Iphone Charger - Direct From Battery?

[flooper]

I am looking at installing a Parrot handsfree kit to my Mk3 Mondeo, but I would like to have a cradle to hold the phone and also charge it whilst it is in there. I don't want to have one of these that connect into the cigarette charging bit as it's too far away from the centre consol and will have trailing cables etc which will get annoying, plus if I want to plug in my sat nav then I will have to unplug the phone charger.

Does anyone know if you are able to wire up something so it will run off the battery power directly, rather than through the cigarette charger?

[ijustwantafile]

Do you have an armrest in your car with a 12v port in?

My setup is I have a 12v port in my armrest and have a Y splitter in it.

I ran a cable from the armrest to the drivers footwell to have a 12v port here hidden tucked away behind a panel. I then have my satnav cable plugged into this and then ran the cable up the side all out of sight and comes up via the front right of the windscreen to charge my satnav.

The other connector I left in the armrest which has my bluetooth hands free kit which connects to my headunit via AUX (also hidden) and on this it has a usb port which I have a iPod cable for my iPhone as a charger.

You could setup something similar. I'd stick to a 12v port rather than messing around with a direct feed off the battery as you will have to add in your own fuses etc and just sounds a messy job running cables to the inside of the car.

[flooper]

Unfortunately my armrest doesn't have a 12v port in it :(

[Stoney871]

Unfortunately my armrest doesn't have a 12v port in it :(

It's easy to add a spare one, just spur off the existing one.

You could put the socket behind the dash trim and then run the cable between the radio fascia and the dash trim, there's usually plenty of little gaps or trim overlap to enable this.

One like this may be of use-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4Fone-06AG1-AXDX-u-Car-Cig-Charging-Cradle-Holder-for-Apple-iPhone-4-iPhone-4S-/320916172608?pt=UK_Holders_Mounts&hash=item4ab8182f40

Failing that there is a company called Brodit that produce cradles and dash mounts that may be more your cup of tea.

They're not cheap but will enable you to hardwire a charger cradle to the car and avoid wiring in extra 12v sockets or run visible cables-

http://www.brodit.com/productList.html?lrhandDrive=rhd&brand=Ford&model=Mondeo&year=2004&pn=prod

http://www.brodit.com/product.html?id=527164&pn=prod&brand=Apple&model=iPhone 4S

I have numerous Brodit mounts in my work car and they are sturdy and very user friendly.

The hardwired mount as above is best fitted by a qualified auto electrician so as to ensure that it's done right and the cable is thin enough that it will be easy to fit through gaps in trim.

I highly recommend Brodit products and think it will be your best solution.

[flooper]

Cool, thanks for the links!

[Stoney871]

Glad to be of service Phil.

As i stated, the Brodit kits are excellent and the mounts are strong and very ingenious.

Best of luck with your choice/install and please keep us informed of your decisions/results.