Materials you will need,
- An adapter for your car's 12 Volt DC socket. I’m using a car charger from an old LG phone. Any type will do, just make sure the output voltage is about 5 volts, plus or minus at most 0.25 volts (4.75 - 5.25).
- A Female type USB adapter, mine is cut off from a USB Cable Extender. If you don't a USB Cable Extender, you can still make a charger but will have to sacrifice an iPod Cable.
- An iPod USB Cable
- Wire Strippers
- Duct Tape, Zip Ties, Shrink Wrap, or whatever you have that can hold wires together.
- (Optional) A volt meter to see how much juice you are getting out of the finished product.
Using whatever car charger you found, cut the proprietary end off. This being the end that doesn't get plugged into the car.
Next, use wire strippers remove the insulation and expose the red and black wires. There might white and green wires too, but they are not necessary for charging and can be cut off.
Do the same with the male USB end of either your estension cable, or iPod wire. This is the end that you would plug into your computer. Both wires should look like the picture above.
Now, remove the insulation from both sets of red and black wires. When the insides are exposed, twist red to red and black to black, connecting the USB cable to the car adapter.
In order to prevent a short circuit, wrap tape separately around both twisted pairs. There should be two spereate sets of connected wires, your red pair, and black pair.
Leaving exposed wires to touch could damage not only the Mp3 player, but the cars’ battery as well.
To secure the connection, use a zip tie, rubber band, piece of tape, or anything you like to fasten the wires together.
Now, plug the iPod or other device's cable into your adapter and go test it in the car!
One thing to note:
One thing to note:
- Don't use an adapter that is under or over powered. This will most likely damage the device. Use the volt meter to make sure your cable is in the acceptable range.
