[G20]

I'm looking for some help on where to run the power wire to a GPS unit. I get where to hook it up for power, but where is the cleanest way to run the GPS' power cable?

Did you run it under the dash, drill a hole somewhere, or come up with some other smart way of running the power cable?

I'm looking to install a new Christmas present this week. Can anyone advise or send a quick photo of how you did it?

Thank you.

 

[G20]

No suggestions at all? The only thing I have seen is an owner who drilled a hole through the upper part of the dashboard assembly.

 

[mad_mardigen]

No suggestions at all? The only thing I have seen is an owner who drilled a hole through the upper part of the dashboard assembly.

Not there yet but I have seen the one your talking about drilling a hole through the upper part of the dashboard assembly. (Not a fan)

I also read about a guy who ran the wire with the wiring of the dash instrument cluster.
Another option would be to run the wires behind the instrument cluster (left side) and then strait down. If you feel with your hand on the left side where the acc. plug is, you will notice its open underneath.


Good luck with the install.
Let us know how it goes, what did you get btw?


John

 

[G20]

Thanks John,

I never thought about running it down with the gauge cluster wire. If the area around the wire is rubber, I might be able to squeeze the power wire in there. It would probably leave a pretty good gap though.

I plan on digging into it soon. It's just too cold in my garage right now to deal with it.

I ended up getting a Zumo 396 LMT. I went to the Touratech store and chatted with the guys there for a while. They recommended the Zumo over the Montana because of its bluetooth,cheaper price, larger screen and ease of use. I downloaded the 100k US Topo Maps and now have the city and off road maps. Should be great.

I am using a SW Motech mount. I had to modify the mount because the Zumo power wire is straight instead of at a 90 degree bend. There wasn't enough space in-between the unit's cradle and the mount. There is a tab on the mount that I took a Dremel to and cut off, so the power cord isn't sandwiched in-between the cradle and mount. Combined with SW Motech's spacer kit, everything looks factory.

Hopefully others can advise how they routed the wire. I don't like drilling holes into stuff unless I have to.

Cheers,

Greg

 

[mad_mardigen]

Hi Greg,


I'm torn between the 396 and the 595 but in the end I will probably go for the 396. The .7 of an inch in screen size, 3d terrain and tire pressure monitor does not justify the price premium and on top of that the 396 supports wifi updates and the 595 does not.


You mentioned above needing to go at the SW Motech mount with a Dremel, I thought that if you bought the SW Motech's spacer kit you would not need to do any modifications?


Below is a picture I took of inside the dash assembly (headlight removed) The square plug at the top is the connector for the dash cluster. The plug goes though a soft rubber plate ( for lack of a better word ) You could drill a small hole next to the plug and pass the wire though there, no one would see it.

 

[mad_mardigen]

Hi Greg,


A little update, undo the three screws that hold on the dash and pull out the dash, then you can use a Dremel to make a notch in the hole for the GPS wires so it does not get pinched when you put the dash back in.


See attached pic.




John

 

[G20]

You mentioned above needing to go at the SW Motech mount with a Dremel, I thought that if you bought the SW Motech's spacer kit you would not need to do any modifications?

John,

Thank you for taking the time to post up some photos and ideas. I will probably do the routing through the rubber gasket as you mentioned.

I took a photo of the GPS mount with SW's spacer kit. The spacer kit does lift the Garmin mount off SW's base plate a bit, but still not enough to clear the power cord. The power cord has a thick rubber section at the end, which is very hard to bend. I tried putting it together with just the spacers, but I could see the rubber on the power cord being stressed (it was turning a lighter shade of color).

The base plate also has a triangle shaped tab, which is directly in the way of where the power cord comes out. You could probably force it and clamp it down, but I cut that tab off instead. I drew a straight line where the tab comes off of the plate, drilled a hole at that line, and then cut the tab off at the line. I threw some spray paint on it and it looks factory.

Now the power cord comes straight out of the GPS, without any bend in the power cord. Maybe there was a better way to do this, but I couldn't figure it out. Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Greg

 

[webbed]

Hello. I bought the Montana and I'm wondering where would be an appropriate spot to attach the ground wire of the AMPS rugged mount? I am half tempted to wire the harness to a cigarette plug and use my aux power port, but would still need a ground.
Thanks for any help.

 

[G20]

Hello. I bought the Montana and I'm wondering where would be an appropriate spot to attach the ground wire of the AMPS rugged mount? I am half tempted to wire the harness to a cigarette plug and use my aux power port, but would still need a ground.
Thanks for any help.

If you have several accessories, I might run a small fuse block or fuse terminal and run the wires to that. That way you won't have a mess of wires stacked up on the battery terminals. Or maybe a Posi-Tap to another ground wire?

I see you're in Kirkland. I'm in Snoqualmie!

 

[[email protected]]

Has anyone found a way to do this without having to drill holes or cut out notches? 🤓

Thanks
Nick

 

[taffy]

Hi there a few years ago I wired my Tom Tom rider into the battery on my 1190. I removed the front fairing, lifted up the fuel tank, and ran the cable under the fuel tank, under the seat to the battery. I seem to remember it was a an hour or 2 job.