[Pfraley]

2014 Pilot EX-L (no NAV/RES)
I'm just using an iPad mini (no 3.5mm jack). To mount it I created a wood piece with a shallow channel (router) to secure the bottom of my iPad and 2 rare earth magnets on to hold the top (using double stick tape and an angle bracket). I put a piece of metal between the case and the iPad. I'm running audio to the Pilot "aux jack" so I don't have a Bluetooth battle between my phone and the iPad. To get audio to the 3.5mm jack I purchased an Apple dock for $15 (ebay) and mounted behind the glove box (it's black and hold in place with a small piece of wood for the time - there was a small level piece of plastic there near the center of the Pilot for the dock to rest on). The dock has 3.5mm output. To get power/audio from the iPad to the dock I had to purchase a Lightning extension cable (connects the iPad to the "top" of the dock). The dock uses a regular Lightning cable and 3.5mm. I've had it mounted this way for ~2 years (just added the dock option about a month ago). Very secure, allows easy access to the camera and for tilting the iPad down when parked (or to remove if concerned about theft.

Hope this helps someone with their mounting solution.

Parts:
Ematetek Extender Connector Cord Pass Video Audio Data and Charging - $9 (ebay)
iPad Dock - $15 (ebay)
other cords - normal Lightning cable (had), 3.5mm male-to-male stereo cable (had)

are you connecting the ipad to the internet? If so how? I have tried a wifi only ipad mini connected to my phones hotspot but using maps for navigation was a no go

 

[vestaviascott]

Funetn, that's a cool setup. Couple questions:

• Is your Ipad running carplay from your iPhone? I don't think that's possible, but had to ask
• Where are you tapping power for your breakout box? That's task #1 for me at this point. i need to tap constant 12v source to keep my carplay adapter dongle from crashing everytime I shut the engine off and lose the accessory sourced power from the cigarette lighter socket.

 

[vestaviascott]

FWIW, after my initial foray into attempting to cut slots into the center dash vent covers (left and right), which I did accomplish but I wouldn't recommend it to others, I decided to try a magnet secured to the mostly flat (but slightly rounded left to right) 1" lip at the top of the radio. This setup, thus far, is working perfect to secure the tablet in that location.

Here is the final solution for me in terms of optimal mounting for a Nexus 7 tablet running Carplay:

And here is the magnet mount I'm using:

 

[vestaviascott]

For tapping constant 12v power source, this guy has a super simple solution for a 2011-2017 Honda Odyssey:

Converts all the cigarette lighter adapter to constant power source simply by jumping the relays that control those circuits. It would be PERFECT if Honda Pilot has the same relay for the front lighter socket, but after looking at the two fuseboxes (maybe there is another location for this fuse relay station), I only see two relays at the fusebox on the left side driver footwell. One is marked Fuel Pump and the other is marked ST CUT. I don't believe I'm messing with either. Anyone have any insights on where these relays may be located in the Pilot?

 

[Pfraley]

For tapping constant 12v power source, this guy has a super simply solution for a 2011-2017 Honda Odyssey:

Converts all the cigarette lighter adapter to constant power source simply by jumping the relays that control those circuits. It would be PERFECT if Honda Pilot has the same relay for the front lighter socket, but after looking at the two fuseboxes (maybe there is another location for this fuse relay station), I only see two relays at the fusebox on the left side driver footwell. One is marked Fuel Pump and the other is marked ST CUT. I don't believe I'm messing with either. Anyone have any insights on where these relays may be located in the Pilot?

12 volt outlet hot all the time?

I'd sure like to have one of the cigarette lighter outlets (is that what they're called now?) hot even when the ignition is off. Lots of times I'll charge my cell phone in the car and I'm in and out. Sometimes I'd like to leave it charging when I run into a store for 10 minutes... but since...

www.piloteers.org

 

[vestaviascott]

Unfortunately the bulk of that thread was in 2004. I was able to find a 2010 Pilot Service Manual on a mediafire server link. Here is the diagram showing the "Front Accessory Power Socket" relay:

So, once I have daylight in the morning, I'm going to check that out and see what I can figure from it and comparing it to the Honda Odyssey video.

 

[funetn]

are you connecting the ipad to the internet? If so how? I have tried a wifi only ipad mini connected to my phones hotspot but using maps for navigation was a no go

My iPad has a mobile plan. I had a previous iPad (large) that was WIFI also but the lag was terrible when tethered to my iPhone. iPads with cellular have a GPS chip which makes it more functional vs. non cellular iPads - silly but. Driving in the city was a nightmare because the iPad was way behind and would jump like every 30 seconds (if my memory serves me correctly).

