Were is the best place to hard wire 12Volts

[dcarling]

I am going to mount a nav system and wanted to hardwire the cord. Is there a good spot under the dash to get 12volts? Maybe something with a plug so i don't have to cut into any wires???? This is a 2004 Explorer.

 

[jrford]

depends do you want Batt power or just Acc?
Batt, cigarette lighter wire under the center console.
Or the Radio wires, has both Batt and Acc. I wired my Garmin off the Acc so that it turns on/off with the ignition.

 

[RickM]

I am going to mount a nav system and wanted to hardwire the cord. Is there a good spot under the dash to get 12volts? Maybe something with a plug so i don't have to cut into any wires???? This is a 2004 Explorer.

Use these to wire taps to connect to power lines in a relatively non-destructive manner.
I believe Radio Shack still carries these.

 

[dcarling]

Yes I think ACC is best route. Any idea a easy quick place to connect to? I would prefer to not cut into wires. I bet there has to be a place for such a thing.

 

[RickM]

You could wire directly to the fuse block but I'm not sure how straight forward it would be on the Explorer. Tapping is the best/easiest way to go and is reversible.

 

[fixxxer]

I think on the late model Ex's, the cigarette lighter is on the ACC line.

 

[RickM]

I think on the late model Ex's, the cigarette lighter is on the ACC line.

On my wife's '02 XLT both the front and rear lighter outlets are always hot.

 

[Todd~Rod]

I know on my 02 XLT both are hot because i have my garmin plugged into the console one and i have to manually shut it off or it will stay on constantly. as for the on the rear of the console i believe they are wired together. When i ran the wire for my Nav i ran the wire a little ways on the dash then down behind the radio bezel to the floor and ran it under the center console and have just enough of the outlet plug sticking out to plug it in. i was gonna hard wire mine but didnt feel like ruining my 12v plug to my garmin.

 

[RickM]

I'd bet the cig outlets work differently from year to year. Maybe differently between sub models/trim levels...

 

[jrford]

best 12v Acc i found was in the radio plug, i used those taps above, one for pos and the other for neg. Garmin below was wired that way, cord runs under the defroster bezel, the USB module sits behind the radio.