Hi everyone! Just got my new Prius a few weeks ago. Already added an XM reciever and the Coastal EV mod, so I was feeling good about adding goodies the new baby. Today I tried to hard wire my Magellan GPS and Cobra radar detector. Blew Major Problems! The fuse blows as soon as I start the car! I thought it would be simple.... I spliced the reds from the GPS and radar detector together and connected them via a vampire tap to the hot side (white wire) in the back of the front power outlet. I then did the same thing with the black side.. spliced the blacks from the GPS and radar detector together and connected them via a vampire tap to the other side (white wire w/black stripe) in the back of the front power outlet. Blew the 15 amp fuse... twice. I even tried a 20 amp... blew it too! Am I missing something? What did I do wrong? And how do I fix it? Thanks! Tina
Hey Tina, Forget the radar detector. Just drive the speed limit or less. If you drive over the speed limit, your fuel consumption and stress levels are needlessly increased.
Great question! The manual for the Magellan says 2.0 amps.... The Cobra doesn't list it in the manual. Does that help?
I added those devices via a "mini add a circuit" rather than cutting into any wiring. Very quick and easy to do. Take a look at the link for more info (Parts Express:Littelfuse Add-A-Circuit Fuseholder For Mini Fuses) Much cheaper at autozone (6.99) but I couldn't find a link.
Looks very cool! My car takes the mini low profile fuses... Will this fit? Will the fuse box cover still work?
I just pulled one of the mini fuses, dropped in the add a circuit, plugged in the original fuse into the unit (plus another for the new gear), and crimped the power wire to the add a fuse (plus ran a ground wire from the gear). The fuse cover doesn't fit with this installed but that doesn't bother me and it has not been a problem. I'll snap a couple of pics and post them and you can see if this would be for you.
Hello everyone! Problem Solved! First off.... Thanks to everyone here! You guys rock! Turns out the issue I was having was due to the GPS unit. I assumed (yeah, I know) that since it plugs in to the cigarette lighter that it takes 12V. Surprise! They actually contain electronics in the tip of the plug that steps down the voltage to 5v 2 amps. When I cut off the plug to hardwire it, I lost the step down capability... hence the blown fuses. I went to the Magellan site to buy the proper hardwire kit only to find they do not make one! So.... I took my original idea and instead of hardwiring the unit, I hardwired an additional 12V socket under the dash, ran the new Magellan cigarette lighter cord under the dash, plugged it all in and voila! It works beautifully because this way all the step down electronics are still in place. And it's still all hidden from sight, which was my original goal. Yeah!
