[craig2859]

Hi all,

Does anyone know if / where I could possibly take my E90 to get some USB Charging Ports Professionally fitted in the Dorset / SW area?

Ideally I could do with a strip of 3-4 in the cockpit area (Hidden under the steering wheel area), and a strip of 4 in the Rear (Centre Console, under the Vents). All wired via the ignition, so I don't flatten the Battery when I leave things connected.


Most of my charging devices are all USB, and I can do away with ugly 12v Car adaptors all over the place then.



.

[mistryn]

can I ask why do you need so many usb ports?

[m@rk]

Not the number you require but Belkin do a really nice 1A adaptor that fits flush into the accessory socket thus giving the appearance of a factory fitted USB socket.

So you could convert the 2 on the back of the centre arm rest in 30 seconds giving you something in the back without any rewiring.

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by m@rk

Not the number you require but Belkin do a really nice 1A adaptor that fits flush into the accessory socket thus giving the appearance of a factory fitted USB socket.

So you could convert the 2 on the back of the centre arm rest in 30 seconds giving you something in the back without any rewiring.

was just gonna post the same thing - my car didnt have the two on the back of the armrest but ordered the parts in and fitted them myself - took about 30 mins (search Happy Robot mod on here to find lots of details on it)

[craig2859]

I probably do not "need" that many, but as they are small, and if I could get them done professionally I may as well get enough.

Blackberry Business Phone
Iphone
Tom Tom

Not to mention the kids things like DS's, PS3's etc etc.

They all add up !!

I have a Belkim 1a for the front, but it still only gives me one socket, and I would prefer sockets that are hidden really, so cables can be left fitted mainly.

I don't have the Mod for the rear, but its looking like that is the only solution.

I have tried to search for companies that do USB Port fitting to no avail.


.

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by craig2859

I probably do not "need" that many, but as they are small, and if I could get them done professionally I may as well get enough.

Blackberry Business Phone
Iphone
Tom Tom

Not to mention the kids things like DS's, PS3's etc etc.

They all add up !!

I have a Belkim 1a for the front, but it still only gives me one socket, and I would prefer sockets that are hidden really, so cables can be left fitted mainly.

I don't have the Mod for the rear, but its looking like that is the only solution.

I have tried to search for companies that do USB Port fitting to no avail.


.

In which case, what you actually need is a USB HUB that you then stash somewhere out of site. These can be picked up cheap enough (the 14 port on on my desk only cost £20), you then strip out the casing leaving a load of free floating sockets that you mount how you need.

All a bit Heath Robinson but probably your only option

[craig2859]

Originally Posted by m@rk

In which case, what you actually need is a USB HUB that you then stash somewhere out of site. These can be picked up cheap enough (the 14 port on on my desk only cost £20), you then strip out the casing leaving a load of free floating sockets that you mount how you need.

All a bit Heath Robinson but probably your only option

Indeed I thought of this also, and yes all the above are possibilities indeed, which I have thought about - however I would have thought in today's world of "gadgets" there would be a few Auto Electricians that would be doing this task by now as a retro fit.

A lot of New cars come with USB Charging points as standard now, so they are out there.

Even BMW Motor Bikes have an after market option: http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45193

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[m@rk]

I think the problem with any after-market part will be fit. The panel would be specific to the car in question and these days there are no "standard" sized blanking plates (like you used to get with the DIN fitments for stereos and the like).

As soon as you move away from the 12V accessory socket you are into customer fit so as you say, there may be people out there who could do this but as a one off piece of work, this would end up being disproportionally expensive for something where the parts themselves only cost a few quid.

[Boyd1963]

Have a word with James at Handsfree solutions. I use him a lot.

http://www.handsfreesolutions.co.uk/

[craig2859]

Thanks, will take a look at those, not that far from me either.

Will let you know how I get on

[matt@stratford]

Originally Posted by m@rk

Not the number you require but Belkin do a really nice 1A adaptor that fits flush into the accessory socket thus giving the appearance of a factory fitted USB socket.

