Model 3 Front row fast charging hub

[privater]

Due to long distance commute everyday, I'm heavily relay on usb charging on cars, Model 3 is a perfect commute car, but the front row charging is too slow for modern devices.

I tested the two usb ports below dashboard, with an 30% battery iPhone 7：
5.01v, 1.14a, total 5.71w.



and for an 50% iPad:
5.01v, 1.28a, total 6.40w.


So I followed @fseir 's video and did a quick work:

First I bought an anker 12v 5 ports hub, total output 5v/10a, 5v/2.4a each:



It's very easy to remove the cabin sides, and cables are fit perfectly within:


I cut a small pieces of plastic and insert the hub wire into front cabinet, applied the double side tape and attached it to the back of the mobile phone charging plates:

 

[privater]

And here is the result:
For iPhone 7
4.97v, 1.42a, total 7.1w


for iPad:
5.15v, 2.3a, total 11.84w!


This also solve my problem for dashboard cam:


Now with 4 cables plug-in, I can finally doing waze with charging:



This is the final result:

 

[EfficientWatts]

Did you try out the rear ports? Apparently they are 2A.

 

[privater]

Did you try out the rear ports? Apparently they are 2A.

I knew, but I'd like to leave them to rear passenger, also it's more aesthetic and provide more ports for multiple devices.

 

[fseir]

Due to long distance commute everyday, I'm heavily relay on usb charging on cars, Model 3 is a perfect commute car, but the front row charging is too slow for modern devices.

I tested the two usb ports below dashboard, with an 30% battery iPhone 7：
5.01v, 1.14a, total 5.71w.

View attachment 288666

and for an 50% iPad:
5.01v, 1.28a, total 6.40w.
View attachment 288667

So I followed @fseir 's video and did a quick work:

First I bought an anker 12v 5 ports hub, total output 5v/10a, 5v/2.4a each:

View attachment 288668 View attachment 288669

It's very easy to remove the cabin sides, and cables are fit perfectly within:
View attachment 288671 View attachment 288672 View attachment 288674

I cut a small pieces of plastic and insert the hub wire into front cabinet, applied the double side tape and attached it to the back of the mobile phone charging plates:
View attachment 288673 View attachment 288675 View attachment 288687

Strong work!! I plan to do this, as soon as I get my M3, so thanks for the proof of concept! Wasn’t sure if a thicker USB cable would fit in the side channel, but it appears it did. Did you have any trouble exiting the red cable from the channel, into the charging dock bin? In one of the photos, it looks like the cable is slightly compressed at that spot.



I assume that’s where you had to cut a small chunk out of the liner and plastic?

 

[fseir]

@privater Where is your dash cam cable routed? I see where it enters the side channel on the right, but I can’t see where it goes from there.

Any ideas on how to hide the cable to your phone mount?

 

[privater]

Strong work!! I plan to do this, as soon as I get my M3, so thanks for the proof of concept! Wasn’t sure if a thicker USB cable would fit in the side channel, but it appears it did. Did you have any trouble exiting the red cable from the channel, into the charging dock bin? In one of the photos, it looks like the cable is slightly compressed at that spot.

View attachment 288859

I assume that’s where you had to cut a small chunk out of the liner and plastic?

Yes, I noticed that too, so I did it again with dremel to cut deeper on the sides, so don't make the same mistake I did:

 

[privater]

@privater Where is your dash cam cable routed? I see where it enters the side channel on the right, but I can’t see where it goes from there.

Any ideas on how to hide the cable to your phone mount?

Sure, I always hide dashcam cable from edges of the top window:


I then hide it under the rubber water seal:


After it reached the passenger door, I use the cable stickers to attach them under the glovebox then went into charging hub:

 

[S3XY]

Yes, I noticed that too, so I did it again with dremel to cut deeper on the sides, so don't make the same mistake I did:

What about the part where it goes under the rubber stopper to get to the 12V outlet? Did you have to dremel that?

 

[privater]

What about the part where it goes under the rubber stopper to get to the 12V outlet? Did you have to dremel that?

