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How-To: Hot-Wired Accessory Plug

8K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  jandjfrench 
#1 · (Edited)
I will not take credit for this mod, I have only followed the instructions and it works mint. This allows you to have the accessory plug powered on all the time, so you can charge cell phones or what ever you want. It cost me nothing as I had all the parts, and only took me 2min to install. Great MOD!!!!!

Instructions:

Parts From Wal Mart-

"Heavy Duty Fuse Holder - Mini Fuse" - Cat. No. BP/HHM
-For 20 to 30 Amp ATM Blade Type Fuses.
-Hanging yellow package with red diagonal corner on top left.

"Slide Connects Female" for use with 14-14 guage wire. 3M.
Mostly yellow hanging package with red diagonal upper RIGHT corner.

"Assorted Connects" 3M
-Same looking package as Slide Connects above.
-From this package I get the open terminal connector.
-With a little more searching, you can find a package that contains only the open terminal connectors. Maybe at Radio Shack.

(If needed...) Professional Ergo Stripping and Crimping Tool.
(Hanging among connectors at Wal Mart listed above.)

The wire ends of the fuseholder already have their insulation stripped off, however, using the stripping and crimping tool you might have to strip a few strands of the exposed copper wires from the fuseholder ends to get the remaining group of wires to fit into the terminal connectors.

Crimp a Slide Connect Female on the stripped end of one of the wires from the fuseholder and crimp an open (horseshoe-looking) Terminal Connector to the end of the other wire from the fuseholder. Clip off one of the "fingers" of the open Terminal Tonnector. (See attached picture of the cable.)

The jumper cable is complete except for the fuse you'll take from your Caliber's fusebox in the following steps to put into the fuseholder of the cable.

Open the hood of your Caliber. The fuse box is next to the left front fender (the car's left). It's rectangular with one corner curved inward. Pull on the bottom of the two tabs on the edge towards the front of the car and lift that edge up. It'll rotate up and toward the rear of the car and release itself from the opposite side of the fusebox.

Pull the 15-Amp fuse from the position indicated by the attached picture and put that fuse into the fuseholder of your new jumper cable and close it's rubber cap. You can also determine from the attached picture of the installed cable which fuse to pull (from the location at the right end of the jumper cable in the picture - that picture will also clarify which fuse pin hole to use with your new jumper cable).

Push on the female blade end of the jumper cable onto the blade indicated in the picture at the left end of the jumper cable (of the two exposed blades its the one to your left as you lean over the left front fender, the exposed blade closest to the front of the car.)

Connect the other end of the cable, the open (horseshoe) terminal connector with one finger cut off, into one of the holes left vacant by the fuse you just pulled to put into your jumper cable fuseholder. That happens at the right end of the jumper cable you see in the attached picture. Put the remaining "finger" of your terminal connector into the now vacant fuse pin hole closest to the left front fender. The pin hole closest to you as you lean over the left front fender. The attached picture clarifies this.

Dress down the cable and replace the fusebox cover. Reverse your movement to replace the fusebox cover. Lay down the end towards the rear of the car and rotate the opposite end down and snap the front tabs into place.

The nice thing about this mod is that it can be removed in a heartbeat in case you want to take your Caliber in for repair and not let them accuse you of voiding your warranty. I took the cable out of my Caliber to take the attached pictures and put it back in within a few moments. Just remember to take the fuse out of the fuseholder and put it back into it's empty slot in the fusebox if you decide to remove this mod.



 
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#2 ·
mmm i'm not sure if my brains good enough to do that, but great tip and you get my reps for it..
remember not to leave anything in over night that will drain your battery..
 
#7 ·
doing this mod tonight. but I seen one just like it on here where they left the fuse installed. which one is better leave the fuse or remove the fuse. Im thinking take out the ACC fuse and just power the one side and not have a back feed issue.

what is the fuse to the left of the ACC fuse that has 3 holes. what is it used for and why is it like that.
 
#8 ·
Hi,
I successfully managed to keep the cigar lighter output hot with the ignition turned off. The information provided in this thread was very helpful but I had a few questions along the way and thought I'd share the answers.
I wasn't sure if the modification would keep the cigar lighter or 115V outlets active with the ignition off. The Service Manual on page 8W-41-3 refers to both as "Power Outlet".
Prior to coming across this thread I had opened the "Totally Integrated Power Module" (henceforth referred to as the fuse box) cover by prying on the front latches as described in this thread. I succeeded in breaking one off. According to the instructions printed on the fuse box cover, pressing in on the rear latches is the correct method and may avoid breakage.
My local Walmart didn't have the fuse holder specified but had an indicator type of lesser amperage. I located the one specified in a local auto parts store but the indicator one would have worked also as its rating exceeded that of the 15A fuse used here.
I also had questions when I came across the indicator one if it was for fuses of the right type. It was; ATM fuses are what are used.
By Googling, I found this sites' link to the Service Manual prior to discovering this site itself. When I came across the link on this site I checked and found the link was dead. By Googling "2007-PM-SM.pdf" I found the manual on a Russian site. I downloaded it and discovered that it was exactly the same size as the one I had previously downloaded so believe it is safe. There was a body repair manual there also.
The service manual doesn't address the 3 terminal slot adjacent to the fuse location used here but the inside of the fuse box cover identifies the end terminals as Hot and Acc or Ign (I forget which). The fuse is to the Hot terminal as shown in this threads' picture. I haven't identified its use.
According to 8W-41-3 it looks as though the 115V outlet should be hot also but its not.
These are my findings and would appreciate it if anyone can add anything or correct any errors I may have made.
Also, for some reason I'm not allowed to start a new thread so if anyone who can, please let the problems with the Service Manual link be advertised.

Jim F.
 
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