where are all the USB C car mount ports?

[Adam32]

I want to hardwire in some USB ports to my car and have seen many of these for sale:



The problem is they are just standard USB and I want one with USB C. I see plenty of designs like this with USB C:



But the problem is they are not panel mount and just plug into your cigarette lighter socket. Why is there nothing like this in a panel mount for hardwiring?

I know I could bodge something up by soldering wires onto the above and then cutting a hole and gluing it in place on the dash, but I just wanted a simple clean solution.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Surely there must be something on the market?

[E-bmw]

I had the same problem around a year ago and came to the following conclusions.

USB c & previous types of usb are backwards compatible.

For charging rather than data transfer the only difference is current carrying capacity.

The charging lead (if usb c) will be rated for the higher current capacity.

The "legacy" usb sockets are available in comparable current carrying ratings now.

Based on the above I found (IIRC) a socket with 3.25A current rating so used this.

[GreenV8S]

DataPro advertise some USB-C extension cables with a panel mounting at one end, which might be what you're looking for. You'd need to find some way to get power to it, though. If you want to support fast charging that might mean having a suitable host adapter. Perhaps you could use one of those USB-C 12v adapters you linked to for that.

[Adam32]

E-bmw said:

I had the same problem around a year ago and came to the following conclusions.

USB c & previous types of usb are backwards compatible.

Yes they are but it still requires you to have some pesky adapter sticking out the front. For me I would much prefer buying one with a USB C port already built in.

[E-bmw]

A usb c plug fits in a "legacy" usb socket, why do you need an adaptor too?

[GreenV8S]

E-bmw said:

A usb c plug fits in a "legacy" usb socket, why do you need an adaptor too?

I assume you're referring to a cable with a USB-C connector at one end and USB-A at the other. That would certainly work, but would mean that if the cable was going to be unplugged from the car then it would still suffer from the usual orientation issues at the USB-A end. Going to a USB-C connector at both ends would mean you didn't need to worry about which end of the cable goes where or which way up it was.

[E-bmw]

"Orientation issues of USB" - Major real-world problems here!

Don't go in that way - try the other!

Do you know, until I heard that I was REALLY wondering what the biggest problem with my car is..... Now I know what it is, I occasionally need to try to plug my charger in twice!

[BigMacDaddy]

Err no, I think you'll find that a USB-A connector will only ever slot in correctly on the third attempt to orientate it correctly........

[Adam32]

E-bmw said:

A usb c plug fits in a "legacy" usb socket, why do you need an adaptor too?

Yes the standard is compatible, but the physical dimensions are different. If all you carry is a usb cable like this for all your devices:


upload full resolution photos


then you would also need a usb C to A cable (or an adapter), like this below for charging:



Personally I have ditched all my legacy usb equipment and now only own use usb C. I carry just one usb C cable for all my needs.

[tapkaJohnD]

Ironic, isn't it?
USB = Universal serial bus. Universal, note.
BUT, we have USB (1) with six different plugs, USB2, with the same, USB3 and - save us, Oh, Gods! - USB3.1, both with FOUR different plugs.

JOhn

[E-bmw]

Adam32 said:

then you would also need a usb C to A cable (or an adapter), like this below for charging:

That is what I do, I have a usb c to A charging lead, yes.

[E-bmw]

tapkaJohnD said:

Ironic, isn't it?
USB = Universal serial bus. Universal, note.
BUT, we have USB (1) with six different plugs, USB2, with the same, USB3 and - save us, Oh, Gods! - USB3.1, both with FOUR different plugs.

JOhn

I know, I think someone forgot what it was called somewhere along the way.

[MikZ]

I rented a car in Germany recently, and got a free upgrade to a fancy new Audi or something. Two of the features I remember most about that car were:

1. Driving at 240km/h on the autobahn (I had the cruise control set to 200, and it casually accelerated to that speed like my van in Australia accelerates to 110 and my van in the US accelerates to 75MPH )
2. It was the first car I'd seen with a panel-mounted USB-C port

To answer your question, I'm starting to see panel-mounted USB-C ports being sold for desktop computers, so technology is slowly catching up with the standard. I've considered adding one of those to my van (which I don't drive at 240), but since the input side is still a 5V USB connector, not a pair of 12V crimp spade connectors, I'm still waiting for a better solution.

And I absolutely agree, it always takes three attempts to plug a USB A connector in the right way—a Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal comic argues that this is evidence that we live in a four-dimensional universe. (I thought it was an XKCD comic, but XKCD makes its own observations about the USB 'standard', and I encourage you to websearch for them.)