Centre console power supply.

Hi All, hopefully an easy question...

I want to add a couple of USB ports to the centre console - 2 for back seats and 2 for front seats. Under the console is an unused, ignition switched connector which I think is the aux power connector fed from fuse F10 (20A on my car, was 15A or 20A for cigarette lighter on older models).

First question - am I correct that this is the spare aux power connector.

Next - Haynes shows F10 to also power the fuel pump (presumably the one in the wheel arch). Anyone know how much current this pump draws so I can fuse my usb connectors accordingly (I guess 3A or 5A inline will be fine depending on which USB sockets I buy).

Last - I can't see anything else on F10, anyone know if there's something else I've missed.

Cheers,
Alan.

P.S. I did do a bit of searching, and I could also go outside and pull the fuse - but it's heaving down with rain and I don't like being wet and soggy unless playing in mud

Hi ach2
I have atn 04 td4 se and have put two aux sockets in the back for phones etc.
The cable in the back of the console (mine was tie rapped) at the rear is the cable for the aux socket . The fuse for this is f10 but is in the fuse box in the cab near your knees. The other f 10 I think you have found is f10 in the fuse box under the bonnet which is for the fuel pump . The sockets are only live when the ignition is on..
F10 in cab is 20amp and the front socket is f9 15amp
Hope this helps

I added USB power to my 2005 Freelander to power my phone and dashcam. For simplicity, I decided to connect to the cigar lighter supply. This supply is switched with the ignition so my dashcam comes on automatically and I don’t need to worry about the battery running flat.

There are several different power ratings for 12v USB power supplies. Most are 1 amp or less which is far too low to power a phone. I’m using a “DC/DC converter module” which provides 3 amps. This has had no problems keeping my Nexus 5 phone fully charged.

The cigar lighter uses T-connectors so I put a T-connector on the converter module and made up a Y-connector to connect both the converter module and the cigar lighter to the same supply. The Freelander’s harness has two of these connectors on the same supply for the centre console lighter and the rear passenger power socket.

I’m not sure how many watts the cigar lighter itself uses and I actually have never use it with my phone charging to see if the fuse holds, but the fuse is 15a / 180w and the two converter modules are only 30w (if both are using full power which the dashcam isn’t) total. I think some cars use the same cigar lighter but are only fused for 10a/120w so I don’t think it will be a problem.

One final thing if you are charging a phone is the USB cable. My phone used to continue to discharge when using maps or other heavy load until I switched to a “USB power” cable instead of a regular USB cable for full-power charging. If you are using an Android, you can go to the battery settings to see the charge rate. If it is low power, it will say something like “Connected to USB” while if it is fast charging it will say “Connected to AC”


-Links-

Converter module: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361087136998

T connectors: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291307922112

USB power cable: Amazon product