Wireless Phone Charger and Wireless Carplay

[Tweetdriver63]

Hi all! I just finished installing a wireless phone charger in the center console storage shelf, and it works a champ! I also got one of those CarPlay2 Air dongles, and so far it's also working great.

Here's a few pics and a brief write up.

The wireless charger I got is this one

Here's what I did.

First, remove all the trim, the shelf, and the AC controls.


Next, using a dremel and an oscillating tool, I cut out room for the charger.



Mark the cutout near the rear of the shelf and cut with dremel.





Here's the charger attached to the underside of the shelf using the provided mounting tape.




Reinstall the A/C controls.


Connect the charger's power supply cord. It comes with some easy splice connectors, and I connected them to the cigar lighter wires.


Reinstall the shelf. First be sure to put the rubber liner back in. It will be impossible to do that after the shelf is installed, because you have to pull the little rubber tabs that secure it through from behind and below.


And here's how it all looks put back together. I'm going to have to use a little silicone or something to firm up the mounting of the shelf since it's slightly loose after cutting away a lot of the surface that used to hold it in tight.

[piper6909]

very nice!

[Tweetdriver63]

I'm loving this setup. Wireless is where it's at.

Our cars have a perfect spot in that little shelf. If your car still has the CD storage thing, come into the 21st century and get rid of that thing!

The wireless CarPlay dongle is also working great.

I climb into the car, slip my phone into the shelf, and it immediately starts charging.
Then, once I start the car, the stereo and CarPlay2 Air go through their boot up and connection takes a total of right at one minute for CarPlay to show on the screen and the music to start playing. So far, I've put it through it's start up probably 20 or more times, and it's been flawless.

:dance::dance::dance:

[JayG]

Clever! Very nice

[Rayrevolver]

The wireless functionality sounds great. I didn't know that was a thing until my friend told me his new Kenwood did it.

Quick question, would this type of adapter work? I already have a USB port up front and this would be less intrusive than the bigger dongles.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/linksys-next-gen-ac-dual-band-ac600-usb-network-adapter-black/5174100.p?skuId=5174100&ref=212&loc=1&extStoreId=1003&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1268652&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzbv7BRDIARIsAM-A6-24swblJkdNxWoCJSiS_Ky5Qno1o16hHDeddlFfHDb2hyeoKvXy P5AaAvDLEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I guess I could buy a splitter and hide the dongle behind the head unit as well.

2 phones in the past I had the Qi charging. It was great. My wifes Camry has a built-in charging pad but it barely works due to her leather case and newer iphone.

[Tweetdriver63]

Originally Posted by Rayrevolver

The wireless functionality sounds great. I didn't know that was a thing until my friend told me his new Kenwood did it.

Quick question, would this type of adapter work? I already have a USB port up front and this would be less intrusive than the bigger dongles.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/linksys-next-gen-ac-dual-band-ac600-usb-network-adapter-black/5174100.p?skuId=5174100&ref=212&loc=1&extStoreId=1003&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1268652&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzbv7BRDIARIsAM-A6-24swblJkdNxWoCJSiS_Ky5Qno1o16hHDeddlFfHDb2hyeoKvXy P5AaAvDLEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I guess I could buy a splitter and hide the dongle behind the head unit as well.

2 phones in the past I had the Qi charging. It was great. My wifes Camry has a built-in charging pad but it barely works due to her leather case and newer iphone.

The CarPlay2 Air dongle isn't just a usb/bluetooth dongle. It has a little computer of sorts inside that makes the phone and the stereo think they're connected directly via USB. Just a bluetooth dongle or adapter won't work because the phone and the car have to think they're directly connected. The only concern for the future is that Apple could, at some point, decide to be dicks, and send out an iOS update that prevents this adapter from working, but that's a low risk I'm willing to take.

Now, if you have an Android based stereo in your car, you can get an adapter for much less than the $129 the CarPlay2 Air costs. There are a lot of these out there that do the same thing, but only work for Android head units.

This is probably the one to get if you have an Android head unit.

I could have upgraded my Pioneer head unit to another Pioneer head unit that has wireless CarPlay built in, but that would have cost a lot more than getting this setup, and been more work.

[Tweetdriver63]

Here's the finished product in action.

[Tweetdriver63]

I have made a couple of changes, and I think everyone will appreciate one of them, because it means a lot less work and cutting, and actually a better wireless charging setup.

I was having some issues with the charger after getting a new iPhone 15 Pro. I decided to try a different one. I ordered this charging pad from Amazon. It's inexpensive, and it works very well. It's very, very thin, and it fits inside the cubby beautifully. All you need to do is cut a small hole at one end of the cubby, aligned with where the USB-C cable from the charger will need to exit. I used my Dremel.

My head unit (which is a Jensen J3CA7W I just recently got, because it has wireless CarPlay and a volume knob) has two rear USB ports, both with about 3 feet of cable, so they can be easily located where you want. One of them is for charging only -- CONVENIENT! It required a little USB-A to USB-C adapter, which I already had laying around.

Here's how it looks installed. You can barely even see it's there!