Nuvi 350 hard wire?

Has anybody hard wired their Nuvi GPS? If so, what cable did you use and can I hard wire it in the same area where I wired my Passport? Also, anybody have any pics of places other than the windshield to mount the unit? Thanks!

Dutchie - where do you mount it? I mount mine dead center in the windshield, below the v1

would like to mount it some place other than on the windshield

not sure there are many other options....

Dutchie I remembered a Nuvi hard wire DIY in another thread, but I had a really hard time finding it. The thread was titled "A Pillar." The only reason I found it is because I had mentioned my Tom Tom in one of the posts in that thread. Here is the link to the Nuvi hard wire DYI with pics. http://www.drumart.com/nuvi/

i have the 660 (or whatever the widescreen version is) and i considered installing the screen into the center console, with a custom panel either in the lower storage bin area, or even above the radio assuming you relocate the hvac controls. i didn't get far in the conceptualization stage, but i don't see why it can't work. tapping into the center console where you would the V1 should be easy. just some ideas.

I wired mine by installing an aux cigarette outlet tucked away under the dash. The cable comes out by the windshield at the lightswitch/vent cover, and the nuvi is stuck to the windshield. My preferred location would be in the center console, although this requires an external antenna. Stefan

Exactly what i was thinking... just trying to find someone who did this and get some pics!

I have a nuvi 360 and placed it above the left vent, between the a pillar and the guages. Perfect spot as it does not get in the way of your view and is nicely tucked there. If i get a chance i will send some pictures. I hardwired it to the fusebox, with a usb cigarette lighter adapter. Just open it up and solder a wire the power and ground for the adapter. Then tap it to whatever fuse you want and ground it to the car. Run the usb cable along the door and up to where it is mounted.

Can you post some pictures of how you soldered it to the fusebox... how, where, etc?

Dutchie, did you check out the link I posted in post #5? That install is similar to your radar hardwire install instructions. You coould run the wires to the A pillar and mount the Nuvi above the left air vent.

Dont you think it would be annoying with it at the A-pillar... unless you are left handed, you couldnt set destinations, or mess with it without getting into an awkward position - thats why i think it is better to have it in the middle of the windshield.

I meant on the windshield near the A pillar. I don't think that would be a problem, because there is not much to enter on the touch screen on my Tom Tom. Just the first few letters of the street and the address numbers. It would be more out of the way but still functional, IMO.

I have not figured it out yet, maybe someone has idea ? My concern is with the suction cups --- if a serious accident - how to prevent the Nuvi / suction cups to dismount and potentially becoming projectile to injure driver / passenger. Sounds like over the top, but don't want to silicone suction cups to windshield.

How about using this item from ebay and wiring that the same way I hard wired my passport??? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...7539&rd=1&rd=1

I just bought a Nuvi 660 and if you place the antennae in a 90 degree position you can stick it in the gap in the dash between the radio and the cd storage. It fits perfectly. JW

Will you not then require an external antenna? Stefan

Would this work if I just cut off the wire from the cigarette lighter adaptor and connect it to the phone wires where I connected my passport?

I don't know of a reason it would not work. I think this guy (who posted the DIY) wanted to be able to reverse the procedure when he sold the car.

Might want to add an inline fuse as well.

And there is the obvious question... how would I do that? Any tips/pics? Thanks!

You can buy an inline fuse holder and solder or crimp it in on the positive/hot side wire. You would have to determine what size fuse to use based on the protection of the Nuvi. The reason for this is fuse coordination between the Nuvi and the circuit that you tap into, for example, if you tap a 5 Amp circuit, and the Nuvi can only handle, lets say less than 5 Amps, then the Nuvi will blow before the fuse ever will. If you do cut the cigarette adaptor end off to hard wire it, be sure NOT to remove the voltage regulator (little step down transformer, probably a small cylindrical "tube" on the wire, but I do not know what is inside the adaptor, so don't hold me to the details) portion with converts the 10-30 Volts from the car down to around 5 Volts for the Nuvi. I am not sure what is installed inside the cigarette adaptor itself besides an LED circuit, but if you are going to cut the wire anyway, I would start with trying to break open the adaptor and see what is inside. If you could get a wiring schematic of the power cord it would help. As Tim stated above, the reason for the install w/o removing the adaptor is meant to be easily undone, but also takes out the guesswork on fusing and regulating the voltage and not frying your GPS. If you decide to go this route, be cautious, but there is a lot less risk in not dismanting the power cord.

