chrispazz

My TS with Palm car power charger go ok for only 4 days.
Now it stopped charging my pre.
I still have to check what is wrong, if it is a TS problem or a car charger problem.

Car is a Renault Scenic.

thrshr01

I thought about using an a-pillar gauge pod to mount the TS in but I have side curtain air bags and if the unfortunate happens, I don't want the pre to become a projectile. People without side curtain air bags might wanna consider doing this, it could also hide the unsightly cables.

Moller212

I'll say although I am an IPhone user the Pre would kick the IPhones behind if it wasn't for 3.0 saving its butt when it releases. I went through a Pre training and its pretty sweet.

2.0t03speed

There's only one problem with that to me, and it is that if you hit a pothole or some object hard enough your pre could become dislodged and since its on the a-pillar it will possibly go out the window (if it's down).

chrispazz

Ok it was only a bad contact. TS and car charger working good now.

thrshr01

Use the A/C

Good point though, I sometimes like to drive my car with the windows rolled down and the way I drive, the winds force will knock it off the TS.

Anyway, tried my TS with the rocketfish charger (sits beautifully flush in the 12V supply) but I didn't charge my phone Time to look for a better adapter.

2.0t03speed

yea it wont work for me because of the way my car is lol. stiff suspension and full 70duro mounts all the way around the motor sends some pretty decent vibrations throughout the car.

thrshr01

Damn, have you seen the dentist lately? Might be wearing your enamel down

voltageROCK

I am in the middle of my custom installation, so I will have finalized pics this weekend showing my TS with hidden wiring in my 06 Civic. In the meantime, I can't get enough of this thing. What better method can you find of charging and mounting your Pre in your car?

Anyway, to everyone using the TS in their car and want a really clean install, here is some advice:

Obviously we need the bulky 12vDC adapter to convert the voltage to 5v. So my question is, why use your car's 12 volt cig lighter port? Hide your adapter behind the kick panel and use a spare location in the fuse box as your 12volt source. This will also keep your 12v cig lighter port free for something else.

1) BEGIN BY DISCONNECTING YOUR CAR'S 12VOLT BATTERY NEGATIVE TERMINAL (Thanks thrshr01)!!!

2) Solder a wire to the adapters center pin which is the positive terminal, and a wire to the metal around the circumference of the adapter which is the negative terminal.

3) Now, run the positive wire to an open fuse location, making sure you know which way the current is travelling so you can properly put it into the correct side of the fuse holder just in case a surge or a short occurs. I recommend using a 15amp fuse, or the same amp fuse your cigarette lighter uses. Remember, there is also a built in fuse in the 12volt adapter that you can leave in there, or if you are electronically savvy, you can take it out and completely remove the adapters housing to remove the bulk. If not skip to step 4. What you would be left with is the 12v to 5v transformer circuit board and the usb port, along with the positive and negative wires. You must make sure that all metal exposed is shielded. Repeat above instructions to wire to fuse box.

4) Now take the ground wire from the adapter and secure it the cars chassis ground.

5) Hide your 12v adapter and usb wire under the kick panel and run it to the Touchstone, and you will be left with a really clean no mess install.

Now, the 3.5mm cable is up to you as this may not be convenient to hide since the Pre needs to be taken off of the TS from time to time for texting and whatnot. You may want to leave some slack.

I will show my install when it is done this weekend.

If this method is chosen, make sure you use electrical tape and cover all exposed metal on the adapter, and secure it to some already existing wiring with either zip ties or twist ties.

Let me know if this makes any sense.

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thrshr01

Voltage,

Great advice but you should change number 1 to disconnect the negative (-) ground cable instead of the positive (+) power cable.

voltageROCK

Stupid mistake on my part. You're absolutely correct. Thanks!

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zeigan

Bought the palm auto charger and a 12v auto outlet from radio shack, er THE SHACK... and wired it into the existing cig lighter outlet from under the dash. cut a small hole above the dash air vent and used heavy duty double sided 3M tape (also from THE SHACK). But because the TS angle would make my pre face upwards, I used an old hair spray cap, affixed it to the TS base with putty epoxy at the open end of the cap, masked the TS and prayed the thing black, taped it to the dash, and voila! hidden wires, perfect viewing angle and reach. Also wired the Kensington liquidaux bluetooth adapter similarly but at the base of the dash center console. It too has hidden wires but is wired into the stereo of my vw where it would normally supply 12v power to the factory installed ipod dock. This way, the liquidaux stays on so long as the radio is on, even if the car is off. So i can park, listen to tunes or watch vids while saving gas. I want to post pics, but I haven't posted enough to do so. I drive an 07 vw rabbit.

NickDG

I think it's funny seeing Engadget or Gizmodo (can't remember which one) post about the Touchstone car installs just a couple days ago, being that we have been doing this since the Touchstone came out! What took them so long! LOL

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Palm Vx -> Treo 600 -> Treo 700p -> Centro -> Pre (Launch Phone 06/06/09)

ashi

It was Gizmodo, though Engadget had an older piece on another one.

DIY Palm TouchStone Car Mount: Death to All Cables - Palm touchstone car mount - Gizmodo

NoResults

In regards to voltageROCK's comments. Why solder a wire to a adapter (I assume you mean cig lighter adapter)?? Why not make an easier install by wiring dirfect to your power supply dc-dc since you were using one. Also is there no way to open up the bottom of the touchstone and bring the wire in where it is not visible?

voltageROCK

I think you may need to re-read what I posted.

Thats exactly what I meant. Maybe I didn't use the correct terminology. I may have referred to the 12v to 5 v DC power adapter as the cig lighter adapter, but to clear this up,

Solder wire to 12v to 5 v adapter center pin (you know, the springy pin), then solder to the 12v to 5v adapter outer circumference metal plate. Then run the positive to the fuse box, and negative to chassis ground. Fasten your 12v to 5v DC adapter underneath the kick panel so its out of the way. Then run your USB cable to the Touchstone any way you can so it routes to it as inconspicuous as possible.

This frees up your cars Cig lighter 12v port for something else.

Does this clear it up?

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chashmish

I bought a cheap cig lighter splitter for my car... so I can use my touchstone & charge my ipod at the same time.

voltageROCK

I'm just the type of person who doesn't like to see wires!! Especially when its something I will use all of the time. The TS is always there. If it was a random time to use the cig lighter adapter, then I wouldn't bother with hiding the wiring, as I would just wrap up the cords and 12v charger and place them in the middle console when not needed.

Pea soup

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I am equivalent to a man dammit.