I’ve done this in my last few cars but only now thought to document it for the benefit of others. I hate the sight of cables trailing around the car and hate even more those windscreen mounted suction cradles. So I decided to investigate the best way to fit a professionally looking dashboard mounted mobile phone cradle. My main aim was to fit it in such a way as to minimise any damage to the car interior. That meant no drilling holes or cutting the dashboard – so when you come to sell your car you can safely remove all the kit and leave your car as good as new. I’m doing this on my 2003 Toyota Celica so your actual methods may differ, but the equipment you’ll need is as follows:

- 1x Dashmount bracket for your car
- 1x 3A Connector Block (a strip is 34p in Wilkinsons)
- 1x Multi socket car cigarette lighter socket adapter
- 1x Cradle / Holder for your phone. This can be a specially customised one for your phone, or just a generic universal one that you can bolt to the Dashmount bracket.
- 1x Car socket power charger for your phone if it wasn’t part of the cradle kit above
- Wire strippers, cable cutters, screw drivers and any tool you think you might need to get inside your dash.
- Circuit tester in case the multi-socket wiring is not obvious.

You’ll need to start by Googling around to find out how to take your dashboard apart behind your cigarette lighter socket because that’s where our first job begins. After taking your car apart (which is probably the trickiest part of this whole job) you need to take two sections of your connector block and place it inline with the wires. This is done by cutting each wire going to the cigarette lighter in turn, stripping the insulation off the ends, then screwing inside the connector block. I suggest you do each wire individually to make sure you don’t get them confused. Once you’ve done that, check that everything still works by plugging another car device in to see if you have power. If you have then you may continue, otherwise go back and check the connections are good.

Now you need to fit the multi-socket. If you can, open up the plug end and cut the wires out. You need to be very sure that you are connecting the centre wire on the multi-socket to the centre wire on the car socket so again, do each wire one at a time and use your circuit tester if you aren’t sure. Cut and strip the wires on the multi-socket and screw in to the correct terminal on your connector block. The wires can be quite thin on some of these multi-sockets so you may have to strip back a lot of wire to get enough bulk. When you’ve finished, test it. You then need to locate your multi-socket somewhere useful. I normally fit mine inside the passenger foot-well somewhere. Conveniently in my car I was able to hide it behind the carpet in the centre console. Make sure the cable is run inside the dashboard – you may have to plan ahead on wiring in to the connector block in order to pull the cable through inside the dashboard.

The next task is to fit the Dashmount bracket. Each bracket from www.dashmount.co.uk is custom designed to fit a specific vehicle, therefore fitting instructions vary. Consult the guide for your bracket and refit your dash when complete. The advantage of these brackets is that they fit easily without any drilling or gluing. They use existing screw fittings within your dash and keep them bolted down. As you can see here I’ve provided a photo before I fitted the Dashmount, and another photo after it was fitted. Because I already had my dashboard apart to fit the multi-socket, fitting the Dashmount bracket literally took another 30 seconds.

Next you need to fit your cradle to the Dashmount. This will also vary depending upon which type of cradle you go for. I went for a custom designed Brodit mount for my HTC 7 Mozart phone. The Brodit cradle includes a twist-swivel mount on the back complete with screw-holes enabling you to bolt the cradle straight to the Dashmount. The Dashmount even came with two bolts suitable for the purpose so no extra kit was needed. If you have purchased a generic phone holder then chances are you’ll need to bodge this step. I have tried two different methods, both with success. The first method makes use of any existing holes in the back of the cradle, usually where the gooseneck has been disconnected from. Buy some small bolts, nuts and washers from B&Q and use them with the holes in the Dashmount. You can then hook your cradle over these bolts (using a Stanley knife to make the cradle holes larger if needed) and tighten up. The second method is to just drill holes in your cradle, chamfer them, then thread bolts straight through in to the Dashmount. Of course you could use 3M tape but I couldn’t vouch for the longevity of the solution given the amount of vibration which may pass through it. The final step is to run the power cable from your cradle through the dashboard and in to your multi-socket. If you have a custom active (powered) cradle, then this should be straight forward. If you are using a separate car charger then you will need to make sure that you have enough slack left at the cradle end to allow it to reach your phone. Sounds daft, but I forgot the first time I did it and had to open the dashboard up again.

Finally, put your dashboard back together, slot the phone in the cradle and sit back to admire your handiwork:

So what now? Well your phone is perfectly positioned to use it for satellite navigation if it supports that functionality. You can use it hands free via a Bluetooth headset, or better still a fixed installation Bluetooth kit like the Parrot series of devices. I’m sure there’ll be a future article about that…

To prove that I have done this before, I’ve also stuck in this photo of the cradle in the Renault Scenic. It’s holding the old HTC P3600 phone and is an active (powered) custom fitted holder for that phone. I highly recommend getting a custom fitted one over a generic mount because it’s so much less hassle to pop the phone straight in without having to worry about connecting the power lead afterwards. You will of course be unable to protect your phone with a rubber casing due to the perfect fit nature of a custome cradle, but it’s up to you to weigh up the convenience against the cost of buying a new holder each time you get a new phone.

On a related note, Brodit also make a variety of ProClip brackets to mount their cradles to your dashboards in a non-destructive simple way. Usually there are a number of different brackets available for your car depending on where abouts you wish to fit the phone holder and they simply slot in to a gap between trim panels. I tend to prefer the Dashmount brackets as they bolt in place and are of a metal construction instead of plastic, but in a number of cases the ProClip brackets could offer a more convenient mounting position. I’ve always been a bit reluctant to use Brodit ProClip brackets due to their friction-based installation but after seeing one in use recently I can happily suggest them as a suitable alternative.