I have stumbled upon lots of suggestions on where to tap into switched power ... under the ignition, fuse panel. Unfortunately, my electrical skills are coming up a little short and I need a bit more of a how to guide.

Can someone direct me to posted instructions with pictures?

I am looking to hardwire a sirius unit. I did this in my wife's Jetta and it was simple. That was a panel under the steering column.

1) Cut the end of the cigarette adapter off the power cable.
2) Attach a ring terminal to ground and power ends.
3) Attach ring to switched power post by simply unscrewing bolt.
4) Same for ground.

I have come to realize this won't be as simple in the c5. Will I need to solder? If so, where and how?

Help please.

 

Check out the C5 general and audio FAQ on top of this page and you will find all your answers. Here is a paste from one comment found there:

How do I get the acc power for my h/u?
if you look in the passenger footwell, pull out the cover and look in the top left corner. There will be a small plug with three wires (orange, yellow, & black) that are just taped up. Check out this schematic to see which fuses they use, but the yellow wire is the +12V switched, and that I am sure of.

or you can use fuse 22

 

I'm familiar with this info. What I need is some direction on how to make use of it. How would one go about using fuse 22 or the yellow switched wire?

I can follow directions with the best of them ... just need some assistance please.

 

I'm sorry I don't have a pic to post for you to see the wires that are available for this purpose. There is a "footwell" under the carpet mat on the passenger side. Take out the carpet mat and you will be able to pull back the carpeted cover from where your feet would go if you were sitting in the passenger seat. There are fuses, wires, etc in there.

I have read that fuse number 22 in the fuse box here is a switched source. Use your operation manual that came with the car to identify where fuse 22 is located in the fuse rack. To use it you can buy a fuse adapter from any auto parts store. You replace the fuse that was in slot 22 with one similar except it has a pigtail coming out of the fuse that you can connect a wire to.

There is also a wire harness in this area that is not being used and can offer the same switched power. I have an 04 which does not have this 3 wire harness but in earlier years it is there. I think in the upper left hand corner area of the footwell there are 3 wires in a harness not connected to anything. I believe the yelow is the 12V switched but you can test with a meter easily.

Use the search feature on the audio forum and search for "footwell" or "switched power" and you should fine some good info.

 

I easily found the yellow wire in the footwell as described above and used it for my switched connection. Works great.