Hardwiring Cigarette Lighter power adapter...

**jaysen** · 06-07-2011 04:18 AM

In a nut shell; Installing an xcarlink with a Micca SlimHD media player. I've purchased a cigarette adapter to power the media player however would like a clean "OEM" look. I'm routing the AV and Power cables into the glove box and I'm 99% sure on how to accomplish what it is i'm looking to do but need to make certain before doing so;

Purchase a female cigarette adapter like this:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...word=cigarette

cut the end of the female adapter and attach some wire tap connectors like this;
http://www.amazon.com/JT-Products-12...7444788&sr=1-2

Then attach the wire taps to an existing cigarette adapter inside the car - and in this case the closest and most practical would be the one inside the ashtray compartment

My only question is there are three wires going to the lighter/light - which two wires do I use to "tap" into out of the three available.

**autobahnaudi** · 06-07-2011 04:43 AM

I would suggest making another wire harness to go in between the car and cigaratte lighter then you just slice into that ground and power of your new wire harness. This way you are not tapping into the cars wiring and can just remove your wire harness if something happens. I did this and have been running my media player hard drive and navigation off the harness for months now now problems.
1 x 1J0 919 321 (female plug)
1 x 000 979 227 (large female wire for power and ground going to 12v plug)
1 x 000 979 135 E (small female wire for lighting control)
1 x 357 919 321 (Male Plug)
1 x 000 979 220 (large male wire for power and ground going to 12v plug)
1 x 000 979 130 (small male wire for lighting control)
Thats what you would need to make your own harness its copy and pasted from davidb8 website.
Also a side not that micca slim hd media player is 5.0v not 12v have you noticed this and do you have fix for it? Like a dc-dc converter/invertor.
Red is power
Brown is ground
Blue (Small Wire) is lighting control.

**jaysen** · 06-07-2011 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by autobahnaudi

I would suggest making another wire harness to go in between the car and cigaratte lighter then you just slice into that ground and power of your new wire harness. This way you are not tapping into the cars wiring and can just remove your wire harness if something happens. I did this and have been running my media player hard drive and navigation off the harness for months now now problems.
1 x 1J0 919 321 (female plug)
1 x 000 979 227 (large female wire for power and ground going to 12v plug)
1 x 000 979 135 E (small female wire for lighting control)
1 x 357 919 321 (Male Plug)
1 x 000 979 220 (large male wire for power and ground going to 12v plug)
1 x 000 979 130 (small male wire for lighting control)
Thats what you would need to make your own harness its copy and pasted from davidb8 website.
Also a side not that micca slim hd media player is 5.0v not 12v have you noticed this and do you have fix for it? Like a dc-dc converter/invertor.
Red is power
Brown is ground
Blue (Small Wire) is lighting control.

I'm aware the Micca uses 5.0v - I purchased the 5.0v DC Cigarette lighter adapter specifically from Micca Store;
http://www.miccastore.com/car-power-...eef09b487eafe6

So, I was planning on using the original Cigarette lighter adapter pictured above, with the female adapter I posted in the original link... Does this make sense ? I like the idea of creating a new harness and not tapping into any of the existing wires but where do I purchase the correct male/female connectors - I'm confused on that

**autobahnaudi** · 06-07-2011 10:21 AM

Ya that would work just fine I believe.
Did you want another cig lighter socket in your glove box or is only for the hard drive? I'm asking cause you can just tap the HD power cable right into your new harness and run the wire to the glove box thats the way I did mine. I opened the DC invertor and sliced right into my new harness power/ground then ran the power plug up to my glove box and under the AMI box. Only down side to this way is the DC invertor is always on when the car is on but it has its own fuse so no worries.
All the parts on the list above can be bought at your audi dealership.

FYI you maybe want to consider a noise filter for harddrive/xcarlink hookup. I have a horrible humming/whinning noise when I watch movies. Its crazy it picks up all the car noises, when I actuate the parking brake you can hear the noise it makes outside the car but in the speakers. Others have complained of the same sound issues with xcarlink and AMI.
Getting it fixed tomorrow at my car audio shop they will just add a noise filter is what they told me.