So you could convert the 2 on the back of the centre arm rest in 30 seconds giving you something in the back without any rewiring.

I don't suppose you have a link for this?

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by matt@stratford

I don't suppose you have a link for this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Micro...5709290&sr=8-1

[doughboy]

Craig, you'd have to watch the current rating with all those ports.

I.e a tom tom needs a 2A charger to charge in a reasonable time, as do I-devices.

If you had say 4 ports off a 1A converter eveything would charge very slowly if at all.

Why ever charge any phone in the car? Much easier to just charge them every night at home via the mains.

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Craig, you'd have to watch the current rating with all those ports.

I.e a tom tom needs a 2A charger to charge in a reasonable time, as do I-devices.

If you had say 4 ports off a 1A converter eveything would charge very slowly if at all.

Why ever charge any phone in the car? Much easier to just charge them every night at home via the mains.

The problem however is the USB standard is for 500mA so strictly speaking the TomTom is not compatible with USB chargers. It just happens to use the same plug.

Having said that, I ran my Tomtom Go 825 off one of these without any problems.

As for charging phones in a car, many newer smartphones don't last a full day on a single charge hence the need to charge in the car

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by m@rk

The problem however is the USB standard is for 500mA so strictly speaking the TomTom is not compatible with USB chargers. It just happens to use the same plug.

Exactly, that's why the Tom Tom says you should only use 2A USB chargers, like the one they provide, as 'normal' usb ports will not charge sufficiently.

Ipads are the same, they come with 2.1A USB chargers, not sure about I-phones, but my HTC has a 1.5A USB charger and it barely charges off a PC.

So using a standard 500mA USB PC port doesn't really cut the mustard with many modern devices.

[craig2859]

True I suppose, not ideal really.

Its looking like the robot mod for the rear then and 2 belkins dropped in.

In regards to charging my phone in the car, yes it is charged every night - however if I am on a business trip for the day and its a 6-7 hour round trip, there is no way it would last on my blackberry or iphone, as they are in use a lot (via handsfree of course).

Of course short trips its fine, but the last thing I need is my work mobile dying on me during the day.

.

[AlanIOW]

These are supposed to give up to 2.1A in one socket and 1A in the other.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TRIXES-Charg...ref=pd_cp_ce_1

Not quite so neat but you do get 2 sockets.

[m@rk]

This looks to be very similar to the Belkin but with 2 ports

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...pf_rd_i=468294

It looks like it would be quite a flush fit.

For that sort of money, I would be tempted to give it a go

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by craig2859

True I suppose, not ideal really.

Its looking like the robot mod for the rear then and 2 belkins dropped in.

In regards to charging my phone in the car, yes it is charged every night - however if I am on a business trip for the day and its a 6-7 hour round trip, there is no way it would last on my blackberry or iphone, as they are in use a lot (via handsfree of course).

Of course short trips its fine, but the last thing I need is my work mobile dying on me during the day.

.

I have a robot mod panel for sale. Will be in the classifieds soon!

It has the storage cubby with rubber mat as opposed to ash tray.

Provides two neat charging points, USB if small adaptors used

Pm if interested with mobile number and will send you a pic.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by m@rk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Micro...5709290&sr=8-1

I bought 2 of these, but they are about 10mm deeper than our very shallow ciggy lighter sockets.

So they stick up proud and the connection is poor as they wiggle from side to side.

Be warned....

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by doughboy

I bought 2 of these, but they are about 10mm deeper than our very shallow ciggy lighter sockets.

So they stick up proud and the connection is poor as they wiggle from side to side.

Be warned....

Interesting.

Mine fitted perfectly and did not have any connection problems.

They are now in the MB and again fit fine.

But looking at the reviews on Amazon there is one guy on there that actually claims they are not long enough for BMW (the opposite of what you are saying)

Makes one wonder if the depth of a socket on a BMW is rather variable.

[doughboy]

Maybe the devices vary too? There are different versions online with different colures LEDs, maybe the length is different too?

They fit great in our other cars, the sockets are just a bit deeper.