pjschaffer,

Huh! Good info, thanks! And sure enough, mine was upside down!

-Paul!

PS - JustJay, a 3 amp fuse should be more than enough, and you can get the Add-A-Circuit at Pep Boys and AutoZone (but not Advanced Autoparts or NAPA). Go to Radio Shack if you need a cell phone (I miss the 'old' RS!)

 

Here's the '04 MCS fuse layout.
I used #36 and #42. Note that #36 (rightside up) is acutally upside down (to correctly wire the circuit)
(ok, the friggen fusebox photo doesn't want to upload:impatient -it's in my gallery)

 

Wal-Mart $1.88.

 

Radio Shack does sell fuse taps, the type that is simply a blade of metal inserted into the same contact along with one of the original fuse blades. However they are not recommended because they widen the fuse holder contacts, and the fuse connection becomes less good if the tap is ever removed. Is the Wal-Mart version just like the Littlefuse Add-A-Circuit? $1.88 is a really good price (I purchased for over $7 each online + shipping).

 

It's the same one. Harbor frieght has them too, I think they are $3.00.

 

D'oh! Didn't even think to check there. I think I paid $6 or $7 for one at AutoZone...

-Paul!

 

Well, after reading so many posts about which amp fuse and whcih position the Add A Circuit should be in, I'm a tad confused...

Here's what I want to do: I just bought a Garmin Nuvi 350 navigator. I want to use it on the driver's side lower windshield. I plan to install a second 12v cigarette lighter in the knee bolster, that the Garmin can plug into.

Here's what I need to know, keeping in mind I would like have the Garmin on a "switched" circuit (not always on).

1) What size fuse can I use to tap into for the Garmin? Is a 5 amp fuse sufficient?

2) Can anyone recommend a particular fuse to use, to install the Add a Switch properly as noted above? ? I have a 2005 MCS Cabrio.

TIA!

 

A 5 amp fuse would be more than sufficient to power a GPS. 5 Amps will provide up to 60 watts of power. I checked on the Garmin site and the Nuvi 350 uses 15W max. You could go smaller, but there really is no reason.

I originally used a switched source with my GPS as well, but I still had to turn it off and on when I started and stopped the car, so I switched to an un-switched fuse instead. Any fuse is fine, just follow the add-a-circuit instruction to check that your new device works without the second fuse installed. If it doesn't, turn it around. It should fit fine except in the bottom most position. I believe that the '05 is the same as the '06, in which case, fuse #35 is switched and you can just fit the Add-A-Circuit there with the fuses installed pointing down.

Phl

 

Thanks very much! If I decided to go with an un-switched fuse, would I still need to power on the GPS every time I got in the car? If not, then that sounds like a better option to me. What un-switched fuse # did you use?

 

I used fuse #3, which on an 06 Convertible, is the for the folding roof relay. The add-a-circuit is easy to move, so if the first position you try isn't always hot or switched as you desire, try another position. I used a DC voltmeter to determine which position I wanted but the trial and error method works almost as well.

I suppose you don't have to turn your navigator off if you don't want to. I do to conserve the life of the screen more than anything else.

 

Hey Gerldoc - I have the same setup in my '05 MCSC. I hardwired a garmin GPS to fuse 36 and was able to turn it the right way. I had to though move the fuse puller I bought the add a fuse, purchased a single cig lighter female adapter from pep boys and wired it to the fuse box and the ground to a bolt nearby. I then plugged the cig lighter adapter into the hard wired adapter and tied it all down. My garmin comes on when I start the car and shuts off when I turn the ignition off. It will not stay on in accesory mode though. I plan to post pix soon. Promise.

Coolcab

formerly gaminicool

 

Well, my install went absolutely PERFECTLY!

My plan was to install the 12 volt cig lighter outlet into driver's side knee bolster, so that my Garmin Nuvi GPS can be mounted on corner of the driver's side windshield. I am still waiting for the Garmin to arrive, but I wanted to get everything ready so I could just pop it in!

After scratching my head over where the heck the battery was, I recalled my MA showing it to me in the boot! I disconnected the ground lead only.

I was able to find a "tap a fuse" (same as an "add a fuse") at an autoparts store, although it was pricy (12 bucks, and I still had to buy the extra 5 amp fuse! ) - for some reason, as far as chain autoparts stores go, SF only has Kragen - and they didn't carry it! I found it in a smaller parts store in the South Bay, and was so happy to find one, I bought it anyway.

The 12 volt cig lighter was easy to find at Radio Shack, and I got the one with a rubber cover because I was connecting it to an unswitched fuse, and it would always be "on". I didn't want to scorch anything that might fall into it...

I also bought a 1 inch hole saw and spent the extra $ on a hole saw guide, so that it would keep it centered. I didn't want to risk the saw skipping across the bolster and ruining it. I made a small starter nick with a scratch awl, then drilled a pilot hole as a starter for the hole saw guide. Because the diameter of the lighter was just a tiny bit larger than the hole, I filed the hole larger so that the lighter would fit snugly - and it worked out beautifully!

