Following the instructions from
@obermd, I swapped out my stock socket for this dual fast charger with a built-in voltmeter:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FXH5ZZK. I was tired of my original one charging very slowly and always working itself loose. If you haven't already done the Bluetooth A2DP upgrade, this is a perfect time to do it, because you'll be working in the same area. I'm writing this up for anyone who comes along later. You should be able to click the pictures to get a bigger view, but let me know if that doesn't work.
Please pay no attention to how dirty my car is! It's been a busy few months...
Before you start, make sure you pull the keys out of the ignition and open the driver door to make sure the center console isn't powered on!
As noted above, the first step is to pull the side kick panels from the center console, down in the footwells. There are no screws to remove in this step; just carefully slide a flathead screwdriver in the seam, get your fingers in there, and pull. Try to spread out your pulling force so you don't crease the plastic, and make sure you don't lose the little metal clips.
Next, you use your flathead again to carefully pry up the silver trim around the shifter. I found the best spot to start is on either lower curve, near the e-brake. Again, no screws to remove; just clips. Lift up on the bottom part and work your way up toward the climate controls.
My car had two electrical connectors on the bottom of this trim: one for traction control, and one for the LEDs that light up the shifter position. The traction control connector, which is on the passenger side, pulls out pretty easily. The LED connector on the driver side is overly complex, and it leads to another connector on the LED circuit board, so I just pulled the small white one from the circuit board because it was way easier. The white connector isn't as obvious until you pull the wires off a little hook they integrated to the underside of the trim.
Removing the shifter trim will expose three screws with a 7mm head on each side of the change tray. You don't technically have to pull your change tray in front of the shifter, but I found it easier to do that than fish all my change out. Pull the three screws in the picture, and the corresponding three on the passenger side.
You don't have to pull the screws above these ones, holding the radio control fascia in place. I did pull them because I wasn't sure, but it didn't end up playing any part in this project. I think these screws are actually longer than the others, so if you do pull them, make sure you keep track of which ones came out of which holes.
Next, pull the screws you exposed beneath the kick panels - one on each side. See pics.
Closer view below. It's the black one in the upper right of the pic.
Almost there! Now put your front seats all the way forward so you can access the last two screws on either side of the console storage bin/armrest. See pic for location.
Put your seats back again, and set the emergency brake. Now you can start to work the entire center console up around the e-brake. Before you can pull this up completely, there are three more connectors to pull. One is your lighter socket, which you should be able to reach from the front. The other two are on the passenger side, near the floor. One is the USB plug, which pulls off by lifting the metal clip. The other is the power to several components. You lift a lever on this clip to unplug it.
With these clips undone, you should be free to finish pulling the console. You'll probably have to fiddle with it a bit to get the right angle, because the front part hits the climate controls. It helps to spread the front "wings" a bit around the climate controls while you lift up and forward. A second pair of hands would be good here, but it is possible with just one person.
Now, you need to remove the original socket from its hole. I tried a screwdriver in every possible angle from both top and bottom, and finally I just pushed on the bottom hard enough to make the dumb thing pop out the top. I'm not sure there was anything affirmatively holding it in place besides friction. Your mileage may vary, but if you're not keeping the original socket, feel free to manhandle it a bit. Mine was no worse for the wear and could probably be reinstalled with no problem if I needed to. Below is what the socket looks like out of its hole.
If you're just installing another OEM socket, your installation is just the reverse of removal. Congrats! But if you're installing an aftermarket socket, read on.
The one I linked above came with round terminals like the kind you'd see on a chassis ground post. The connector for the OEM socket has different terminals, so I snipped off the round terminals on the new one and devised a new connection. I used butt connectors (frankly, the worst kind of connector out there) to convert the stranded wire for the new socket to a rigid terminal using 12-guage copper Romex, like you'd find in the walls of a house. (The other common size, 14 gauge, might be too thin to get good contact in the connector, but you can try if that's all you have.)
When you look at the grey connector for the original socket, you'll see it's T-shaped, but only two of the three holes in the connector have terminals in them. The bottom terminal (the "foot" of the T) is the black (+) wire. The other terminal in the grey connector is your red (-) wire. I tested this with my multimeter before attaching anything, but feel free to check yourself just to be sure. (I love how in residential electrical work, black is hot, but it's neutral in 12-volt systems. That's not confusing at all...)
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