My Cheapskate Model S Qi Charger Solution (Repost)

[c615586]

When I got my MS P100D last year, I still had an iPhone 6 and just plugged it into the charging dock whenever necessary. But when I upgraded to the iPhone X several months ago I began thinking of ways to integrate a Qi charger in a fairly unobtrusive manner.

While I really like some of the other solutions other folks have posted (like this one)--

This option is completely reversible if you have leased your car or are leary of doing much disassembly or modification.

I cobbled together a workable solution using a few items from Amazon. My total spend was about $30 (a couple of months ago)

Qi Charger

I have read on this forum and elsewhere that a Qi charger that draws too much power will cause the car to shut down the USB port, so it may be important to check the power ratings on your QI charger. This one uses 5V/1A.

USB Cord

These worked well to run the cable under the tray.

The weight of the phone pushes the bottom grip of the cradle down, which pulls the horizontal arms inward to keep the phone in place while driving. With the phone out of the cradle, it is small enough to allow the door to shut when I'm out of the car.


Qi Charger

The back of the Qi Charger looks like this:


Rear of Charger

I Dremelled the "universal ball groove" and the "universal ball" off their respective parts and then epoxied the base to the cradle/charger. I then mounted the whole assembly to the phone dock in my Model S using 2 strips of 3M automotive tape.

Here's a pic and quick video of my setup.

 

[UCLA98]

I want the qi charger to be available for charging without having to open the console's door. So here is my DYI project that cost less than $10:

1. I cut an old DVD case to match the size of my largest phone (Samsung Note 9) with a pair of scissors.
2. I used electrical tape to attach the fast 10W qi wireless charger module that I bought on Ebay for under $3. Here is the Link: 5153 Qi 10W fast wireless charger module PCBA circuit board + coil chargingB_WK | eBay
3. I used anti slip phone mat to prevent my smaller samsung S10e phone from sliding during driving.
4. For fast charging, I plugged the usb cable to a quickcharge QC 3.0 car charger.