My overhead power feed installation project

This is my first post since recently joining-up here, so I figured I may as well make it a useful one since I haven't seen anyone else do things quite this way yet....

I use the windshield GoPro mount for my Valentine One radar detector, using a 3D printed custom mashup of the GoPro mount on Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2384832) and Valentine One to GoPro mount adapter (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1288091) so I don't have to worry about the bolt loosening.

The problem is, of course, that there's no useful power feeds to the overhead console area, and the cord going down to the accessory plug is annoying at the least. I finally got the parts together to make a proper power feed for placement behind the overhead console, and finished the install today.

PICTURES LOCATED BELOW INSTRUCTIONS.

Parts you'll need:

1 Littelfuse 350417BP 5-position fuse block, side terminals
1 Littelfuse FHLM0200ZPA Low Profile Mini Add-A-Circuit adapter
1 Littelfuse 0FHA0030XP In-Line Fuse Holder
1 10' piece of 3/8" plastic split loom
3 Insulated crimp-on female 1/4" spade connectors (plus additional for installed devices)
1 8' piece of 14-ga. stranded yellow wire
1 12' piece of 14-ga. stranded red wire
1 roll of electrical tape
1 small magnet (up to about 3/4" x 1.5" x 1/8")
1 1/4" spade terminal 5-position ground bar (if you can find one, I had to make my own)
1 1.5" x 2.5" piece of 0.132" flat brass stock (if no ground bar you'll have to make your own)
1 sheet metal screw - MUST BE SHORT - no more than about 1/4" of threads
Hot glue or double-sided mounting tape or two small machine screws & nuts to mount the magnet to the fuse block
Optional item - one of the "Custom Fuse cover - Extended Height" that @mesojdm makes - sorry, dude...I whopped one up myself and printed it. (Don't worry, I'm not interested in selling any, won't poach any customers from you!)

Tools you'll need:

1 Battery terminal wrench
1 Electric drill and bit sized for sheet metal screw pilot hole
1 #2 Phillips screwdriver
1 10mm socket & ratchet
1 Proper plastic trim pry tool, small flat screwdriver if you don't have one.
1 Wire stripper/terminal crimper
1 Metal snips (if you have to make your own ground bar)
1 Small file (if you have to make your own ground bar)
1 Fish wire (or around 1' of stiff wire like from a coat hanger, one end bent to form an "eye" to put a wire through)
1 Batch of patience - electrical work is not something to rush!

INSTALLATION STEPS:

1. Safety first! Always disconnect the vehicle battery BEFORE performing any electrical work!

2. Remove the plastic "SRS Airbag" trim cover from the driver's side A-pillar. This exposes the bolt you need to remove.

3. Remove the bolt and locating spacer washer you've just uncovered.

4. Remove the A-pillar trim by pulling at the top end towards the middle of the dash, then lifting up at the bottom. This will pull it from under the door gasket trim. DO NOT MOVE OR OTHERWISE CHANGE ANYTHING REGARDING THE AIRBAG YOU JUST UNCOVERED. Note: there are tabs at the bottom of the trim piece that insert to slots in the dash cover, take care to pull straight up so as to not damage the trim or dash plastics.

5. Remove the two screws below the knee airbag at the bottom edge of the dash.

6. Remove the plastic "nut" in the footwell that holds the forward end of the kick panel.

7. Remove the plastic sill plate next to the seat.

8. Remove the kick panel, it's held in by two plastic retainers near the front edge close to the top & bottom.

9. Remove the bolt that holds the lower left corner of the lower dash cover.

10. Remove the lower dash cover by pulling carefully along edges to release the spring clips.

11. Disconnect the electrical connectors from the lower dash cover.

12. Pull the hood release to open the hood.

13. Pull the hood release cable shroud from the back of the hood release lever housing, move it to let the cable out through the slot at one side, then pull the hood release lever to expose the slot in the back that lets you remove the head of the cable from the lever.

14. Starting at the front edge, pry the overhead console down to release the two plastic retainers, then do the same at the back edge to release the two plastic retainers there, then disconnect the wiring connector.

15. Remove the two screws that hold the driver's sun visor in place.

16. Carefully pull to remove the sun visor and clip from the roof bracket. BE CAREFUL, the power cord for the mirror light needs to be disconnected after the visor is loose. Note: the metal spring clip may stay in the hole, remove it and reinstall on the plastic visor mount tab as necessary.

17. Pull down on the headliner at the front corner slightly to allow room for running the wires. Note: this will also pull the headliner away from the rubber door trim overhead, take care to put this back in place over the headliner edge when reinstalling.

18. Remove the fuse box cover now easily visible underneath the various electronics. You won't be able to reinstall this, so put it in the glovebox for future reference.

19. Insert your wires into the split loom to leave about 6" of both wires out of one end, cut the split loom itself to leave about 6" of the yellow wire out of the other end along with rest of the red wire.