**jaysen** · 06-07-2011 10:58 AM

Where would I "tap" in at the new harness... I'm very fluent with computers and had some basic electronics courses in the past, but still very noob. When you refer to HD I'm assuming you're actually referring to the Slim HD and if that's the case; YES, I would like to power the SlimHD.

One of the benefits of the Slim HD is that it allows me to install a 2.5" drive directly to the unit. The only thing that needs power is the actual SLIM HD device itself. I don't necessarily want an extra cigarette lighter inside the glove box, just need to route power to the glove box where the slimhd will sit when in use.

As for the filter, YES I've already purchased one - I read some reviews on Amazon regarding major noise when using the cigarette adapter to power the slim so I went ahead and purchased anyway. Figured better safe than sorry, right?

**autobahnaudi** · 06-07-2011 11:40 AM

Your harness would look like this execpt the small blue wire lighting control is either on the left or the right not the middle I can't remeber if it's left or right.
If you notice the parts list is only 1 large female and 1 large male wire. This is because both ends are female/male so you cut them in half and solder or splice one female and one male back together. Same with the small wires 1 female and 1 male cut and slice or solder.
I would solder or splice the power cable in were you are connecting the wires back to together.
The power cable for the HD (your slim HD) take it apart and hook the ground piece (the 2 pieces on the sides) to the corresponding brown and the power (top center pin) to the coresponding red.

Ya good call on the noise filter and the slim HD also. I am actually ordering one of these to replace my shitty media player hard drive its seems a much better design, and the IR remote should allow me to use the player while the glove is actually closed.

**jaysen** · 06-07-2011 12:07 PM

Auto,

Thanks for the heads up... Before shelling out cash for the SlimHD, think twice. On paper the design/concept is PERFECT for this type of setup (XCarlink). I have come across several issues before actually installing the unit. IR Remote is horrible, in a car where you would be roughly 2-3 feet away from the box is not an issue... HOWEVER, you'll definitely need a DIRECT line of sight to the IR receiver so consider having to open/close the glovebox or wherever you decide to install.

Read access from media (HD, USB, SD Card) is unbearable. It is suppppppper slow and annoying.

I most likely be returning mine and going with a WDTV which can be modified with custom firmware see NJSDevilFan setup. Only downfall to this is the fact that you would need an external hard drive (USB) to read media.

On a side note: Im having trouble getting audio out of my xcarlink right now, any thoughts ? I have Audi Concert Non-MMI with AMI (iPOD) hook up.

**jaysen** · 06-07-2011 08:25 PM

Ok, so I went out today and purchased some things that I think will work but need to double check with someone here. Hopefully DavidB8 can chime in;

seeing as I am installing the XCarlink behind the glovebox, it would make sense to try and tap into the fuse box that is on the right side of the dash (near glove);

I took the following photos - Can someone tell me if the items I've purchased would work for powering my media player. I'm hoping to use the cigarette power adapter > to the auxiliary female cigarette lighter > terminal plugs from the female adapter > to the Fuse panel

My question is which Fuse can I tap into for power?

**MYFASTA4** · 06-07-2011 09:09 PM

i cant see the pictures ;-(

**DavidB8** · 06-07-2011 09:17 PM

By request my two cents..

I can't see any of the pictures in the last post but I would recomend you look at one of the very first projects I did. Adding an Aux plug in the trunk of hte car. It will give you the proper wires needed to create your own fused power source instead of tapping anything else. http://www.audienthusiasts.com/Proje...ssoryPlug.html

This will allow you to have a nice isolated plug for your device. As far as which fuse block to add it though. Just look for a fuse block with a free spot for a fuse. I would take a test light or multi meter though and select a fuse block that doesn't have power when the car is off so your not drawing power all the time. There is a grounding point if memory servers me correctly behind the passanger kick panel.