Power connection for GPS

[Punjistick]

What's a good spot to tap in for power for my Zumo GPS? Ideally I'd like to have power only when the key is turned over. My last bike had all kinds of hack wiring and wires were always melting. I want to do it right this time.

[ssg]

Depends how anal you want to be, but if you're not going to be adding a bunch of other electronic crap onto this, you are probably ok with taking the stock Zumo wiring harness off of one of the headlight or parking light relay feeds. On my former ZX-10 it had a parking light that was on anytime the key was, so I added a relay to that and then ran power straight back to the battery. For a single Zumo or radar detector though, you're probably safe going off a headlight. Just don't cut out the part of the power cable that has the fuse in it!

Thats the easy part though. Running it back there, make sure it's in some kind of sheath,tubing,wrap to protect it and make sure whatever you use for that isn't going to pour water into some other area on the bike not meant for it.

Also be sure it's not near anything with a sharp edge, and it's well secured (this doesen't mean pull the ziptie till it breaks, just snug it a bit) to some other bundles.

Ideally if you follow some of the other cable routing on the bike - you might not be as direct but in the end you'll probably be safer.

[Punjistick]

Thanks for the tips. I think this project will have to wait for the next rainy day. It's far too nice out right now to be taking my bike apart.

[RandyO]

What's a good spot to tap in for power for my Zumo GPS? Ideally I'd like to have power only when the key is turned over. My last bike had all kinds of hack wiring and wires were always melting. I want to do it right this time.

you shouldn't have to tap anything tapping into the harness is never good in the long run especially it you use those blue scotchlock thingies . its' always where you start electrical problems


my suggestion

install an auxillary fuseblock attached to the battery via a relay. for the relay trigger wire , I plugged it into a switched lead I found in the dealer test plug on my V-Strom . didn't have to cut or tap anything

for the ground side, I installed a ground buss attached to the negative battery terminal

you can buy a fuseblock like a BlueSeas that has the relay & everything all in one unit or you can put somehting together like I did, my choice was cheaper and takes less space, I'm using a Hella 6place fuseblock and Hella micro relay I bought thru Susquehanna Motorsports Home Page

[Hardleft]

Whatever you do, don't run the relay from the turn signal circuit. Your Zumo will ask you if it should go to battery power every time you signal on that side.


And don't leave any wires exposed, or connected to things they shouldn't be... I learned a lot and only melted a little of my wiring.

[knarlydog]

What's a good spot to tap in for power for my Zumo GPS? Ideally I'd like to have power only when the key is turned over. My last bike had all kinds of hack wiring and wires were always melting. I want to do it right this time.

Can't help with the wiring, but would love to know what you think about the Zumo. Have been thinking about getting one. Do you have the 450 or 550? Can you create your own routes via PC and upload them ? I have a Garmin 650 for the car and that feature is not available until you go to the 750 or >.

[Hardleft]

Do you have the 450 or 550? Can you create your own routes via PC and upload them ? I have a Garmin 650 for the car and that feature is not available until you go to the 750 or >.

I have the 450. You can create routes on a PC or Mac, its easy and free. It can remember where you go too so that you can save group rides and such. I like it a lot.

The ram mount is cool. The stem mount that I bought separately took a lot of fiddling to get to work correctly.

[knarlydog]

The ram mount is cool. The stem mount that I bought separately took a lot of fiddling to get to work correctly.

Sounds exacly what I'm looking for... good to know the features are in the 450. Thanks

[ssg]

you shouldn't have to tap anything tapping into the harness is never good in the long run especially it you use those blue scotchlock thingies . its' always where you start electrical problems

Yeah, I should be more clear...my version of "tap" means solder is involved, or something like this if you have the availability:
Parts Express:Littelfuse Add-A-Circuit Fuseholder for ATO/ATC Fuses


While I think it's entirely overkill for a single Zumo connection, but this is what I have (centech):
Centech AP-1 Fuse Panel, cheap Worldwide Shipping

It's running off one of these (with the diode/relay/fuse option):
Centech AP-1 Fuse Panel Kits

[Punjistick]

The Zumo 550 actually comes with the fusebox leads. So it looks like I'd just need some type of fuse block. The AP-1 is nice but I'm not sure I can fit it anywhere. Perhaps in the tail but I already have my HID ballast in there.

[RandyO]

Yeah, I should be more clear...my version of "tap" means solder is involved

IMHO any time you cut or slice, you compromise the insulation even a good solder connection is bad, the wire will deteriorate/corrode under the insulation, solder can be worse as it heats the wire and can further compromise the harness

I lookes at the Centech option, and BlueSeas as well as other similar products, they all take up too much valuable underseat real estate

with the Hella fuseblock + 4 micro relays that I have, it only takes up 4 square inches (4 relays are 1 for the fuseblock, 1 for auxillary horn, 2 for auxillary lights )

[SSearchVT]

I used the hard wired leads for my battery tender - which had a 5 amp fuse. And then used a spare lead and a cigarette lighter extension cord from the auto parts store to make a power port (center is positive, outside is ground). I snaked this under the tank and into my tank bag. This let me charge my cell phone, IPOD, run a radar detector, etc. But - this is on all the time.

[schleppy]

This is what I wired up on my bike:
Special Applications with SPDT Relays, Diagrams

It looks harder than it is. 20 min tops from start to finish.

If you use the proper tools you don't have to cut any wires at all.

[njsrikar]

ok...now am in the same exact situation as Alex was last year. I am looking at a way to charge my nuvi 255w while on the bike riding.

I do not have any expertise or tools in wiring stuff, so I dont wanna experiment it on my bike and screw up something.

