E46 Center Console Accessory Panels

thingiverse

I wanted to fit multiple USB charger ports in my E46 while keeping it clean-looking. Initially, I planned to replace just the cigarette/accessory port with a USB one, but since that circuit is always hot, I decided against it. So instead, I designed a front and rear accessory panel. The front one works well; it took me some time to find the right thickness for the key-way pieces. The rear one is alright as-is, but it doesn't curve with the shape of the center console. This could be edited later on to match that shape. For now, it's functional. I designed these in OpenSCAD like everything I do, so you should be able to add your own stuff to it if you know OpenSCAD. For now, I designed it to add three holes: one for the screw-on USB port meant to replace your stock ports, another for the slightly different-shaped extender USB port, and then one for an aux port. If you're not comfortable with OpenSCAD and would like me to add some additional holes, just let me know. I'll need to know all the dimensions needed for that hole. A few notes: 1. If you want to add switches, you'll have to increase the depth of the inside tray to clear the flap on the center console. 2. The current depth is designed to clear my first USB port so I can close/open the flap easily. 3. If you want to use the USB ports like I did, you'll have to drill large holes in the bottom of your center console tray piece to clear the bottoms of the USB ports. There's a lot of room under this panel, so don't worry about hitting the tunnel – you won't see the holes. An additional note: I'm not going to help you through how to wire this up. But I'll give a brief example of what I did. I spliced a Y off the existing cigarette lighter power wire and have it going to a relay. For the relay's signal, there's an optional connector under the center console next to the e-brake handle. I forget the wire color but one came on with the ignition – I used my multi-meter to check this. A YouTube video described this connector, but got the ignition wire wrong; it was not a red-yellow wire for my car.