USB plug and LED flex light

[climberjohn]

A previous post on the Alpena flex LED lights had a pretty good response, so I am pleased to share another sweet little LED light I recently found. Read on!

Alpena Flex LED lights for interior van lighting
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=439269

For many of us, electronic gizmos that connect with a USB plug are becoming a more frequent part of life, even in the van.

There are various USB adapters that can plug into 12 volt outlets and inverters, but I decided I wanted a dedicated plug.

The first question was which plug to get.
I can tell you which one not to get - a cheap one. A year or so ago I made a Samba post about a device that had two 12 volt outlets and two USB connections. At the time, I thought it looked pretty useful. But since the install, the USB plugs have stopped working, I only get 9-10 volts at the 12 volt plugs, and I thus DO NOT recommend this unit.

Original post:
Charger with two 12 volt outlets and two 2 USB ports
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=305094

While more expensive, I have always had good luck with marine-grade products from Blue Sea Systems. I opted for their dual pronged USB plug, cost about $25 via Amazon.

Blue Sea Dual USB Charger Socket - 2 USB Ports w/Watertight Cap
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0082CXEI8/

The next question was where to put it.
I was not too excited about drilling a 1 inch diameter hole anywhere in my dashboard, but I still wanted it to be accessible from the front seat. I also wanted a place to plug in a nifty USB flexible LED light, reading in the passenger seat. (more on that below)

This is the location I picked:

Installed:

It's pretty hard to see the plug once it's installed, which I like. When parked, it's easy to plug in a gizmo and tuck it up just under the front passenger side corner of the pop top, where it’s stable and can’t be easily seen. (I may add a little lip of some kind around this area to make a place to charge gizmos while driving, and so they can’t fall off.)

stealth charging of gizmos:

Gizmos tuck nicely up here, mostly out of sight:

The passenger can charge and use a smart phone while driving.

The wiring was pretty easy. When I previously ran wires for an LED light over the rear bench seat, I left in place a bit of stout string running rear to front through the ventilation channel, precisely for some future wiring project like this. I used the string to pull a 16 gauge ground and power wire up to the front end of the ventilation channel.

(To the 12 volt noobies who may be reading this, as I've mentioned a few other post about wiring projects, it is almost always a Very Good Idea to run an extra bit of stout cord/string whenever you make the effort to run wires in an awkward place, which is pretty much everywhere in a van. You can use the string in some future project to pull through a new wire, and you will be oh-so-glad that you did.)

Note wires and string:

I tapped into the reading light wiring over the engine lid for power, and added a new screw for ground in the upper passenger corner of the rear hatch.

(Of course, if you are starting this wiring project from scratch, the wiring run will be more of a chore. I will leave up to your creativity.)

So, the plug is in and it works great.

Onto the light!

Goal Zero 14101 Luna USB LED Stick Light
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045XRK06/

I saw this little guy on Amazon, and could not resist. The LED light world is getting so creative now. With the new USB plug placed as described above, this LED casts a wonderful reading light directly onto the passenger seat, facing forward or back. For nine dollars each, you can hardly go wrong. I’d call this more of a “warm” color LED light, with some yellow in it, as opposed to the more blue color of “cooler” LED lights, which I do not care for. Note there is no off switch. Plug it in it’s on, remove if it’s off. It’s more robust than I thought it’d be. Goal Zero makes portable solar power packs/chargers for expedition travel, so it’s made to take a (modest) beating.

Sturdy, simple, inexpensive, does what it needs to. My kind of product.

If you have a USB plug on your stereo receiver (as most new ones do) this would be a great little map light.

night photo (no flash) Luna light in action:

Slight diversion:
I can see lights like this pretty much replacing lanterns for camping outdoors.
My vision is a few of these lights, in various USB plugs connected onto maybe a spring clamp, with wires going to a small 12 volt battery. This would be almost instant light anywhere you need it in a camp area, with almost no power draw. Perfect for rafting trips, extended car camping, Everest base camp, etc. A small solar panel and you’d be set forever.
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'86 Westy, 2.5 Subaru power
Know your limits. Exceed them often.

