Help needed for electrical "challenge"

[e2djh]

Hi all,
I am in the process of buying Sat Nav and also some "parking sensors", and rather than have curly cable all over the car, was looking at wiring them in to the car's electrical system. Thought i might have a go at this myself.

The trouble is, i don't really know where to start.
Where to i connect to the car's system?
Where do i lead cables from teh engine bay and rear of the car into the cabin?

I would like to have them wired in so as they can operate only when the ignition is switched on.

Is this something a fool like me can do, or should i call in a professional?

Many thanks for your help
David

[theaxe]

I've done a bit of electrical work on mine without any problems. If you can let us know which feeds you need (eg. live with reverse, live with ignition, etc) and where (eg. up-front or in the boot) I'm sure we can help you out.

[Big Al.]

Drop RIBOL a mail he's a whizz on this type of thing, he's got full Sat nav in his chim.

[blaineuk]

why not get another lighter socket from the scapyard and fik it a more convenient location to plug into, you could then wire it to the radio feed

[e2djh]

Thanks for your replies guys

theaxe said:

I've done a bit of electrical work on mine without any problems. If you can let us know which feeds you need (eg. live with reverse, live with ignition, etc) and where (eg. up-front or in the boot) I'm sure we can help you out.

Thanks Axe, i haven't a clue about the answers to your questions yet, but hopefully should have once the PDC unit arrives today

Big Al. said:

Drop RIBOL a mail he's a whizz on this type of thing, he's got full Sat nav in his chim.

Cheers Big Al, will do!

blaineuk said:

why not get another lighter socket from the scapyard and fik it a more convenient location to plug into, you could then wire it to the radio feed

I can see how this would work, but it sounds like i would still have the "curly" coming out of a lighter socket.

thanks all for the advice and encouragement, i'll be back once i get the kit, which incidentally is the Snooper Indago, and the Laser Pro Park

i'd love to have a go at doing it myself!

[e2djh]

OK guys,The PDC kit has arrived.
Help that i need please is :

Where can i easily tap in to the electrics? I need a live feed that is connected to the ignition, so that the device only works when the car is "switched on". I also need a Neutral/earth. These are to feed the control unit which will be mounted on the underside of the dash on driver's side.

I will be attaching one device to the front valance above the number plate, and the other to the rear of the car. How do i feed the wires through to the cabin back to the dash on driver's side? (these devices do not need their own power supply, they are fed from the control unit)?

i am hoping that i do not need to remove the dash?

Your help is greatly appreciated

[ATG]

I'd probably make a hole through the back of the engine bay into the driver's footwell to get the cables into the cabin. You can use the throttle cable's route as a guide. Fit a gromet in the hole to protect your cables from chaffing and then seal with a big dollop of silkaflex and you should be fine. This is what I did when I knocked up an oil temp guage.

Running cables to the boot ... there is a foam and cable filled general-pain-in-the-arse sort of conduit running down the passenger-side door sill. There is an access hole just about where the passenger's left ankle sits (about level with the front edge of the passenger door at floor level). There's probably the same on the driver's side too, but I've not gone exploring. If you pull the carpet back, you should be able to find the hole. Apparently you can feed cables into it with the aid of something stiff but a bit flexible ... fishing rod, fibre glass tent pole maybe? Cable can then be routed up over the rear wheel arches into the boot. If you open the boot you can see there is clear space over the top of the wheel arches. Cables are fitted behind the carpet.

As for picking up switched supply, I'm sure there are plenty of places where you could pick it up from ... I cheated by piggy packing off the stereo's power supply as I only needed a tiny amount of power and was looking for a quick fix. Just pulled the stereo out and spliced into the appropriate wires (deduced by colour and with aid of a multimetre).

[e2djh]

Thanks Alastair, very helpful
I'll have a look for this foam filled conduit.

I was trying to avoid driling a hole from the engine compartment, but i guess it could prove the simplest way.

I'm only looking for 300 mA, so the radio lead could work?

[ATG]

e2djh said:

Thanks Alastair, very helpful
I'll have a look for this foam filled conduit.

I was trying to avoid driling a hole from the engine compartment, but i guess it could prove the simplest way.

I'm only looking for 300 mA, so the radio lead could work?

300mA will be fine ... the radio circuit is probably good for something like 10A. You might be able to use an existing hole, like that of the throttle cable, if your wires are thin enough, but I wouldn't be worried about making another hole if needed. Think I gingerly pilotted mine by hand with a bradle to make sure I didn't shove the drill bit into anything expensive and flammable. Oh, and routing a cable from behind the radio sideways under the dash towards the driver is no problem. If you take out the radio, you can unscew the small dash panel it sits in (i.e. the one that carries the hazard light switch and the fog light switch), and you'll see there's clear space behind it to run the cable out under the dash on the driver's side.

[e2djh]

Thats great Alastair, many thanks
i'll give it a whirl from the radio

[Ribol]

David, YHM (shortly)

[e2djh]

Ivan,
Many thanks for your mail, particularly at that time of night, i really appreciate your help

I'll get on to it tomorrow, and let you know how i get on
kind regards, David