to rough it up. the flash makes it look white, but, in the vehicle you can barely see it unless you stick your head down there with a flashlight. I sanded a bit then used some solvent and a rag to take off the sanding bits and any oils/release compound still on the plastic.

I then dry fit the Qi Charger followed by some hot glue and final fit.

Here's the way it looked. I think I'll get a different USB cable as the one I have is the right length but a little too rigid. I applied the Hot Glue right to the Charging Coil. (someone asked me this so I thought I'd clarify)

So the real question is... Does it work? How well?

..For that I made a short 1 minute video that you can watch in HD!




Update 3/5/18

The phone did end up sliding more than I would like on the angle of the door so I bought one of those 5 dollar sticky pads for tossing a cellphone on the dash of a car. I placed the pad on the door but that (door thickness, plus sticky pad thickness plus iPhone case thickness) caused the phone to be too far away from the Qi Pad and the phone wouldn't charge. So I cut the sticky pad into strips and placed them on the sides of the door (below) as there is a bow/curve in the door in the middle. This allowed the phone to reach the Qi Pad and charge splendidly. Sorry for the dirt, y'all know in these black vehicles ya cant see anything till you take photo with flash Hope this helps someone with the sliding problem. To gauge the distance between the phone and the door while sitting on the sticky pad strips, one can pass a sheet of paper under the phone with some light resistance.

Cheers!

-Lex

 

[dentalpain]

Nice. I may give this a try.

 

[Sgt1411]

Well done!....I always thought the charging element had to make contact with the back of the smartphone and couldn't be above it, that is very slick.

Ford could now easily make a retrofit "lid" with that charging element built in.

I just saw the new 2018 Chev Traverse and that's the same spot they chose for the OEM wireless charging pad.

 

[Lexingtonian]

Kind words gents thanks! And FYI on sanding the bottom of the lid. I sanded the way I did because I thought the lid was black ABS plastic. It’s apparently painted fiberglass (or looks like it). Had I known, that I would’ve sanded a smaller area in the center. Just something to keep in mind. Again, you can’t see it in the car at all so I don’t really care but wanted to share.

It charges well enough to do, I think around 15 to 25% an hour. Haven’t been a long road trip to pay attention yet. Will over the next week though. Which is exactly what I wanted it to do because I use a different phone in my car for CarPlay. A jailbroken phone that I tether over instant WiFi hotspot to my iPhone X. My main criteria was for the wireless charging to be strong enough so the battery charge will actually advance while devices are connected to Wi-Fi (on iPhone X). Works perfect for that and small top ups around town.

 

[Sgt1411]

Cant tell in the video but does your iPhoneX have a case on it?

Also since that plastic surface is slippery and the phone will slide during cornering, how would charging be affected by a thin layer of rubber or something that reduced phone sliding?

 

[Lexingtonian]

Cant tell in the video but does your iPhoneX have a case on it?

Also since that plastic surface is slippery and the phone will slide during cornering, how would charging be affected by a thin layer of rubber or something that reduced phone sliding?

Yes it does have a case on it. A silicone rubber case about a millimeter and a half thick. Doesn’t really slide under normal driving conditions. You are correct part of this hack assume you have something to hold the phone in place.

This is the case I have currently.

AmazonBasics iPhone X Silicone Rubber Slim case, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SZDL58/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sfXeAbX19800E

 

[Lexingtonian]

Yes it does have a case on it. A silicone rubber case about a millimeter and a half thick. Doesn’t really slide under normal driving conditions. You are correct part of this hack assume you have something to hold the phone in place.

This is the case I have currently.

AmazonBasics iPhone X Silicone Rubber Slim case, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SZDL58/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sfXeAbX19800E

I also carry a second iPhone for work that is an iPhone 7. It has the Apple leather case. I just sat it on the same spot to see how resistant to movement it would be. Not too bad under normal circumstances hard Corning it might move a little. Basically the phone kind of sit where the door makes the turn down and doesn’t move too much. Kind of like in the video.

 

[djsupadave]

How did you get the guts out of the Wireless Charger?

 

[Lexingtonian]

If you have the exact same one, I removed the screws from the bottom (under stickers as I recall) and peeled off the top. The charging surface was like an aluminum sticker that just peels right off being pried with a very thin screwdriver. One that’s done I had to work some hot glue loose on the microusb connector then it was free.

 

[djsupadave]

If you have the exact same one, I removed the screws from the bottom (under stickers as I recall) and peeled off the top. The charging surface was like an aluminum sticker that just peels right off being pried with a very thin screwdriver. One that’s done I had to work some hot glue loose on the microusb connector then it was free.

Awesome, thank you. I brought the same one. Also thanks for the fast response.

 

[OgreIAm]

Anyone else having issues with the USB cutting in and out?

 

[Lexingtonian]

Anyone else having issues with the USB cutting in and out?

Mine has been rock-solid since i put it in. Bad USB cable? Perhaps try running a long USB from the charger to another USB port to eliminate possibility of bad cable?

Could also be a bad USB port. To test, use one of those small cigarette lighter to USB adapter and test it with that. If you have a thick case on your iPhone you may be just on the edge of the range of the QI Charger. Try taking case off and see how it works.

 

[peterk9]

Anyone else having issues with the USB cutting in and out?

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[Lexingtonian]

Updated the design to add better anti-slip. See bottom of original post.

 

[SurrealOne]

I wish in Calif I could do that. But we have hands free vehicle code the mobile phone must be mounted on dash or windshield and the driver must only use one finger to swipe an APP open or deactivate an APP. I was trying to think of a place behind the console upper dash area that I could mount something like this.

 

[Lexingtonian]

I wish in Calif I could do that. But we have hands free vehicle code the mobile phone must be mounted on dash or windshield and the driver must only use one finger to swipe an APP open or deactivate an APP. I was trying to think of a place behind the console upper dash area that I could mount something like this.

I actually run a second jailbroken iPhone just for CarPlay so the iPhone X sits on the charger and that jailbroken phone connects to it via tethering. Works really well. You could probably do that. But that would be your only option of course. I was looking at adding a wireless charger higher on the dash but path of least resistance led me to this project. I do think it’s possible

 

[Want300]

Kind words gents thanks! And FYI on sanding the bottom of the lid. I sanded the way I did because I thought the lid was black ABS plastic. It’s apparently painted fiberglass (or looks like it). Had I known, that I would’ve sanded a smaller area in the center. Just something to keep in mind. Again, you can’t see it in the car at all so I don’t really care but wanted to share.

Did you have to sand it to get it to stick? Or to get the charging to work?

 

[Lexingtonian]

Did you have to sand it to get it to stick? Or to get the charging to work?

I sanded because its always prudent to do so when mating parts of this nature with hot glue. The engineer in me won’t permit anything else. Try it without, should be fine.

 

[Diveshard]

I'm trying this right now.

 

[Diveshard]

I dont have hot glue so tried with double sidded stikky velcro tape and its too thick and wont connect