There is already a cut for rubber gasket, I just squeeze the cable into it.

 

[jomo25]

Pretty great work by the OP. If I decide to do a dash cam, I’d consider doing this too.

 

[S3XY]

I already have parts on order so thanks for detailing your installation.

 

[fseir]

Sure, I always hide dashcam cable from edges of the top window:
View attachment 288943 View attachment 288944

I then hide it under the rubber water seal:
View attachment 288945 View attachment 288946

After it reached the passenger door, I use the cable stickers to attach them under the glovebox then went into charging hub:

View attachment 288947 View attachment 288948

This is so helpful, especially with the photos. Thank you!!

 

[fr100]

Which dashcam is that?

 

[1051]

Due to long distance commute everyday, I'm heavily relay on usb charging on cars, Model 3 is a perfect commute car, but the front row charging is too slow for modern devices.

I tested the two usb ports below dashboard, with an 30% battery iPhone 7：
5.01v, 1.14a, total 5.71w.

View attachment 288666

and for an 50% iPad:
5.01v, 1.28a, total 6.40w.
View attachment 288667

So I followed @fseir 's video and did a quick work:

First I bought an anker 12v 5 ports hub, total output 5v/10a, 5v/2.4a each:

View attachment 288668 View attachment 288669

It's very easy to remove the cabin sides, and cables are fit perfectly within:
View attachment 288671 View attachment 288672 View attachment 288674

I cut a small pieces of plastic and insert the hub wire into front cabinet, applied the double side tape and attached it to the back of the mobile phone charging plates:
View attachment 288673 View attachment 288675 View attachment 288687

Thank you! it was a easy install...

 

[SageBrush]

I bought a gizmo for our cars that turns the 12v cigarette lighter socket into a 5v 3 Amp USB socket. Works great for my Pixel phone. I get 15 watt charging. The adapter has two USB sockets but I do not remember if both can be used together and still get 15 watts each.

 

[Tony_YYZ]

Thanks @privater . Now to try and find that Anker USB hub in Canada. Amazon.ca is bust. Might have to get it from amazon.com and eat the global delivery fee.

 

[Skione65]

Due to long distance commute everyday, I'm heavily relay on usb charging on cars, Model 3 is a perfect commute car, but the front row charging is too slow for modern devices.

I tested the two usb ports below dashboard, with an 30% battery iPhone 7：
5.01v, 1.14a, total 5.71w.

View attachment 288666

and for an 50% iPad:
5.01v, 1.28a, total 6.40w.
View attachment 288667

So I followed @fseir 's video and did a quick work:

First I bought an anker 12v 5 ports hub, total output 5v/10a, 5v/2.4a each:

View attachment 288668 View attachment 288669

It's very easy to remove the cabin sides, and cables are fit perfectly within:
View attachment 288671 View attachment 288672 View attachment 288674

I cut a small pieces of plastic and insert the hub wire into front cabinet, applied the double side tape and attached it to the back of the mobile phone charging plates:
View attachment 288673 View attachment 288675 View attachment 288687

@privater,

Which Wi-Fi hotspot are you using? Looking at picking one up for my dashcams....

Ski

 

[Craig-Tx]

@privater,

Which Wi-Fi hotspot are you using? Looking at picking one up for my dashcams....

Ski

Same.
I've looked around, but I can only seem to find ones that have an internal Li ion battery. Being that I live in Texas, I'd rather not leave anything in my vehicle that has a Li ion battery. The cabin temp in a vehicle in the hot summer is way too high for my own comfort.

Ideally I'd like a WiFi hotspot that simply is powered by the 12V supply that I can set and forget. When I power on the car (and dashcam) it powers on as well.

EDIT - I'd like to not leave any Li ion batteries that aren't properly thermally managed. And while I'm sure most consumer gear will not have problems, I'd rather not risk it.

 

[privater]

@privater,

Which Wi-Fi hotspot are you using? Looking at picking one up for my dashcams....

Ski

I didn't use any WiFi hotspot