Finished job, flap open. I really must buy the trim piece that tells me what gear I am in.
With the assembly on the bench I carefully cut away the plastic to allow it to fit. It was tight but it goes together without the display being obscured.
The cable it came with was impressively long but I only needed about 4 inches of it. The wires are soldered to the cigar lighter, it just seemed easiest to do it that way.
If I wasn't such a lazy sod I would have spent some time making a better infill piece but I think it looks ok, it won't be on show most of the time anyway.
Digital speedo? what digital speedo?
I think I have fixed the speedo but as I can't be certain due to the nature o intermittent faults I wanted to have a second device because the cost of being caught speeding is ridiculous these days. Forget the fine or the made up science of a speed awareness course, the cost on insurance where multiple vehicles are involved is high and the effects are felt for years. I tried a small portable sat nav but as I have to wear glasses for distances I could only see a slight blur on the screen and the audible speed warning can only be set to 10 per cent over, which is cutting it a bit fine. Add to that the fact that the local revenue generation partnership - sorry, road safety partnership have installed average speed cash generators all over the place and it's clear action was needed.
I didn't really want to have anything that made the car non standard, it's bad enough having the sat nav but at least that's only on display when I need it, which isn't often. It needed to be big and clear but not so big that it uglified my interior. In the end I decided the best place for it was where the ash tray is, being a non smoker it was dead space, it's got a cover that goes over it and I thought I could make it so it wasn't offensive even when the cover was up and the device was in use. A massive Brucie bonus was that a switched 12v supply was right there - the one that feeds the lighter.
Sadly the bloody thing was just a little too big, the only way I could make it fit was to take out the ash tray insert and then cut a bit of the surrounding plastic away, the photos should make it clear. I could then stick the thing in place, couple of dabs of superglue to hold it while some 2 part epoxy made a better job of it. I cut the 12v mini usb cable off and soldered the ends to the 1/4 inch blade terminals on the back of the lighter socket. I could have joined it to the wires but I thought it was easier this way, I could then do the whole job on the bench in one go. I had to drill a hole in the car, where the socket came out the back of the unit it was too deep, I drilled a small hole, saw there was nothing behind and then used a 35mm hole saw so there was plenty of clearance, it can't be seen when it's all back together.
There was a bit of an ugly gap so I used a bit of the plastic that I had removed to tidy it up a wee bit, it will be hidden behind the burr walnut panel most of the time, but I am quite pleased with how it looks when it's in use anyway - it's not ugly any more.
It seems to work remarkably well for something that was well under a tenner delivered. before I installed it I put it in my Insignia and drove around a bit - partly to test the accuracy but also to see how sensitive the GPS receiver was, I was absolutely gob smacked. It picks up the satellites really quickly - it just shows 2 dashes until they are being received then it shows the speed in MPH. There is no way to switch to kmh and sadly no input to dim the display when you put the lights on - I guess for that money that would be expecting bit much. I wish they had added that feature and put a quid on the price though. Metric versions are available, be sure to order the right one. I got mine from Amazon but they are available from numerous sources. I have no idea how long it will last but for now I am more than happy with it, if it fails in a year I will just get another, unless of course I discover my speedo fix is a good one.
I am hoping my speedo fix is a permanent one but if not then this is my fall back. I will leave it set up, there is no reason not to, the ashtray will never be required, I will keep it for when I sell the car, the next owner may want it.
It's an ideal location as it's far enough away from me so my tired old short sighted eyes can see it clearly when my long distance glasses are on. I tried varifocals but couldn't get on with them.
My next job is to rethink my sat nav solution, i can't read the bloody thing, it's great that they make them small but I just can't see it when I'm driving. I don't want to chop the car about or do anything that isn't reversible, that's going to require some thought. I am thinking maybe a dash out o a later model - one where they had the pop up Alpine screen. I reckon that could work.
Unit on and receiving satellite signal. The lighter socket is still available for my sat nav, phone charger or portable orgasmatron.
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