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Author Topic: In car USB plugs  (Read 7090 times)

Offline Carbon Goodies

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In car USB plugs
« on: June 12, 2014, 12:20:15 am »
Has anybody fitted any USB plugs to their car before?

I have 3 unused switch blanks below my gearstick which seem like a bit of a waste. Has anybody ever installed some USB plugs in there?

It makes sense to me to have some live plugs in there to charge my phone and sat navs etc.

I've seen these on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-AUX-Switch-FOR-VW-NAV231-268MF-RCD510-RCD310-RCD300-RNS315-POLO-VW-Touran-/151152745184?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item233167dae0

I'm wondering if one of these could be wired into the cigarette lighter so I can charge my phone.

What do you guys think?

Offline golfmk5

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Re: In car USB plugs
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2014, 01:33:19 am »
Hi,

I just fitted this one in one of the switch blanks (they fit MK5 as well as MK6):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RNS315-RCD510-USB-Switch-Cable-FIT-VW-MK6-Golf-6-SCIROCCO-Jetta-/291117531885
EDIT: Note that due to the shape of the switch I think it can only replace the one on the right side (in case you were considering getting more than one)

If you have the RCD510/RNS315 the USB switch connects directly to the head unit. Otherwise you will have to do a little custom wiring. You can get 12V (switched) power from the fuse box, pass that through a step down converter to get 5V and send that to the USB switch - that is what I did, and this will make it possible to charge your phone. If you have the RNS 510 (like me) and you want to integrate it with the head unit also (not just 5V power) then you need to use the media interface (MDI). I didn't bother with this. Here is a link to a step down converter: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Better-Waterproof-DC-DC-Converter-12V-Step-Down-to-5V-Power-Supply-Module-3A-15W-/380794929775

Finally, these are available as aux-in as well (I have this too and can confirm it will fit an MK5):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RCD510-AUX-Switch-Cable-5KD-035-724-FIT-VW-MK6-Golf-SCIROCCO-Jetta-/301075877954
« Last Edit: June 12, 2014, 01:36:16 am by golfmk5 »

Offline Carbon Goodies

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Re: In car USB plugs
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2014, 07:11:38 am »
That's exactly the info I needed, thanks very much. :happy2:

Offline AndyBrown

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Re: In car USB plugs
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2014, 06:39:34 am »
I double dare someone to make a how to...

Offline jon-easy

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Re: In car USB plugs
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2014, 11:37:07 pm »
I bought the replacement USB switch and a hard wired 12V USB charger like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261273961932
I then removed the ashtray, soldered the relevant (12V) wires to the cigarette lighter socket and the (5V) wires to the USB switch and hey presto!
Happy to provide more information if necessary!

Offline golfmk5

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Re: In car USB plugs
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2014, 02:15:48 am »
Here are some pictures from my install.

1. Tap into a fuse box slot that has power, but no fuse. Add a 3A fuse and run the wire behind the panel underneath the steering wheel and then up where the ashtray would be.



Alternatively you can add a new circuit (following this guide: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/circuit-addition-to-fusebox-in-your-mk5-or-mk6-volkswagen). A lot more work, but a nicer end result.

2. I had a step down converter lying around from a previous project. Connect the wire coming from the fusebox to the +12V in on the converter. The 12V ground wire only has to be a few cm long.



3. Cut the USB plug cable in half and you will see it contains 4 smaller wires. Connect the +5V and 5V ground from the converter to the corresponding wires in the USB plug cable. Do not count on the color coding being standard, i.e. red wire is power and black wire is ground - do a continuity check! Finally short the D+ (green) and D- (white) wires so whatever you connect knows that it can draw as much power as it needs, i.e. not limited to 500mA. I tested this with several phones and some (such as Galaxy S3/S4) works without shorting while others (such as Xperia Z2) does not.



4. Finally mount the assembly underneath the ashtray.


Offline golfmk5

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Re: In car USB plugs
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2014, 02:22:40 am »
If you want to get away with a little less custom wiring then maybe something like this would work:
http://www.doubleapex.co/products/usb_charger_usb01

Alternatively a USB pass through and the step down converter suggested by jon-easy:
http://www.doubleapex.co/products/usb_passthrough_usb01
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261273961932

I haven't tested these though...