Power without cigarette lighter?

[sabcully]

Hellu.

Is there any way to power my Sat Nav from the battery without a cigaretty lighter, which I have not got?
My radio has got USB but when I tried to charge the Sat Nav through the radio it crashed.
Am going to Europe for three weeks in August and Sat Nav would really come in handy.

Cheers.
Sab

[bigherb]

Easiest is to use something like this and cut the crocodile clips off and connect to an earth and a live from the fuse box.
http://www.towsure.com/product/501-'Adapt-It'_4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Or if you have any other 12v type plugs use an adaptor.
http://www.towsure.com/category/7001-_1 ... d_Adapters" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[kentishvanman]

Hi,
This is what I did 'cos I needed a socket for the tv but it also does for the sat nav.
Purchase cigarette lighter, Just Kampers or similiar.
Decide where you want it to go.
Drill hole and fit.
Wire it to the battery, put a 5amp fuse (in holder) in the positive lead.
Took me about 30mins.
Don

[grumpyoldgit]

Hi,
This is what I did 'cos I needed a socket for the tv but it also does for the sat nav.
Purchase cigarette lighter, Just Kampers or similiar.
Decide where you want it to go.
Drill hole and fit.
Wire it to the battery, put a 5amp fuse (in holder) in the positive lead.
Took me about 30mins.
Don

This is the sort of thing I would do. Nice and simple. I have no real idea what goes on under the dashboard and as long as everything is working I am happy. Presumably there is a more elegant way of doing it that would meet the approval of the purists. The words, "take a live from the fusebox" doesn't really help me. Not that I am doing such a job at the moment but being electrically inept all these big words do confuse me.
Behind the driver's seat there is a box with a couple of fuses and a relay for the fridge that was presumably added by the Devon people as there are also cables for the internal lights. Is this the sort of place I should go to if I wanted to add a feed for somewhere in the back of the van?

[kentishvanman]

Bob,
You could probably take power from the wires behind the seat but there is a risk you might overload that circuit depending what is already on it and what you are proposing to add.
If you are not sure take your wires (1 positive and 1negative) directly from the battery and you should be ok.
If you put your whereabouts in your profile then you might find someone is local to you and they might be willing to help out.
Don

[rubadub]

Dude, you can buy a cigarette lighter socket on crocodile clips that will simply attach to the battery behind your seat and will only work when you plug something into it ie sat nav / ipod charger. I got the same in my old beetle a few weeks ago. I got one from a local car parts place for £ 3.50. Hope this helps, peace out.