A simple little usb hack

Not sure if this has been posted before or not. I don't get on here enough but when I need info it's a great place so figured I'd post this up just in case. Anyway, the usb port being located directly in front of the third cupholder makes it a pain and also means a wire laying around.

I pulled the plug apart using a couple small jeweler screwdrivers and the whole board disconnects from the actual holder in the dash. I took a piece of abs plastic and stuck it on the bottom to make it rigid and then taped over the whole thing and then zip tied it up. Now I have no wires hanging around and the cupholder isn't blocked by the usb cord sticking out.

 

I’m having a hard time understanding what’s going on here.


Can you post a pic of the finished product?

 

X2

 

Yeah, @Henry Hooker, it's cools you took time to share this mod that might help us, but I can't figure it out either. Can you maybe post a pic from the vantage point of your driver's seat, showing what this turned out as? What do you plug into now, and is it now sitting loose atop the center console, or-?

 

Squatting Pigeon is correct. Sorry, I get in my mindset and forget that people may not be living in my brain. Basically the usb cord is now ran out the behind the dash. I have my old ipod sitting in that little cubby on the passenger side kind of where their knee would be. As for the front view, it looks the same except there isn't a way to plug in a usb. Obviously if you looked real close you could tell. I did it this way because it's a lot easier to modify/ruin a charging cord vs factory wiring. Here's a pic I couldn't find earlier, you can see the circuit board part. Basically, you unplug the unit from the dash, then pull unit apart to get the circuit board out and then you can plug housing back in place so it looks normal. I added a piece of plastic to the bottom for rigidity and to keep it from touching any metal. I'll try to snap a pic of my ipod hanging out tomorrow and of the
front (although it looks quite normal.)

 

I had to read it 3 times.

 

Still dont get it. Interested in more pics of ipod and all that

 

Ok, here's a pic of how it looks now, and where the ipod is. I had cut and splice my charge cable and drill a small hole back of the cubby to run the wire, which is pretty straightforward, although a bit tedious with the tiny wires. Hopefully I can tear it apart tomorrow and totally redeem myself with a couple extra pics

 

Makes sense now no need to rip it apart again. Good job and definitely works will for your needs.

 

Thanks for sharing OP, looks good! On a side note, your and my definition of “simple” are apparently very different.

 

Ha, perhaps, but when something can be un-clipped vs splicing into factory wiring I'd consider that simpler. My next post about the sub box build might be a bit more in depth and half complicated.