20. Tape the split loom at each end and about every eight inches or so, to keep the wires in place.

21. In whichever direction you wish, feed the loom through the headliner so the split loom end with the six inches or so of wire is out the overhead console hole about 6" and the rest runs around the visor mount - not between it and the windshield - to the top of the A-pillar.

22. Install an insulated female spade connector on the end of both the red and yellow wires.

23. Tuck the split loom between the trim bracket and windshield down the A-pillar. Even if you have the moonroof option and there's a drain hose there, enough room exists for the split loom under the trim. DO NOT RUN THE LOOM ON THE SAME SIDE AS THE AIRBAG.

24. Run the wires and loom down the opening at the front corner of the dash, following the other wire bundles under the dash. Note: do not route these through the slot that the A-pillar trim uses, go to the left of that through the larger open space.

25. You should now have enough loom to easily reach the back of the fusebox, tape the loom to one of the other wire bundles if you desire.

26. From inside the engine compartment, look below the brake master cylinder assembly to where the rubber wiring grommet is at the firewall. At the top of this grommet is a gray round disc-appearing item, this is around the shell of the hood release cable. Pull it a couple inches towards the front of the vehicle to make room, then follow it with the "eye" end of your fish wire through to the interior.

27. Attach the end of the red wire to the "eye" of the fish wire with tape.

28. Pull the fish wire back to bring the end of the red wire into the engine compartment. Pull the wire through until there is only a small amount of slack left in the interior.

29. Using the rest of the split loom, cover the red wire in the engine compartment and tape as previously. Make sure the loom covers all the red wire at the firewall grommet. Route the split loom along the wiring bundles to the corner of the underhood fusebox that's closest to the passenger seat, tape it to them if desired.

30. Push that gray disc and cable shroud back up against the rubber grommet the way you found it originally.

31. At that corner of the underhood fusebox, there's a wire bundle that goes up through a rectangular opening. Enough room exists to push the end of the red wire up into the fusebox.

32. Cut the red wire so there's a few inches in the fusebox.

33. Install the Littelfuse In-Line Fuse Holder on the end of the red wire, then install an insulated female spade connector on the loose end.

34. Unless you need "battery hot" for your project, leave the cable coiled-up and reinstall the cover. If you need "battery hot", every visible unused spade terminal you see provides direct battery power. Connect one and reinstall the cover. Either way, you're done under the hood.

35. Connect the Littelfuse Add-A-Circuit on the end of the yellow wire after trimming the yellow wire to appropriate length.

36. Pull the fuse for a key-switched (Accessory/Run Hot) circuit, install the fuse in the Add-A-Circuit housing according to the package directions, install a no more than 10A fuse in the other fuse slot, then insert the Add-A-Circuit unit. I used the fuse for "POUTLET NO.1" for mine. Note: due to the way power runs to these fuses, the "correct" direction to install the unit is so the wire runs across the fusebox when finished.

37. Using the drill and properly-sized bit, drill a small hole in the rear face of the roof reinforcement that has the holes for the forward plastic retainers of the overhead console on the lower face. I drilled mine roughly centered between the two. Note: This reinforcement has two layers of steel separated by about 1/4". You'll have hard enough of a time drilling the hole through the first layer, no need to drill through the second.

38. Install the ground bar (that you purchased or made) using a SHORT sheet metal screw and the hole you just drilled.

37. Using whichever method you've selected, attach the magnet to the underside of the 5-position fuse block.

38. Connect whichever wire you need (yellow for key-switched, red for battery) to the spade terminal for one of the fuses in the fuse block, connect the other side's terminal to your project's device.

39. Connect the ground wire for your project's device to one of the ground bar's spade terminals.

40. Place the fuse block on the underside of the roof just back of the roof reinforcement. Tuck excess wiring loom into available space.

41. Reinstall removed items (except the vehicle underdash fusebox cover) by reversing the installation steps.

42. Don't forget to reconnect the battery!

43. Now's the chance to install your nifty "Custom Fuse cover - Extended Height" that you may have bought from @mesojdm unless you're like me and have the ability to make one on your own.

44. Kick back and enjoy a task well done, because that's all!

PICTURES:

Littlefuse 5-position fuse block:



Side view of fuse block with magnet:



Bottom view of fuse block and magnet:



Top view of brass ground bar I made:



Angle view of brass ground bar I made:



Installed wiring, fuse block, ground bar, and device wiring - note red "battery hot" wire is taped-off for safety even though it has an insulated connector and isn't connected on the other end:



Underdash end of the wiring showing split loom and wires going to fusepanel here (lighter red butt-connected to yellow) and underhood fusepanel (darker red looping up out of view):



All this effort because Toyota can't be bothered to leave a power feed near the overhead console even though they put a mount for an electronic device at the top of the windshield....

 

subd
this is awesome!

 

Nice work

 

Thanks much!

 

Thanks much to you too!

 

great first post! In depth with pictures and useful. Can't ask for much more

 

Thank you very much!

I'd normally have taken more pictures, but was running under a bit of a time crunch so I didn't pause to do so.

 

Another use for a hard drive magnet. Nice.

 

Better to find a use for them than to just discard them!