Thanks for update. So now the real question is, what Voltage does the passport use and/or what is the voltage of the phone circuit I used to hardwire it. If that is 5 volts, I guess I don't need to use a fuse or a step down regulator..... Does anybody know?

If you used a standard wire designed to be used to hardwire your detector to the vehicles power source, then your radar detector would automatically be designed to handle the standard vehicle voltage, so stepping down the voltage is not necessary. The fusing is for protection only, I am not familiar with the Passport, I have a V1, which is designed to work from 11-16Volts and has an in-line fuse in the standard V1 hardwire cable. Using these standard cables to hardwire make the job simple since the detectors are designed to handle the voltage already, the Nuvi does not have such a cable, so modifying the power cable could be an issue if not done properly. In short, the detectors are designed to be hardwired using the proper cable, the Nuvi has no such cable. Hope this helps!

Dutchie - Your post on the radar detector wiring for dummies (excellent post, helped me wire mine), if you look at your first pic, the white plastic tube like piece near the end connections in the wire is an inline fuse holder/fuse. The cable you used, is the standard Passport hardwire cable, it has the fuse, and the Passport is designed to work at 12V (probably +/- a few).

Don, thanks for your help... from what you're saying I definitely need the step down regulator. When I get to it, I will hardwire it one of these days/weeks. Sounds like another opportunity for me to do a Chapter II in the 'Hardwiring for Dummies Guide'... the Nuvi!

I would love to see it as I have a Nuvi also! It may work fine as long as you cut the cord immediately after the cigarette adaptor and before the black in-line cylinder which is probably the voltage transformer, and add a fuse. Good luck!

Quotes source post: 4185131

I have the same widescreen model and want to flush mount it in the same location (remove storage and cd holder, fab up a panel - father is a retired engineer so not worried about precision there!) Has anyone done any other center console replacement panels? (doesn't have to be for a nuvi). Just can't seem to hit the right search terms, would love to see what I'm working with before I start disassembling things randomly!

Wow funny to see this thread going again. Guess I forgot to post pics from my aforementioned install of the nuvi. So look back at my response in the thread, and here is some pics. Mind you i've now switched to a JVC 1Din all in one unit to replace the factory stereo. I did however leave my cable and USB hardwired so I can easily hook up my cellphone and charge it anytime. Any questions let me know ...

that's a very nice job. My personal preference is to mount the unit in the center console itself, as opposed to up on the dash, but that's just my pet peeve about things above the line of the dash in general. While I'm at it I think I'm going to wire it into the becker aux input and run the external microphone cable up either by the A pillar or around the gauge cluster, and from a basic test keeping the antenna inside the storage bin I think I should be able to get away without an external antenna so long as it's not mounted too deeply. Mine's an FM transmitter model (I want to say 660, might be 670) and I've been using as MP3 player (16GB SD card) and bluetooth handsfree for my phone, very nice little all in one solution especially since my ipod/iphone are always out of sync and frequently in various states of destruction, and I despise bluetooth headsets having grown up with carphones an handsfree kits. I just would like to have it all hard wired and mounted really flush. I'm definitely going to be wiring electric into the mount as opposed to the USB port, as the mount also has the mic input on my unit, and the usb port is a side mount. The major challenge I see is that my unit's stereo output is on the right side which could make things a little tricky when machining the panel if I wanted to retain the ability to take it with me when I travel and rent cars etc. I'm going to sketch this up sometime this week and send to the old man to see what he thinks, but I feel like I could make it work with a mounting plate or even velcro behind and a removable panel in front. (I know I'm not being too expressive in words, will draw it)