Console Outlet Relocation

[Local Apparent Friday]

Throwing this up here separate from the buildout thread to make it more accessible.  Our van has the power inverter and 12v cigarette style sockets in the center console.  As much as I love the cavernous console, my wife scored a great deal on a refrigerator that will replace the console, which makes the most sense from a spacial standpoint and will do double duty as an armrest.  This is not unique, plenty of people have done this, but I didn't want to lose the outlets.  What I DID do was relocate them to the pax side of the front cup holder console.  Also, the console outlet is 12v constant, so you can use this to power your fridge off your start battery if you have battery protection!  Sorry that the pics are a little light, I was flying through this in the rain.  Ask questions please if you need clarification.

 

Cost: $0 dollars

Time: ~ 1 hour

 

Materials:

None additional needed

 

Tools:

1 1/8" drill bit

Phillips screwdriver

Razor knife

Jigsaw

10mm socket

Ratchet/Extension

 

Okay so start by removing the main center console, there are 6 10mm bolts, two in the front lower cup holders, 4 in the bottom of the main compartment.  Tilt the console back and unplug the harness located next to the front left foot of the driver's seat.  You will see where it goes through the floor mat.  Also, unclip the white harness retainers from the underside of the console leading to the outlets.

 

Open the console, and separate the entire top trim panel from the bottom and set aside.  Grab the top of the black panel holding the outlets, and lift it straight up.  It is clipped in.  Unplug the harness from the back of the outlets, push the tabs on the backside and remove the outlets from the face of the trim panel.  Here's a couple pics to illustrate how it goes together.

 

 

 

Again, sorry for the shabbiness on the pics.  Next, remove the lower black cupholder trim from the forward console by pulling it straight up, then remove the lower panels on either side of the front lower of the console.  There will be one to the right of the gas pedal, the other to the left of where your ankle would be if you were riding shotgun.  To get the passenger side off, you need to remove the glove box and trim as if you were changing the cabin air filter (7 Phillips screws.)  There are push pins at the back end and then dog ears on the front, just grab the back part and pull.  This will expose 2 phillips screws on either side of the lower cup holder console.  Remove those, and the entire lower cup holder, trim and frame, will come out.  Keep it together, use a sharpie to mark the open space on the backside where the frame does not cover.  if you scroll down one more pic, you can see where I drew another horizontal line to accent the change in gradient from flat to rounded...I wanted to make sure everything was on the "flat" part so that it would fit great and look factory.

 

 

Next, mark your center point for your desired placement.  You can flip the black panel over, hold it up, and trace with a sharpie, then use your 1-1/8" drill bit to drill your two holes.  Clean up the edges with a razor knife, try not to slice it like i did.  There is a little bump out on the cigarette lighter outlet you can whittle with the knife, but you're basically done with that one, 1-1/8 is the correct size (I used a wood paddle bit.)

 

For your 110vac outlet, use a jigsaw to get from a round hole to a square one, again there is an alignment notch that you have to put in for the outlet to snap in place.  Take your time, and it'll look factory (minus my big slice mark.)

 

 

Lastly, reconnect the harness, lead it forward under the mat and up from the bottom. 

 

 

 

 

 

Reinstall the lower console, push your outlets in (if you've already snapped them in, it WILL go back together, just be careful not to break it when working around the back of the outlets,) plug the harness into the back (it's plenty long enough to reach,) and push the black trim back in place.  While I was there, I removed the mystery plug taped to the harness as well as the no-longer-necessary plastic alignment pins.  At some point in the future I will add plastic protector loom, but that's basically it.  Have fun.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by Local Apparent Friday

[radin2son]

Great tutorial. Smart to put the outlets on the footwell side. 

 

Someone here or perhaps another site had the fridge on tracks to pull out to let you add a swivel to the passenger seat. Or it could be my imagination... 

Edited July 14, 2022 by radin2son

[Local Apparent Friday]

Thanks!  It was the closest flat spot that seemed logical.  Had the 110 outlet fit in the square space in the middle of the dash toggles, I would have put it there and then replaced the aux cig lighter with the second 12v outlet since we don't use the aux jack/usb but, alas, the outlet was too big to fit flush and the harness would have had to be extended.  On the side of the console there they are out of the way enough that they won't get hit by our legs, which is good.

 

I ALMOST had a swivel base, but unfortunately it got tossed before I could snag it.  Alas, the hassles getting it to work with the fridge would have made it tedious, and also there's now a subwoofer under my passenger seat.

 

-laf

Edited July 15, 2022 by Local Apparent Friday