ND MX-5 Miata Magsafe Charger Mount

Update 3: The generic charging puck does charger faster when plugged into a USB PD adapter in the cigar lighter socket in the passenger footwell. I still wasn't satisfied with the speed, so I've added a third STL to accommodate the new(as of 2024) Apple 25W Magsafe charging puck. The 2024 Magsafe puck is a different diameter than the older ones, so please keep that in mind. The magnets in the Apple product are not as strong, but my phone has not yet fallen off. I still need to find a good quality USB PD charger that supports 15V/2A to maximize the charging speed. I will post a link if I find one I like. I'm currently getting satisfactory speeds with a lesser charger.

Update 2: The bottom USB port does charge the phone with the magnetic charger, but at a very slow rate. I gain maybe ~1% in 15 minutes while using Carplay, Google Maps, and TuneIn simultaneously on an iPhone 16 Pro. I'm going to see if I can get better results with a 12V USB PD charger, and, if so, revise the parts to accommodate a cable pass through to keep things neat. Failing that, I'll redesign it to hold Apple's new 25W Magsafe charging puck.

Update: I added a blank mounting plate because someone requested it. If you're making a phone holder, you don't want or need that part.

This model replaces the airbag indicator lights in the center dash with a magsafe type phone charger. 

I designed this mount to accommodate an iPhone 16 Pro in a magsafe case. My photos show this phone attached to the charger, as well as an iPhone 13 mini. I imagine most phones with similar charging coil locations will fit, as long as the phone is no larger than an iPhone 16 Pro.

The parts turned out to be a little challenging to print. I printed the base part with supports because it appears to have difficult overhangs. I had to print the magsafe mount part with a brim to avoid warping because the small footprint and aggressive chamfering make bed adhesion an issue with ABS.

BOM:

(1) 3D Printed “Magsafe Mount.stl”

(1) 3D Printed “Base.stl”

(2) M3x5x4 Brass Heatset Inserts(same as used in Voron printers)

(2) M3x6 Socket Head Screws

Charger options:

Option 1: (1) 3D Printed “Apple 25W Magsafe Holder” to use with: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MX6X3LL/A/magsafe-charger-1-m? This prints best for me with the small side down and supports enabled just for the circle and cross shaped hole.

(1) #4 x 3/8" flat head sheet metal screw to attach the holder.

Option 2: (1) Magsafe car charger kit from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9M4PHMC

(1) USB-C to USB-A Cable. - I'm not sure where I got the right angle cable I used.

Assembly:

1. Install the (2) heatset inserts into the “base”.

2. Install the "base" part in place the of the airbag indicator and reassemble the dashboard. Sergey at mx5things.com has a nice set of  instructions for disassembling the airbag indicator(and he has nice products too):

https://ssh16blog.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/replacing-indicator-unit-overlay.pdf

Charger Option 1:  

4. Temporarily attach the Magsafe holder to the Magsafe Mount Arm with the #4 x 3/8 sheet metal screw. Make sure it is short enough to not protrude into the holder where it would damage the charging puck.

5. Remove the sheet metal screw and press the Magsafe charger into the holder. It fits very tight, so much so that I had to destroy the printed holder to remove the puck. I used a Panavise with plastic jaws to press the puck in.

6. Reattach the holder to the Magsafe Mount Arm with the sheet metal screw.

Charger Option 2:  

7. Remove the single phillips head tapping screw holding the ball mount to the magsafe charger. Discard the ball mount, keep the screw.

8.  Use the screw removed in the previous step to attach the magsafe charger to the “magsafe mount” part.

Both Charger Options:

9. Use the two M3x6 screws to secure the assembled charger and “magsafe mount” to the base part. The screw on the right side is somewhat difficult to get to with the charger attached to the mount, but I did it with a straight allen screwdriver. I ball drive type will make it easier.

10. There isn't a great way to route the charging cable to the cigar lighter socket in the passenger footwell. I just tucked it in under the HVAC controls after the dash was fully reassembled and I'm satisfied with that.

Notes:

My car is a 2017 RF Club with the upgraded Carplay USB hub and I have also installed a wireless Carplay CMU and screen from a wrecked later model year MX-5.

The charger from Amazon appears to be a generic Chinese manufactured product. Similar chargers may or may not work. The seller I purchased mine from markets them with different colors of LEDS. Mine is a the “cyan” model.

The charger would not work when plugged into the upper USB port. I'm not sure why that is. It will light up, but not charge. It seems to work fine in the lower USB port. I am not yet certain if the Mazda hub supplies enough current to keep my iPhone charged while using wireless Carplay, I will find out in the next few days. If it does not, I will have to run a longer USB cable to a high output cigar lighter type charger instead. I will update this text after I use it for a while.

Someone may be interested in utilizing just the base part to make a custom mount for some other hardware. If so, the two M3 heatset inserts are spaced 20mm apart, on center, and the pair is then centered within the indicator opening.