USB to 12v board

[Zach85 10+ year member]

I have this plan to have a usb port in the dashboard that is wired to the 12v and ground wires that will be connected to my CD Player and Equalizer once I get my car back from the mechanic's this week.

I've dismantled a USB to 12v adapter that I had laying around not being used. Here's what the circuit board looks like:

My plan is to cut the black wire about where the black line is, and cut the spring about where the red line is. Then, attach a black 22 gauge wire to the wire on this board, and a red 22 gauge wire with a fuse holder (probably 5amp which is the most a USB port runs on) to the spring. I probably could get away with just electrical tape instead of doing any soldering and such.

Then I would cut a little square out of the dashboard of my car and find a small USB wall plate that I could superglue to the dashboard and attach the usb port in that.

I also want to know, could I just cut the tip of the light bulb out or cut the metal pieces for the bulb down to the board? I won't need the light since it will end up behind the dashboard and have no intention of having a light visible on the dashboard.

Any thoughts or suggestions? This is just a project I've decided to do recently. I'm pretty sure I could make this work and will provide a pictures/text tutorial on how I did this.

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[Zach85 10+ year member]

correction... HOT GLUE, not Super Glue

 

[jon_k 10+ year member]

I have this plan to have a usb port in the dashboard that is wired to the 12v and ground wires that will be connected to my CD Player and Equalizer once I get my car back from the mechanic's this week.
I've dismantled a USB to 12v adapter that I had laying around not being used. Here's what the circuit board looks like:

My plan is to cut the black wire about where the black line is, and cut the spring about where the red line is. Then, attach a black 22 gauge wire to the wire on this board, and a red 22 gauge wire with a fuse holder (probably 5amp which is the most a USB port runs on) to the spring. I probably could get away with just electrical tape instead of doing any soldering and such.

Then I would cut a little square out of the dashboard of my car and find a small USB wall plate that I could superglue to the dashboard and attach the usb port in that.

I also want to know, could I just cut the tip of the light bulb out or cut the metal pieces for the bulb down to the board? I won't need the light since it will end up behind the dashboard and have no intention of having a light visible on the dashboard.

Any thoughts or suggestions? This is just a project I've decided to do recently. I'm pretty sure I could make this work and will provide a pictures/text tutorial on how I did this.

I'd consider anything less than direct wire connection to the PCB joint half-***. But then again I take pride in high quality work and enjoy doing it.

You can feel free to clip off the LED if it's undesired, as it's not integral for the rest of the circuit.

 

[amartin_72]

Get a 10 dollar soldering iron and some real solder (not walmart solder it does not work) and just solder your wires right to the board.

 

[Zach85 10+ year member]

I'd consider anything less than direct wire connection to the PCB joint half-***. But then again I take pride in high quality work and enjoy doing it.

I'll do that then... but should I still use a fuse holder for the red wire? Thanks

 

[Ferendon 10+ year member]

USB ports are .5 amp... not 5.

 

[Zach85 10+ year member]

USB ports are .5 amp... not 5.

oh right, I read it wrong. I could use this:

It comes with a 3 amp fuse but I could buy a 1 amp fuse to go in it. this is similar to what is attached to my BOSS equalizer through the 12v wire. Or would the 3 amp be fine?

 

[Ferendon 10+ year member]

3 amp would be fine. I wouldn't use those fuse holders through. They love to break. You can make one with a couple of female spades, slid on the prongs of the fuse, or buy one at the auto parts store for a couple bucks.

 

[Zach85 10+ year member]

Get a 10 dollar soldering iron and some real solder (not walmart solder it does not work) and just solder your wires right to the board.

I hear the ColdHeat Soldering iron is good. My brother got one, he's an electronic engineer and have used all sorts of soldering iron and said the ColdHeat does come close to performing as well as industry standard irons. And yes, I would know not to buy something like that at walmart. Walmart is good for some things, but not for others...

 

[Zach85 10+ year member]

3 amp would be fine. I wouldn't use those fuse holders through. They love to break. You can make one with a couple of female spades, slid on the prongs of the fuse, or buy one at the auto parts store for a couple bucks.

The one pictured is just like the one that came with my equalizer already attached with a (I think) 3 amp fuse (no label on the fuse). I bought it about 8 years ago and it's still in good condition.

But yeah, I was planning on going to AutoZone or AAP this weekend to see what they had. I just need to make sure it's either 18 or 22 gauge wires. Would I also be able to buy a black wire that is about a foot long? I don't want to buy a long spool of wires when I probably won't use the rest of it after this installation. There is a car audio store 5 miles away from my house, they'll probably have black wires I could buy a foot off of them. Thanks