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Hard wire accessory Hell! Please help!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by techiechick, Apr 18, 2008.

  1. techiechick

    techiechick Junior Member

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    Hi everyone! Just got my new Prius a few weeks ago. Already added an XM reciever and the Coastal EV mod, so I was feeling good about adding goodies the new baby.

    Today I tried to hard wire my Magellan GPS and Cobra radar detector. Blew Major Problems! The fuse blows as soon as I start the car!

    I thought it would be simple.... I spliced the reds from the GPS and radar detector together and connected them via a vampire tap to the hot side (white wire) in the back of the front power outlet. I then did the same thing with the black side.. spliced the blacks from the GPS and radar detector together and connected them via a vampire tap to the other side (white wire w/black stripe) in the back of the front power outlet. Blew the 15 amp fuse... twice. I even tried a 20 amp... blew it too!

    Am I missing something? What did I do wrong? And how do I fix it?

    Thanks!
    Tina
     
    #1 techiechick, Apr 18, 2008
  2. derkraut

    derkraut Member

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    Hey Tina,

    Forget the radar detector. Just drive the speed limit or less. If you drive over the speed limit, your fuel consumption and stress levels are needlessly increased.:)
     
    #2 derkraut, Apr 18, 2008
  3. techiechick

    techiechick Junior Member

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    Very Funny!

    But can you tell me how to fix what went wrong?

    Please.... Somebody?
     
    #3 techiechick, Apr 18, 2008
  4. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

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    How many amps is each of those items rated for?
     
    #4 kenmce, Apr 18, 2008
  5. techiechick

    techiechick Junior Member

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    Great question!

    The manual for the Magellan says 2.0 amps.... The Cobra doesn't list it in the manual.

    Does that help?
     
    #5 techiechick, Apr 18, 2008
  6. sweathog76

    sweathog76 Junior Member

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    #6 sweathog76, Apr 18, 2008
  7. techiechick

    techiechick Junior Member

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    Looks very cool! My car takes the mini low profile fuses... Will this fit? Will the fuse box cover still work?
     
    #7 techiechick, Apr 18, 2008
  8. sweathog76

    sweathog76 Junior Member

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    I just pulled one of the mini fuses, dropped in the add a circuit, plugged in the original fuse into the unit (plus another for the new gear), and crimped the power wire to the add a fuse (plus ran a ground wire from the gear).

    The fuse cover doesn't fit with this installed but that doesn't bother me and it has not been a problem. I'll snap a couple of pics and post them and you can see if this would be for you.
     
    #8 sweathog76, Apr 19, 2008
  9. techiechick

    techiechick Junior Member

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    Hello everyone! Problem Solved!

    First off.... Thanks to everyone here! You guys rock!:D

    Turns out the issue I was having was due to the GPS unit. I assumed (yeah, I know) that since it plugs in to the cigarette lighter that it takes 12V. Surprise! They actually contain electronics in the tip of the plug that steps down the voltage to 5v 2 amps. When I cut off the plug to hardwire it, I lost the step down capability... hence the blown fuses. I went to the Magellan site to buy the proper hardwire kit only to find they do not make one! So.... I took my original idea and instead of hardwiring the unit, I hardwired an additional 12V socket under the dash, ran the new Magellan cigarette lighter cord under the dash, plugged it all in and voila! It works beautifully because this way all the step down electronics are still in place. And it's still all hidden from sight, which was my original goal.

    Yeah!
     
    #9 techiechick, Apr 19, 2008
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