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I need a new phone soon and it will most likely have wireless charging. Sadly our RDX does not have wireless charging unless you add a USB powered one.
The thing is, I didn't want to run a cable. I wanted to keep things clean. I wanted to be able to have a flat surface in the center console where I could place my phone...while using the data cable. The flat surface would also need to wirelessly charge my phone while hiding the data cable connection port (I use Android auto), while also being able to still close the wood cover. I will also have a new phone soon, so wireless charging is inevitable for me. Plus, I'll be getting my wireless Android Adapter setup soon (project on Indiegogo). I also didn't want whatever thing I could find for this project to cover the cup holders. Everything had to function properly still...with no holes or modifications to my interior. It had to be completely reversible.
So I found a way to add a wireless charging battery pack to the center console. It does everything I needed. I wanted it to blend into the interior so I bought some textured matte black sticky wallpaper and added a simple skewed triangle design to the glossy top so that it would break it up a bit and blend in more. It also has a 25,000+ mAh capacity which should charge my phone some 6 - 7 times over. I'm not driving a lot these days and my phone is almost always charged so it's purely for the convenience or charging my phone while using my future wireless Android Auto adapter.
Looks very professional, from what I can see. So this is a battery pack that will charge the phone wirelessly, correct? It also means either taking this battery pack into the house to recharge it or plugging it into the car's USB port to charge it up occasionally?
Please share more about wireless Android Auto. Considering the connection issues with AA I have experienced, I have my doubts about how well it will work wirelessly. Additionally, I understand it has to have Wi-Fi to work, so that would seem to mean that one has to activate and pay for the RDX's Wi-Fi through AT&T?
Looks very professional, from what I can see. So this is a battery pack that will charge the phone wirelessly, correct? It also means either taking this battery pack into the house to recharge it or plugging it into the car's USB port to charge it up occasionally?
Please share more about wireless Android Auto. Considering the connection issues with AA I have experienced, I have my doubts about how well it will work wirelessly. Additionally, I understand it has to have Wi-Fi to work, so that would seem to mean that one has to activate and pay for the RDX's Wi-Fi through AT&T?
Yes, that's correct. I just place my phone on top and it will start charging wirelessly. Yes, that's also correct....I can just pull it and charge it fully in 8 hours or so...or don't pull it out and just run a USB cable from one of the interior ports and charge it overnight. The charging port is located on other side and is easily accessible.
Wireless AA has worked much better for me in recent months. I have an aftermarket headunit in my older Toyota 4Runner and it has wireless AA in it. My phone connects without issue and it runs great.
It's a small unit that will plug into the data port and hide underneath the wireless charging brick. You'll never see it and my phone will automatically connect to it and launch wireless Android Auto when I start up my RDX. If I need a charge, I just put my phone on the wireless charging brick while using wireless Android Auto.
It's possible Honda will allow wireless AA using the built in ATT hotspot...but until that happens...I'll be doing it with this setup of mine. I know some of the newer Honda's are getting wireless AA now so maybe our RDXs will receive a future update to allow use of the onboard hotspot hardware for wireless AA use.
Here's some more pics - it has a built in LCD meter so I know how much charge is left.
Last edited by SpaceBot; Nov 17, 2020 at 01:23 PM.
I wanted to also add that I didn't want to tear apart the interior to tap into a power source and run a wireless charging pad. I just don't want to start tearing into my beloved RDX so I found products that would accommodate all my needs.
I also wanted to add that the wireless battery pack feels very sturdy and locked in place. I bought a magnet phone mount..one that is nice and sturdy..thick and almost OEM looking - it was also was just barely above the top part of the phone tray area and it was only 1.5 inches in diameter allowing for 1/2 inch of room all around, at the base of the phone tray area.
The mount came with a couple of thick high quality and very strong adhesive magnet. I removed the rubber mat from the phone tray area. I applied one thick magnet about two inches or so from the data port and then put the mat back in place. Then I found the circular magnet with my fingers and moved the bottom of the sturdy phone holder around the bottom of the tray until the magnet felt centered and at its strongest.
Then I put a thin magnet on the back of the wireless battery brick and mounted it into position on top of the other side of the magnetic phone mount. With the wireless battery pack now stuck to the phone mount with magnets, I placed my Pixel 2 XL on to the wireless battery pack and loaded Bubble Level and found the center balanced point to make sure it was fully level before slowly pushing the wireless battery pack down to make seated and level contact with the top of the center console.
If there's interest, I can link parts I bought. Only two items. Maybe under $60 total to do this.
Kind of related: I almost never close my sliding cover. EVERY time I leave the house I take a plastic drinking cup filled with ice and water, in the front cup holder. The normal humidity level here is 10-15% so folks need to really hydrate. I do drink my water!
I always felt it is a shame that the nice wood cover is never visible. In my mind Acura should have put the wood trim on the door panels vs spending the money for the articulated wood cover. How many actually have their console covers closed more than half of the time?
OOPS, sorry for off-topic comments in your thread.
I really like what you have done and shared with us.
Kind of related: I almost never close my sliding cover. EVERY time I leave the house I take a plastic drinking cup filled with ice and water, in the front cup holder. The normal humidity level here is 10-15% so folks need to really hydrate. I do drink my water!
I always felt it is a shame that the nice wood cover is never visible. In my mind Acura should have put the wood trim on the door panels vs spending the money for the articulated wood cover. How many actually have their console covers closed more than half of the time?
OOPS, sorry for off-topic comments in your thread.
I really like what you have done and shared with us.
Yea, I never really close the wooden cover either, but if I ever wanted to close it, I could with wireless Android Auto. I could just keep my phone in my pocket with wireless AA and because my wireless battery pack just fits perfectly, I can close the cover without issue.
You did a great job, looks really nice.
I want to start off by saying I have an iPhone, so Android phones may behave differently. I also have a 2018 TLX that has wireless charging so my experience is with that vehicle and wireless charger. When I plug into the data port, it also charges the phone so making wireless charging useless (not needed). Also, when I plug something into the charging/data port of the phone, it disables the wireless charging capability. I understand that AA can be used wirelessly so this setup will be very useful. But once you plug in the data port, do you still need the wireless charging capability or be able to use it? Just curious.
