How would you hide a USB cable from the front 12V up to the dash?

[danieljw]

EDIT: Nevermind! It's easy and totally doable. The dash pieces both down by the 12V port and back by the windscreen both spread apart enough to slip cabling through. Done and done.

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So I mount my phone with an ExoMount 2 on the flat part of the dash slightly above and to the left of the display screen, just before the semicircular part of the dash where the instrument cluster begins. I have a USB car charger plugged into the front 12V port, with the cable leading up to the phone. But, I'm kind of tired of having the cable dangle in front of the climate control console and want to try to fix that.

How would you guys go about routing a cable such that it comes out somewhere near the top of the dash, where my phone is mounted? I can see how to get it started, but I just can't find a good place to bring the cable out at the top, either near the display screen or back nearer to the windshield.

Alternatively, I would settle for a clean way to attach the cable to the edges of the dash itself? Velcro? Double-sided adhesive? I don't know.

I'd appreciate any input from anyone who's installed any kind of aftermarket radios, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Canucklehead]

I like your idea and it made me think that I might like to do the same thing for a portable Garmin GPS unit or my cell phone.

Any chance you could post some pictures showing what the finished product looks like and where, exactly, the cable enters and exits the dash?

Thanks, in advance.

 

[danieljw]

I like your idea and it made me think that I might like to do the same thing for a portable Garmin GPS unit or my cell phone.

Any chance you could post some pictures showing what the finished product looks like and where, exactly, the cable enters and exits the dash?

Thanks, I advance.

Sure, might have to wait until the weekend, but stay tuned.

 

[danieljw]

To do this, first you will need to remove a few trim panels and the factory radio. Please check out TreyP's excellent tutorial for that. I used a six-foot USB3 cable by AmazonBasics. Five bucks.

Now, for down by the 12V plug, if you push up, gently, in the center of the plastic piece immediately below the buttons for the seat warmers, it will reveal an opening just large enough to slide a cable through.

Once I fed it through and slowly worked it over toward the side where the plug is located, I used a piece of a coat hanger to fish it up to where I could grab it.

Then it was a matter of pulling it through far enough and working it around the front vents and back toward the windscreen. However, feed it back along the lefthand side, because if you look at the metal that supports the radio, you can see a cutout on the left hand side that accommodates a passing cable.

I couldn't get a decent photo to show how I fed the cable through the upper part of the dash, but I will try to explain.

I basically reached under the dash to the front toward the windscreen while trying to meet my other hand overtop. After feeling around for a minute, you should be able to feel how the two pieces come together and gently spread them apart enough to slip the cable up through from inside the dash.

Then it's just a matter of adjusting the length and reassembling the dash, and you're all set. I also think it would be super easy to cleanly install a one-inch cable grommet, something like this, if one were comfortable puncturing the dash plastics.

 

[Canucklehead]

Thank you for the quick response.

This is definitely on my list of to-do's. Just have to decide if it will be for my cell phone or the Garmin unit.

I hate errant cables and cords hanging all over the place.

 

[GAXIBM]

You might want to look in the "how to" section for wiring a radar detector and consider mounting high or rerouting wire to dash level...

 

[syko128]

does the suction of the support damage the dash of your car ?

 

[JonW]

Check out the pictures in: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...it-for-a-GPS&p=6284156&viewfull=1#post6284156

 

[danieljw]

does the suction of the support damage the dash of your car ?

Nope. Wipes clean with a little isopropyl.

 

[squibcakes]

This how I installed mine - no cutting, and no drilling... about a 10 min job.

Basically feed power from front accessory socket and run power cable under dash. Peel back the door rubber seal to feed cable through.

Shuck's I wouldn't want to drill a hole in the dash like the other guy...