humps
A2OC Donor
Many have asked if the square on the centre of the dashboard can be used to mount a SatNav or TV screen. While this mod doesn't exactly do that, it shows you what you can potentially do around that area! I ended up mounting closer to the vents as I can't see the small screen that well mounting on the flat square part.
I mainly want to mount my SatNav (iPhone for now, but can be anything) above the vents so I, not the phone sitting in the cup holder get to enjoy the cold air in the summer! But i don't want permanent drilling or adhesive mounts. I also want the mount removable so people don't need to think I may have something valuable in the car. Here it is, a very low cost solution costing less than 20 GBP and 30 minutes to install
You'll need:
radio removal keys (2 for single DIN, 4 for double DIN units)
philips screw driver
Rare earth (neodymium) magnets
A suitable mount for your device of choice
Double sided tape
WARNING: Do this at your own risk, I will not be responsible if your magnet got close to your electronic device and damage it in anyway! These rare earth magnets have extreme force but the effective range of field is very little.
First, acquire the magnets. I got 20 pieces of 10x50mm bars of N30 grade rare earth magnets from eBay for around 8 GBP. The size of the magnets should ideally allow a combination such that it fits to the base of your device mount. My cheap ebay iPhone 3GS mount comes with an adhesive base that I can stick two pieces of the magnets to it.
Then you want to test the holding force. See the pictures below. I ended up with a stack of 3 magnets arranged in a 2x3 shape. Stack of 3 gives me the distance and strength, but do test your magnets. I have 2x1 on the base of the mount. This is enough to hold the iphone across a thickness of 3.5mm (simulated using a deck of cards), roughly the thickness of the dashboard. I strongly recommend having a thickness simulation, this also allows you to have the poles of the magnets in the right orientation so there's no mix up at install.
Holds one iPhone (140g) no problem. Holds test weight (450g) fine. This is enough even if my car generates 3g of acceleration or cornering force!
Once happy with the arrangement of the magnets, let's move on to the install. First, remove the headunit and expose the two mounting screws that holds the top vent housing.
Undo them and pull the vent housing out carefully! There is a cable to the hazard light switch and you need to unclip it.
The picture shows the housing looking from the back of it. Carefully unclip the red circle part. Now you have full access to the little space between the air channel and the top of the dash. Experiment where you want to mount.
Then simply use double sided tape on the correct side of the magnet array and stick it to the inside of the dash! Then reconnect the hazard light switch, put everything back together and see the result!
My mount has a ball joint so I can still freely reposition it. If you want to avoid any potential pressure marks on the dash, stick something thin and soft on the magnets, may be a piece of fabric on double sided tape.
Some might be thinking magnet on one side and metal base would work. Yes it would, but using metal on the other side, without the magnet's poles, it could rotate and slip!
This is what mine looks like. The touchscreen is reachable, text readable, GPS signal is good. It doesn't block the air vents. The phone speaker are towards the driver side so I can hear the voice instructions clearly too. If I place the phone horizontally, the HUD+ app should work rather well as a head up display at night too!
The next step? A solution to the charging cable and audio signal routing. But I'm not fuzzed as I don't normally need Satnav for extended period of time. But I'm sure other members will be interested in that.
I mainly want to mount my SatNav (iPhone for now, but can be anything) above the vents so I, not the phone sitting in the cup holder get to enjoy the cold air in the summer! But i don't want permanent drilling or adhesive mounts. I also want the mount removable so people don't need to think I may have something valuable in the car. Here it is, a very low cost solution costing less than 20 GBP and 30 minutes to install
You'll need:
radio removal keys (2 for single DIN, 4 for double DIN units)
philips screw driver
Rare earth (neodymium) magnets
A suitable mount for your device of choice
Double sided tape
WARNING: Do this at your own risk, I will not be responsible if your magnet got close to your electronic device and damage it in anyway! These rare earth magnets have extreme force but the effective range of field is very little.
First, acquire the magnets. I got 20 pieces of 10x50mm bars of N30 grade rare earth magnets from eBay for around 8 GBP. The size of the magnets should ideally allow a combination such that it fits to the base of your device mount. My cheap ebay iPhone 3GS mount comes with an adhesive base that I can stick two pieces of the magnets to it.
Then you want to test the holding force. See the pictures below. I ended up with a stack of 3 magnets arranged in a 2x3 shape. Stack of 3 gives me the distance and strength, but do test your magnets. I have 2x1 on the base of the mount. This is enough to hold the iphone across a thickness of 3.5mm (simulated using a deck of cards), roughly the thickness of the dashboard. I strongly recommend having a thickness simulation, this also allows you to have the poles of the magnets in the right orientation so there's no mix up at install.
Holds one iPhone (140g) no problem. Holds test weight (450g) fine. This is enough even if my car generates 3g of acceleration or cornering force!
Once happy with the arrangement of the magnets, let's move on to the install. First, remove the headunit and expose the two mounting screws that holds the top vent housing.
Undo them and pull the vent housing out carefully! There is a cable to the hazard light switch and you need to unclip it.
The picture shows the housing looking from the back of it. Carefully unclip the red circle part. Now you have full access to the little space between the air channel and the top of the dash. Experiment where you want to mount.
Then simply use double sided tape on the correct side of the magnet array and stick it to the inside of the dash! Then reconnect the hazard light switch, put everything back together and see the result!
My mount has a ball joint so I can still freely reposition it. If you want to avoid any potential pressure marks on the dash, stick something thin and soft on the magnets, may be a piece of fabric on double sided tape.
Some might be thinking magnet on one side and metal base would work. Yes it would, but using metal on the other side, without the magnet's poles, it could rotate and slip!
This is what mine looks like. The touchscreen is reachable, text readable, GPS signal is good. It doesn't block the air vents. The phone speaker are towards the driver side so I can hear the voice instructions clearly too. If I place the phone horizontally, the HUD+ app should work rather well as a head up display at night too!
The next step? A solution to the charging cable and audio signal routing. But I'm not fuzzed as I don't normally need Satnav for extended period of time. But I'm sure other members will be interested in that.