[insyncro]

Nice

[Summers420us]

Very cool! Your posts are always great! Love the pics and details.
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1997 EVC
1988 2WD Westfalia with OE 2.1 (R.I.P.)

[teej]

Nice! Very clever location for the outlet. Thanks for report.
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1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans

[BoneMachine]

Very nice! I'd just installed GW Osram Copilot Map Lights in the same location, on both passenger and drivers side. Got the idea from Ben's Tornado Red Beast. I really dig your idea, quite versatile.
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'85 Wolfsburg Edition Westfalia Weekender, Zetec #36, w/ Peloquin TBD
'83.5 Westfalia, full camper (we'll never forget you)

[TequilaSunSet]

Sweet... I would have to do the dash gig since it will just be me in the ride for the most part, and I need the phone close at hand. I dig the light, pretty cool stuff!
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Don't harsh my mellow...
1985 Hightower Vanagon 1.8T- Gone
1972 Panel Bus- Gone
1967 Bug- Gone
1964 Euro Sunroof Bug- Gone
1969/72/63 Sunroof Bug- Gone
1975 Brazilian Bug in the Philippines 🇵🇭- New to me

[singler3360]

Great idea CJ. Thanks for the post. One question: do both USB ports output 2.1 amps? Some dual port adapters provide 2.1 to just one port.

[GWTWTLW]

Nice write up JGo. I often wish to have convenient power up top. I'm in the process of running power to the channel above the slider for a LED strip so it will be easy to tap into that spot at the same time. Thanks for sharing.
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89 Syncro Westy - GW 2.5, now with a double knob job
@gwtwtlw

[juanb]

[climberjohn]

Hi Juan,

Sweet, I'm glad yours has worked so well. I can only report on my own experience.

To coax the wire down the vent channel, I used a Harbor Freight 11 foot fiberglass wire running kit. Cost: $6. I have fund this to be a very handy item for running wires in the confines of the van. I use it for just about every wiring project, recommended!

Search Google: Harbor Freight 65327

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-16-inch-x-11-ft-fiberglass-wire-running-kit-65327.html
_________________
'86 Westy, 2.5 Subaru power
Know your limits. Exceed them often.

[Gruppe B]

Very nice install and informative post!

Not sure if this applies to your usb port but the model that Vancafe sells, they state on their website that the port draws 15 milliamps all the time. If the van will sit for a long time a switch should be added.

[Timwhy]

[luVWagn]

[Timwhy]

[syncrodoka]

Who has a crackberry? Those are so 2000.

[madspaniard]

John, I love this location for a 12v outlet. Will work great for my Engel fridge, passenger phone charging, upper bed lights....

Now go do some more rock climbing and stop dumping all your great Vanagon ideas here! There is no way I will ever catch up with my To Do list!
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1991 Westy auto w/ Peloquin TBD

"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad” - Salvador Dali

[luVWagn]

[kuleinc]

Thats actually what we do. I did see my friend install one of the USB recepticals recently and was immediately jealous! I am not so jealous if it always has a draw though, I don''t see what it can just pull no power when nothing is plugged into it!? Do they really draw power when nothing is plugged into it?
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Check out our Our youtube channel: Https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-EbskIxNm6SYzsq4ugG81A
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=496946 1987 VW Vanagon Westfalia with 1.8T

[syncrodoka]

There is a 15mA draw from the LED, there are 1000 mA in 1 AMP.
I have seen people's cars that had fake led alarm strobes full time without issues- real alarm LEDs pull power as well now that I think about it.
I regularly throw a ARB fridge on my starter battery when camping and it pulls over a amp and it starts back up every morning.
If you let the van sit for months it may be a issue but for a normally used vehicle it shouldn't be. If you really are worried about it just add a on/off switch between it and the power source and you will be good to go.