 

[funetn]

Funetn, that's a cool setup. Couple questions:

• Is your Ipad running carplay from your iPhone? I don't think that's possible, but had to ask
• Where are you tapping power for your breakout box? That's task #1 for me at this point. i need to tap constant 12v source to keep my carplay adapter dongle from crashing everytime I shut the engine off and lose the accessory sourced power from the cigarette lighter socket.

Thanks for the compliment.
1) unfortunately not running CarPlay - no intention to hijack this thread. It's just regular icons. I don't have the desire to Jailbreak to get CarPlay but I wish (not holding my breath) for Apple to make CarPlay UI on iPads. You can google "CarPlay jailbreak iPad" for how to install an app on a jailbreak Apple device. I'm happy with the iOS icons (for now).
2) I'm tapping power from the fusebox using a tap like this. I'm able to keep the original circuit at the proper amp but then I have my tapped wire going into a cigarette plug (like $7 from O'Reily's auto parts) where I have my Lightning cable plugged in - all tucked up behind the dash. It's tapped into a fuse that's only on in the accessory or running position. For constant power I'd think you could tap into a fuse that always has power. but not sure if cranking the engine is disruptive - might be...in that case running to the batter might be 1 option.

Fuse tap (Ebay - for like 10 for CHEAP!)

I cut off the one to use for my iPad - plugged in a USB adapter. I wanted to minimize any mods to the wiring of my Pilot.

 

[funetn]

Regarding "constant" power ... if tapping into the Honda wiring isn't working for you and you want to minimize drain on your battery you might want to consider that I'd a cheap setup which involves buying a "pass-thru" battery pack (Anker is one possible manufacture of such). It allows you to draw power off the battery pack while it charges at the same time. So you'd plug the battery pack into a circuit that is active when the Pilot is on/running, but when it's off the battery pack keeps your devices running. When the battery pack runs out of juice it's dead...but your Pilot battery isn't.

Most USB battery packs DON'T have pass-thru charging so make sure it states it has this capability. It would also act as a surge protector to your device as the cranking of the engine won't pull any power from the battery pack.

Also if you wish to incorporate a "timer" for how long your device will keep drawing power I would suggest looking into this very versatile time. URL is in the picture. So you can have it turn off power after x seconds/days/weeks/months so you don't kill your battery.

 

[vestaviascott]

Regarding "constant" power ... if tapping into the Honda wiring isn't working for you and you want to minimize drain on your battery you might want to consider that I'd a cheap setup which involves buying a "pass-thru" battery pack (Anker is one possible manufacture of such). It allows you to draw power off the battery pack while it charges at the same time. So you'd plug the battery pack into a circuit that is active when the Pilot is on/running, but when it's off the battery pack keeps your devices running. When the battery pack runs out of juice it's dead...but your Pilot battery isn't.

Most USB battery packs DON'T have pass-thru charging so make sure it states it has this capability. It would also act as a surge protector to your device as the cranking of the engine won't pull any power from the battery pack.

That's an excellent idea. I was thinking similar earlier today. Do you have a link to the Anker one by chance? Searching Amazon, I'm not seeing anything that specifically says it supports "pass thru" charging

 

[Pfraley]

@funetn how are you connecting your ipad to the internet? Great setup. Very impressed!

 

[vestaviascott]

That's an excellent idea. I was thinking similar earlier today. Do you have a link to the Anker one by chance? Searching Amazon, I'm not seeing anything that specifically says it supports "pass thru" charging

After a bit more research I found that my little Jackery 3350mAh portable charger has pass through charging capability. To test it, I connected it to my Apple watch charger while at the same time it was itself charging and it works! My next task is to test it in the car with the Nexus carplay setup. Its only 3350mAh so we'll see if it can do the job, it just may work.

 

[funetn]

my iPad has a data plan - so no tethering from my phone. The tethering worked with a previous iPad that didn’t have cellular but since Apple doesn’t put in GPS hardware in just their WiFi iPads it made the navigation guidance less that real-time.

 

[funetn]

After a bit more research I found that my little Jackery 3350mAh portable charger has pass through charging capability. To test it, I connected it to my Apple watch charger while at the same time it was itself charging and it works! My next task is to test it in the car with the Nexus carplay setup. Its only 3350mAh so we'll see if it can do the job, it just may work.

WOW...hardware in hand (both literally and in the the picture you posted). Glad you have a battery pack that provides that. Per Anker support (see below) they stopped providing that feature in 2017. OmniCharge supposedly has packs that allow pass-through charging. With 3.3amps I can't imagine that wouldn't be sufficient for keeping your tablet powered. Hopefully your setup with that inline will work for you.

