For those who have installed a power point (cigarette lighter) in their Euro shelf, did you put it on the inside edge (toward center of car) or outside? I'm a bit torn as to which would work better.

Inside - out of the way, so the charger doesn't intrude on shelf space
Outside - easier to reach

I'm leaning towards inside, as it will likely be used for a cell phone, and I would just leave it plugged in.

Any thoughts? Pics?

TIA

 

I went on the inside. Here is a link to my install

http://forums1.roadfly.org/mini/foru...4757550-1.html

 

Where did you get your Euro Parcel Shelf?

 

Thanks, Smokey - that's exactly what I'm looking for!

tradiuz, I got the parcel shelf from Classic MINI 440-205-6404. It's ~$35 without the incredibly expensive (but very nice) rubber liner, and $65 with (+shipping)

As an alternative, you can get a liner from Uncle_John (NAM member) for $2, but you can easily cut your own from a sheet of rubber shelf liner if you're not lazy like me.

 

Here's where I mounted mine:



and here's the install writeup:

http://homepage.mac.com/rv6a/MiniParcelShelf.html

Chris

 

Mine's on the outside...

 

I'm about to install the euro parcel shelf. How do you hook up the power point? Is there some specific instruction for doing it somewhere?

 

If you'll check out the link I posted above and in that thread I've offered up some alternate fuse locations depending on if you want it powered with switched or unswitched juice. It's the reply called "Couple quick answers" this was on an 2002 build, so just double check that the fuses haven't changed.

 

Thanks for the write-ups. This is my next mod since I carry so many gadgets that I have been compared to the Japanese entry in the Cannonball Run!

 

Doh! I overlooked the link you posted. Thanks for the gentle reminder.

 

No problem jdor1. After about 20 minutes of computer time, my eyes are shot, blood shot


Good luck with the mod, and check out AZmini's link as well. Good stuff in there too.

 

Mine's is toward the center. I used a "Victor" brand lighter from Auto Zone that has an amber lighted ring and looks very OEM. It's on a fuse that comes on and off with ignition.

I have a few of the shelf liners left. If you make your own, make your template before you install the shelf, as it's a pain after the shelf is installed.

The shelf is the handiest inexpensive MOD that you can imagine, still don't understand why MINI doesn't put them in north american cars . . .

 

Is there enough clearance behind the shelf between the steering column and the little "hump" on the left side of the shelf for another power outlet? I'm picking up my MINI next month so I can't check. I've already added an outlet on the right side but I may need another for all the gadgets I have.

 

I believe it's a DOT requirement for knee protection. My knees are shot already, so I'm not worried.


AZMini (Chris) Great write-up - it's awesome to have a photo library of mods like this to ease the mind (I fear drilling holes! )
EXCELLENT implementation of the GDO as well. I use Ian's module for that, but if you don't have one, that's very clean and efficient! I've been trying to think of what I can use that cutout for.


FWIW, I'm probably going to hook it up to an always powered source, so the phone can charge w/o the car on - shouldn't drain the battery as it's so small.

 

Thanks. Talk about drilling holes, I also own a heavily modified Jeep TJ (you can link to it from my main Mini page). I added a snorkle to it. Here I am cutting a huge (~4") hole in the side of it:



Took me 15 minutes to just get up the courage to start cutting.

As far as the power source goes, when I was looking for a switched source, I also found plenty of always on circuits that you could hook in to the same way.

 

This is where I installed mine. There is JUST enough clearance in this area for it. There is not much to the right of the little 'hump', as the bump is there for clearance for the clutch pedal arm. There is more to the pedal arm also towards the right of the bump:


I mounted the socket kinda high so as to not have anything falling into it. There is a lot of room on the right side of the column, and I am probably going to add another socket in this area.

 

That's what I did in mine. And I have left my phone and other small doodads plugged in overnight with no ill effects. Strangely enough, the fuse socket for the cigarette lighter is always-on! (And yes, the cig lighter is switched, so I'm assuming that it's switched for some odd reason further down the line.)

-Paul!

 

Hey Paul, is your mount for your iPaq powered? And is it plugged into that jack?

 

Thanks for the pic. Exactly the info I needed!

 

Err, it's kinda odd and a bit non-sensical what I did, but it works for me. (Imagine that! )

The mount itself isn't powered, but I ran the power cable for the IPAQ up between the dash and the A pillar, as you can see below. (It was easy too, I just popped off the side panel to the dash and 'flossed' the power cable in!)


Now a dilemma I had was this: I wanted constant power to the IPAQ, but I couldn't obviously keep the cable hooked up to constant power, or eventually my car battery would die. (Or at least I think so, maybe not, but I don't want to take the chance.) I really didn't want switched power to the IPAQ, otherwise every time I stop the car for a few minutes the IPAQ would turn off. This means that I would have to turn it back on, possibly reboot, and then wait for it to sync to the satellites again, etc. While I could set the IPAQ to never turn off, or turn off after an hour or so, it would only be a matter of time before I forgot to turn off the IPAQ when I was done using it, and due to the drain of the GPS sleeve, the battery would go dead, meaning that I would have to reinstall everything on the IPAQ. So what I needed was constant power, but only when I'm actively using the IPAQ. So, my solution was this:


The power adapter sitting on my shelf is the adapter for the IPAQ. Since my power outlet is constant power, I just plug it in when needed!

(And yes, I could have simply wired an on/off switch into my power adapter, but that would have been too simple! Actually, that's what I want to do eventually.)

-Paul!