Bradm
Junior Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2019
- Posts
- 6
- Reaction score
- 8
- Location
- Powell, OH
- Ram Year
- 2017
- Engine
- 6.7L Turbo Diesel
I have a 2017 3500 Laramie with the 40/20/40 jump seat front row. I recently swapped out the factory nav 8.4 unit for a 2018 to gain Android Auto and CarPlay functionality. I hate having the media hub inside the jump seat because it gets flipped up a lot when our dog is riding with us in the front seat. That makes connecting a phone a pain. I have the Jeep Compass media hub, so instead of installing it in the jump seat bin, i decided to mount it in the lower dash and move the data port there too. Here's a pic of it all put together:
If you're not using the aux-in jack, you only need to supply 12v power to the media hub and then connect it to the back of the head unit with a USB Mini male to male cable. I had an old one on hand from a radio swap in my old Jeep JK. Other than the locking tab, i don't believe there is anything special about this cable other than it being odd and hard to source. I punched two small holes in the back of the drawer enclosure and used a zip tie to lock the Compass media hub in place. I then cut the factory wiring for the original lighter socket that was on the driver side of the drawer. I spliced in wire to extend its reach over to the passenger side of the drawer as well as a pigtail to provide 12 volts to the media hub. That factory lighter socket fits on either side:
Then I ordered on of these USB plugs from Amazon and installed it in the hole on the driver side of the drawer. I used some hot glue around the locking ring to make sure it didn't vibrate lose over time.
I love this new setup. It is so much nicer to use. The modified phone holder at the top of the dash (I've forgotten the brand right now) means i don't have to stick the phone in one of the cup holders or find somewhere else to put it when the jump seat is folded up.
If you're not using the aux-in jack, you only need to supply 12v power to the media hub and then connect it to the back of the head unit with a USB Mini male to male cable. I had an old one on hand from a radio swap in my old Jeep JK. Other than the locking tab, i don't believe there is anything special about this cable other than it being odd and hard to source. I punched two small holes in the back of the drawer enclosure and used a zip tie to lock the Compass media hub in place. I then cut the factory wiring for the original lighter socket that was on the driver side of the drawer. I spliced in wire to extend its reach over to the passenger side of the drawer as well as a pigtail to provide 12 volts to the media hub. That factory lighter socket fits on either side:
Then I ordered on of these USB plugs from Amazon and installed it in the hole on the driver side of the drawer. I used some hot glue around the locking ring to make sure it didn't vibrate lose over time.
I love this new setup. It is so much nicer to use. The modified phone holder at the top of the dash (I've forgotten the brand right now) means i don't have to stick the phone in one of the cup holders or find somewhere else to put it when the jump seat is folded up.
