GPS Question

[branson0319@att.net]

Having a problem with my GPS going low on power after about a HR. of use ...I,m got it wired into cigarette lighter . it,s getting power but evidently not enough to keep the GPS charged ...Someone said it,s because it is a car GPS and not one designed for motorcycles .. Does the car ones require more power to keep charged than one designed for bikes ???

[Viking]

I think, if you have it plugged into the cigarette lighter socket in your glove box, it is not getting enough power or you have blown the fuse on that outlet. That socket has minimal power and would not power an actual cigarette lighter plug. You would need to bring power from your auxillary source beside the battery, and add another cigarette lighter socket with full power to it.

[branson0319@att.net]

The cigarette lighter is powered from the battery .. ..That's not the problem .. think it is not charging the battery for the GPS enough to keep it from going low ..If you shut it down it will charge it enough to run awhile but only a short period of time ..

[MikeB]

It sounds as if your GPS is malfunctioning. Any portable GPS designed for a car will work on a motorcycle.
Also, be sure that you are using the GPS power cord and not one that you substituted. A substitution may not power your GPS if you don't have the correct one.
If that GPS and power cord worked in your car, it should work on your bike. The car power port provides 12volts right? So does the bike power port. GPS receivers do not require a lot of current to operate.

[Steve F]

Are you using an actual cigarette plug or a USB/lighter adapter to plug into? Some of those USB type chargers can't supply the amps needed to charge AND run a GPS at the same time.

[branson0319@att.net]

Using the GPS cord that came with the GPS ..Cigarette lighter is one I ordered from Wingstuff ..not convinced those are the problem so will have to figure out how to get sufficient power to thee GPS ,,As I said it is getting some power because when it,s in charge mode with out the GPS on it does do dome charging ..I didn,t install the stuff a friend did ..God only knows where he has it hooked up to .. Have to tear the seat off the bike so I can get a good look at where the wires are going to and coming from ..

[WingAdmin]

Try it in your car and see if the same thing happens. That will isolate the problem to either the GPS or the bike.

[Dusty Boots]

I dislike having to use/plug in the big/bulky GPS power supply cords, so I hardwired my GPS , using an optional hardwire power cord, which is wired to my aux wiring harness.

Dusty

[branson0319@att.net]

I have two they both are used in my vehicles ..[CARS -TRUCK ] no problems ...only in my bike ..it is wired into a cigarette lighter .which when you turn on the key shows it,s functioning .. But it obviously for what ever reason is not providing enough to keep the GPS charged ,so about a HR after starting out it comes up Battery low ..If you shut it down for awhile it will charge it back up enough so that it will function again for a short time ..So it is getting power just not enough . Hence my problem .. Can,t depend on it for working very long ...Thanks for my wifes smart phone we always get where we need to go , but for that we would be probably lost at times ...Not good ....

[MikeB]

It is painfully obvious that the power source loses connection with the GPS after a short period of time, either because of the power connection at the GPS or the power source at the cigarette lighter. It has been pointed out that you need to test the GPS with its power cord from the motorcycle by using it in the car. If it works there, you need to troubleshoot the source. The GPS is no doubt operating on internal power after initial power up from your external source on the motorcycle. Once it loses that external power source, it operates on its internal battery and then you end up with a LOW BATT indication in short order.

[branson0319@att.net]

Thanks for the information ..Will try that but betting that not the problem .. ..I didn,t wire it to begin with so until I get into it to see how or to what it was wired not going to know .. To get back to the original question ,which was ..Does a Nuvi [ car ]take more power to operate the a Zumo for the motorcycle ..was told that the nuvi does ..

[MikeB]

I'm relatively certain that either the Nuvi or the Zumo will consume no more than 1 amp. One way to be certain is to check the size of the fuse in the Garmin supplied power cord. It is probably one amp or less.

Both of these GPS's require 5 volts to power them up. The 5 volts is supplied from the power cable which will step down your automotive power to the required voltage and current.

My power supply for my Garmin 2720 GPS receivers supplies 12 volts at 1.25 amps.

I do not know of any GPS that will require higher voltage and current levels.

[branson0319@att.net]

Thank you guys for all the information you have given me ..As soon as I get the new power cord from Garmin will install kit in place of the existing one to see if that helps .. Not thinking that it will but hope I,m wrong .. ..In the mean time will have to rely on the smart phone if the GPS doesn,t work ,,