From Anker Support in their discussion blog:
In regards to your question, we actually made the decision to remove this function from our portable chargers. When pass-through charging, if there is a difference between the output of the wall charger and the input of the device being recharged it can cause the portable charger to rapidly power on and off. This increases charging times for both the portable charger and your device, risks causing damage to the battery cells and can significantly shorten the portable charger’s lifespan. - March 9, 2017. Found this info at this link: Anker Pass-thru discussion

 

[funetn]

@vestaviascott - found this one (of many) on Amazon in which folks in the Q&A section (when I search for "passthrough") confirmed it has that functionality.

RAVPower Power Bank

BTW - nice job on your mount as well. Neat to see the creativity of different mounting solutions. Good luck with your quest for a power solution.

 

[vestaviascott]

Update: Some DIScouraging test results when using the portable power option in a vehicle.

So, the Jackery device DOES work to charge the Nexus and simultaneously provide power to the OTG connected device (my Carplay wireless dongle). However, there are two issues I've encountered, one a showstopper.

First, the charger is apparently not strong enough to do any more than maintain or slightly lose the charge on the Nexus. I started out at 13% battery on the Nexus when I started the test drive and at the end of the drive I was at 12%.

Second and this is the showstopper, the act of cutting off the ignition (and cutting it on), temporarily disrupts the Jackery just long enough to cause the OTG device to lose power. This is what I'm trying to avoid to keep from having to constantly restart my tablet in order to get the OTG device to reboot/reset itself after power interuption.

So, I'm back to square one, of needing a constant source of uninterrupted power for the Nexus and the Carplay dongle. I suppose its possible that the Jackery's internal power circuitry is just not sufficient for this task and perhaps another similar device may be able to switch from charge mode to battery mode faster and not cause the OTG device to lose power, but I'm not certain.

Also, its not certain if, with a constant 12 volt source not directly connected to the battery, that the ignition start/stop does not interrupt power for a split second either. Long enough to cause the OTG device to lose power. So, I'll have to test that and ultimately I may be forced to tap the battery directly to insure I don't lose power when stopping and starting the engine.

 

[funetn]

Update: Some DIScouraging test results when using the portable power option in a vehicle.

So, the Jackery device DOES work to charge the Nexus and simultaneously provide power to the OTG connected device (my Carplay wireless dongle). However, there are two issues I've encountered, one a showstopper.

First, the charger is apparently not strong enough to do any more than maintain or slightly lose the charge on the Nexus. I started out at 13% battery on the Nexus when I started the test drive and at the end of the drive I was at 12%.

Second and this is the showstopper, the act of cutting off the ignition (and cutting it on), temporarily disrupts the Jackery just long enough to cause the OTG device to lose power. This is what I'm trying to avoid to keep from having to constantly restart my tablet in order to get the OTG device to reboot/reset itself after power interuption.

So, I'm back to square one, of needing a constant source of uninterrupted power for the Nexus and the Carplay dongle. I suppose its possible that the Jackery's internal power circuitry is just not sufficient for this task and perhaps another similar device may be able to switch from charge mode to battery mode faster and not cause the OTG device to lose power, but I'm not certain.

Also, its not certain if, with a constant 12 volt source not directly connected to the battery, that the ignition start/stop does not interrupt power for a split second either. Long enough to cause the OTG device to lose power. So, I'll have to test that and ultimately I may be forced to tap the battery directly to insure I don't lose power when stopping and starting the engine.

well bummer. If you do tap directly to your battery you might want to consider the timer switch I posted above to prevent unintended battery drain. I did post another company above with passthrough, but that brand might also behave the same way.

I'm not familiar enough to provide a solution but maybe some capacitors between the car power source and the Jackery (the RAVPower, mentioned above have some significant amp devices) to level out drops in voltage for a few seconds. I have no clue how to calculate the size of caps necessary but it would be a possible option. Heck some company out there might already have something to prevent voltage drops to USB (the Jackery in this case). Just thinking this evening.

This person has the same idea (solution) - YouTube Voltage Drop Prevention

This thread also discusses what you are trying to do (for gauges vs. Carputer) - Voltage Drop Prevention Discussion

Hopefully I'm not violating this blogs policies with posting URLs - just trying to help you find a solution.

Best luck on your quest for a solution.

 

[funetn]

Hey Vestaviascott - any progress? Would any of these products provide a solution for your Carputer?

OpenUPS2

I continue to follow this discussion and will provide feedback per my brain's ability

 

[funetn]

Hey Vestaviascott - any progress with the power solution? Would any of these products provide a solution for your Carputer?

OpenUPS2

I continue to follow this discussion and will provide feedback per my brain's ability

 

[vestaviascott]

Hello, yes. I've just received a 10000mAh power bank and a step down DC buck converter I'm going to try out. The power bank is on charge and I'm hoping to test it out once its fully charged.