Hard wire a GPS on sled?

[mthunter]

Anyone done this? I have a Lowrance Expedition I would like to hardwire into my sled, can a guy just cut the plug off the car adapter and wire it up or will I have voltage problems?

Ideas? suggestions?

Thanks.

[Esox_Magnum]

Why not add a 12 volt plug on the sled and use the 12 volt cord on the Expedition.

[Northlander]

Cheffrey and I just did exactly that. We ran 14 guage wire from the batttery to a 15 amp in line fuse and then from there ran to a 12 volt cig lighter adapter that we mounted in a good spot on the hood. Then we mounted RAM mounts on the hood and use the 12 volt cord that we use in out trucks. Works awesome. Ill get some pics and see maybe they will help.

[CrappiesNeyes]

If you have a sled without a battery you will have to install a voltage regulator/rectifier to change the current from AC to DC.(not sure how easy this is) Or you could just mount a vexilar type battery somewhere under the hood.

[Northlander]

I have seen guys carry a vex battery in a tank bag and run the GPS off that for power. I used to just run lithium rechargables for a winter and they worked great in the cold. I always have them in the GPS so if something happened with my sled power I will have them as back up now.

Ill get some pics here as soon as I find my dang camera.

[opsirc]

can not remember where, but one of the manuals said not to cut the adapter off the cord. It seems it acts as a regulator as well to prevent too much voltage getting through and burning up the unit.

[DTro]

yes there is a transformer that regulates the voltage to 3v, do not cut the cord.

If you don't have a battery, the best option like mentioned is to mount a flasher type battery either in the engine compartment or in some sort of handle bag.

[hydro]

Another thing to consider is that the hood of the sled vibrates quite a bit depending on engine rpm. I have an older Garmin unit mounted to the dash and it shakes enough to be hard to read.

[mthunter]

Thanks for the info guys. My sled does not have a battery so I guess the easy and quickest option is out. If I run a vex battery do I just hook up the cig lighter to that and then plug in the GPS?

[Jim Almquist]

Thanks for the info guys. My sled does not have a battery so I guess the easy and quickest option is out. If I run a vex battery do I just hook up the cig lighter to that and then plug in the GPS?

I put my battery in my map bag and have a cig lighter that I put spade clips on so they will stay on the battery. The center of the cig plug is your positive side of the batttery if it is not labeled or color coded.