Hardwiring a V1 and GPS.

Step3: Hardwiring the GPS  

The Garmin Color Street Pilot does not come with a hardwire cable, however one can be purchased separately (Garmin Power Data Cable #010-10082-00). This hardwire cable has a proprietary jack that plugs into the GPS and four small gauge wires running through a shielded cable.

The wires are designated:

Red (with inline fuse) - connect to 12volt Power.

Black - Connect to Ground

White - Connect to optional laptop Data In.

Brown - Connect to optional laptop Data Out.

I wanted to hide as much of the cable as possible without any drilling or plastic surgery to CiZi. The GPS is mounted on the center dash, offset slightly towards the passenger side to avoid blocking the rear sensor of the low mounted V1. There is a tiny opening below the center air vent, in the corner where the woodgrain console meets the vinyl dash and side panel. This opening will allow the cable to be fed to the magic area below the HVAC to mate up with the snap connectors for ground and power.

The access opening is too small to insert the hardwire cable and my first thought was to strip the rubber sleeve off the cable and feed the four tiny wires behind the console. Problem #1, I wanted to attach the snap connectors to the GPS wires prior to installation and I was uncertain if the snap connectors would fit through the opening below the air vent. Problem #2, the hardwire cable had a metallic shield wrapped between the rubber sleeve and the wires. There shouldn't be much of a problem with electrical interference behind the console, but I didn't want to take any chances.

A second plan emerged. If I stripped the rubber sleeve off a small section of the cable, I could flatten the shielding and slip it through the area where the side panel meets the top of the console, sliding it into the area like dental floss.

The procedure below assumes that you have the glovebox removed. If the glovebox is left in place, you can unscrew the passenger console side panel, remove the small cover for access to the OBC and CAREFULLY pull the side panel back to allow access to the area behind the console. It is extremely easy to scratch the glovebox if it is left in place.

  1. Strip the ends of all four wires on the GPS hardwire cable. The wires are tiny and connectors will be fragile.
  2. Crimp a male snap connector onto the red wire.
  3. Crimp a female snap connector onto the black wire.
  4. Crimp a female snap connector onto the white wire.
  5. Crimp a female snap connector onto the brown wire.
  6. If your GPS dash mount is not in place, install and secure now.
  7. Measure the length of cable it takes to wrap around the GPS dash mount. Mark the cable at the spot it would enter the access opening below the vents.
  8. Below this mark, strip off the rubber coating for 6-10 inches. Leave the metallic shielding in place
  9. "Floss" this stripped section of cable between the top of the side console panel and the dash. You may need to flatten out the shielding to help get the cable over the edge and into the access hole.
  10. Once the cable is in the access hole, reach behind the console and feed the cable down into the area behind the HVAC and bring the wires out through the shift boot.
  11. Plug the red GPS cable into the snap connector of the Red power cable. Plug the black GPS female snap connector onto one of wires on the ground splitter. Be careful. The snap connectors on the small wires are fragile.

     

    With the cable threaded thru the access hole, you can align the cable along the edge of the center vent. A little double sided tape holds it in place. If you measured correctly, the cable will neatly wrap around the GPS dash mount and "lock" under the front tab when pushed to the right.

     

    Slide the tab to the left, unwind the cable, insert the GPS in the mount and plug the cable into the unit.

    The GPS is now connected to unswitched power. Temporarily remove GPS batteries and verify the unit powers up with the key out of the ignition.

     Finishing up...