I have been looking for a ready-made cable kit and finally found this PowerLet microUSB cable. What do you guys think of it ? Does it keep sucking power from the battery when the ignition is off ???

One other question : D ....Can I use this mount as is or does it need anything else ? It is the RAM mount's fork stem mount.

All this is for my '97 Honda cbr600f3. I am looking something less expensive.

[noxin]

Garmin power cords have something special in them (i think it's a resistor between a couple of cables) so that they know when to be in computer mode vs charging/power mode.

Not sure if the one you mentioned will work for that or not.

[njsrikar]

it is a complete power harness with a microUSB at one end. Here is a picture if you could not go to that link. That's the whole kit PowerLet is selling for 45 bucks

[Punjistick]

I think $45 is a lot of money for what looks like a micro USB cable, fuse, 2 ring terminals, and some zip ties.

Here is a picture of the cable that came with my Zumo. I'm sure you could make your own for under $10. Mine looks like it uses a 2 amp fuse.

*Note* the end of my cable uses a special plug to fit the Zumo cradle, not usb.

Better yet, just buy this one for $20.
http://www.amazon.com/Gilsson-Direct...7754488&sr=1-3

[ptk-napalm]

I looked up your 255w & found that it really isn't motorcycle friendly. You will probably end up vibrating it to death just like my Garmin 2610. Also the steering stem mount you selected will work but you will need to buy some more stuff from "Ram" to attach it to the 255w's cradle.

I wouldn't trust Garmin's cradle to hold your 255w securely. Go on to Ram's web page and search for a proper cradle for your GPS. I had my Garmin cradle break from the locking point in about 2 weeks of riding, it wasn't fun when it was dangling from the power cable with me holding it & trying to pull over to the side of the road.

You will either need to use the cigarette lighter power kit (cut off the cigarette lighter adapter & attach some crimp on connectors with a 1/2 amp fuse to your motorcycle battery) because the power kit has some resisters in it to drop the voltage down from 12 volts to probably 4-5 volts.
Unless you put a switch in this cable, the power will be on all the time, but when you disconnect your 255w it won't be draining your battery.

You don't want the USB cable unless you want to transfer data & charge it from your PC.

ok...now am in the same exact situation as Alex was last year. I am looking at a way to charge my nuvi 255w while on the bike riding.

I do not have any expertise or tools in wiring stuff, so I dont wanna experiment it on my bike and screw up something.

I have been looking for a ready-made cable kit and finally found this PowerLet microUSB cable. What do you guys think of it ? Does it keep sucking power from the battery when the ignition is off ???

One other question : D ....Can I use this mount as is or does it need anything else ? It is the RAM mount's fork stem mount.

All this is for my '97 Honda cbr600f3. I am looking something less expensive.

[njsrikar]

Here is a picture of the cable that came with my Zumo. I'm sure you could make your own for under $10. Mine looks like it uses a 2 amp fuse.
*Note* the end of my cable uses a special plug to fit the Zumo cradle, not usb.

The reason I want to go for a ready-made one is I do not have the resources to make one myself. I do not know the procedure etc to do this stuff, am afraid i might blow up the electrical circuitry, so I dont wanna take a risk.

Better yet, just buy this one for $20.
http://www.amazon.com/Gilsson-Direct...7754488&sr=1-3

Yeah, I saw this, but this drains power from batter when the GPS is disconnected...for which I`ll need to install something like a switch to turn it off when i leave the bike for days.

Kurt ....I have been using the regular bracket we get with a nuvi GPS on my bike, I mounted it on the fork stem using a home-made mount(posted on NESR by 'Idratherberidin'). I rode about 2000miles on it and no problems so far.

[ptk-napalm]

Just keep a eyeball out on the upper & lower nubs for wear, when they start getting worn down from the vibration you could lose your Nuvi.

My Ram mount does the opposite, it is wearing away at my GPS so I have to put a little bit of electrical tape at the two wear points.

[RandyO]

I think $45 is a lot of money for what looks like a micro USB cable, fuse, 2 ring terminals, and some zip ties.

what looks like a common usb cable isn't

usb supplies 5v so there is a voltage reducer and circuit isolator built into that cable

[njsrikar]

I found the same PowerLet microUSB cable on another site for $35. Does this take power from the battery when ignition is turned off ???

[Punjistick]

I found the same PowerLet microUSB cable on another site for $35. Does this take power from the battery when ignition is turned off ???

It depends how it's wired. If it goes straight from the battery then, yes, it will drain the batt when the bike is turned off. The best option is to get some kind of relay like others have mentioned. This way the gps will only turn on when the relay gets power, which should only be when the bike is turned on.

Read through the previous posts and pick out a relay and then get that cable kit that you found. I'll help you install it after you have all the parts. I have a heated garage to work in if you don't mind traveling.

[noxin]

if you're that worried about it, take the cord out of the GPS when the bike is going to sit for a while.

[qqac]

Njsrikar, ironic signature you have there, considering your question.

I installed a power socket inside my front fairing near the side of the windscreen using stick-on heavy duty velcro-type pads (like the kind used for toll transponders), and ran the positive wire back to the battery, with an inline fuse just before the battery. The socket was $5 and the inline fuse was $2 from walmart. The negative just has to go to a nearby ground--on my bike the fairing stay was a good ground. I prefer not to have it relayed and switched with the ignition, so that I could have the power available without turning on the lights, etc. and running down the battery unnecessarily. Even with the bike idling, the battery would run down, since my bike doesn't charge properly unless it is spinning around 5k rpm.

When not using the accessories, I just unplug them or turn them off, so there is no draw. I would always unplug them and take them with me anyway, so they won't be stolen.