I could not locate a screw into the metal that was accessible enough or small enough to fit through the hole in the connector for the ground lead, so I just drilled a small hole directly into the metal frame behind the knee bolster and mounted the ground lead there. I connected the hot lead of the lighter to the hot lead of the add a fuse. I decided to use fuse #3 position which is an unswitched lead that operates the convertible top and side mirrors. I hooked up the battery again, and did exactly as the add a fuse suggested, first testing only one fuse (the one to the lighter). I had to turn the add a fuse so that the fuses were on top (which put the wire from it running away from the fuse block) in order to get the switch to work correctly. Then I added the second 5 amp fuse to verify that the 'vert top and side mirror control still worked. Everything did! I bundled the wires together with a tie and tucked them behind the bolster. The fuse door went back on even with the extra wire sticking out of it. It was a real kick to plug in my phone charger and see my phone charging!!!!

I must say, I am really pleased how it turned out - the lighter looks like it came with the car!

Here are a few pix:

This is behind the knee bolster. My finger is on the ground lead for the adapter, and you can see the ground screw tapped into the hole I drilled into the frame at the top center of the photo:





Here is a photo of the "tap a fuse" (same as an "add a fuse") circuit installed in fuse position #3 (note the wire runs away from the fuse block):






This is a photo of the completed project (I have driving lights, which were installed by a Mini technician at the dealership, and the switch for them is on the left). I decided to mount the lighter to the inside of it, because aesthetically, I felt it looked best there.




Thanks VERY much for the help from PJSchaffer, Coolcab, and my dear friend Willum - I had never attempted anything even remotely like this before, and your collective advice made the project practically a breeze!

 

Good job Gerldoc. That is one proffesional looking job. I'm glad to help out as I've been helped by many here on NAM as well.

Phil

 

Ok, I installed the add a fuse to #36, '04 MCS, and everything is working fine. The only problem is that the GTech is having RPM issues. It will be fine and than the RPM's will go crazy for a bit and than be fine again. I can't figure it out. Any ideas?

 

Looks great Gerldoc! This forum as it's posters have been a great help to me also. You'll enjoy the Garmin NAV. Check out the NUVI 350 thread in the nav section for more info. I've got some pix of my install there which you may want to see.

 

There are a couple of threads on NAM regarding the G-Tech. I believe that, if the G-Tech is like other similar devices, it depends on picking up noise in the electrical system caused by the alternator as it spins and translates that to RPM. If the power tap point is exceptionally clean and well regulated (as it might be with power that feeds the audio system and other components in modern cars) there may not be enough "noise" in the system to giva accurate readings. You may have to try tapping the power elsewhere.

 

Just thought I'd share my experiences with using an add-a-circuit to hard-wire my Valentine 1 radar detector. I had originally used one of the lower fuses from the front stack, which was switched with the ignition. However, I noticed that if I turned the ignition on, waited, and then started the car, power to that circuit was cut during starting, so the V1 ended up going through its start-up routine twice. I noticed that the radio didn't cut out during starting (which I think is a cool feature) so I determined that the 5A radio fuse (in the rearward stack, #10 or so) was switched with the ignition, but does NOT cut out during starting. Since the V1 draws very little power, I decided that it probably wouldn't adversely affect starting the MINI, so I moved the add-a-fuse to that circuit, and now it will only go through its start-up beeps once when starting the car. This is probably a decent position to tap into for radio-related accessories - since the radio doesn't cut out during starting, it'd probably be nice if your sirius/iPod/whatever add-on didn't either.

 

Great tip, claancy. My detector has always started up twice (although mine just does a quick double-beep and it never bothered me) too. Care to let us know the exact fuse number?

Even worse now with this E10 summer ethanol gas and the mini needs two starts each morning.

 

It took allot of reading and searching There should be a STICKIE with this kind of info.
Most Excellent, Thanks

 

Like what you did.

Best in Health,

 

I will be installing my oil temp and oil pressure gauges in the next days, and I'm in need of a 12v switched ignition to tap for the + wire of these two. Where can I find it? Also, I'll need to connect the lighting of the gauges to the dash lighting circuit, can anyone post me a pic of which wires are those of this circuit?

 

Gauge and switch lighting is carried by a grey/red striped wire, which can be found in various harnesses such as the one that plugs into the tach, or any of the harnesses for the center console components.

I just posted the following in another thread regarding switched power:

 

Thanks rkw

 

Resurrecting this thread to add some year-specific info (05 MCS):

The following fuse circuits are switched on/off by the key -- F10 & F29.

I used these to add a couple of 12V outlets in the plastic trim panel/tray which is located just forward of the standard lighter socket. The new sockets are installed above the slots in the trim panel (they point upward). It's a good inconspicuous location but the installation was a PITA...

 

I also need some connections under-dash (the kit came with a fuse already)

I need to find connections for
a. a constant-on source of power
b. an ignition-switched source of power
c. a dash-light source of power