how do i direct wire my "XM" power cord in my car?

Question

the "xm" comes with a cigerette charger but i want to cut the wire and plug in to a power source

Answer 1

Every XM radio unit I've seen uses lower than 12 volts for power, so you don't want to cut the lighter adapter off and just wire it in. The best way is to get a 12VDC socket like this one: http://www.partsexpress.com/images/265-570m.jpg . You can get one of these by purchasing a 12V splitter at any discount store and cutting one of the sockets off. You should be able to split the positive and negative wires and tap them into your car wiring, like the power feed behind the factory cigarette lighter. After that you can hide the socket behind the dash, plug in the XM power adapter, and run the wire to your mounting location.