I can't believe I did this.

[Dstrickland]

I got the ram mount for my GPS mounted on my bike. Looks good. I have it mounted where I want, the way I want, centered and all that happy horse hockey. I have Triumph install the correct wire that has two clips exposed to attach the correct plug when I get it. One is marked NEG and one is marked POS. I learn that my wall charger to my motorola cell phone will also charge the GPS. It uses a micro usb type plug. I purchase an identical wall charger at BEST BUY. I do nothing with it for a few days using the GPS on the battery only to see if the mount is solid and it is usable as mounted. I'm a happy camper so far. Instead of taking it back to Triumph and having them finish the install, I decide that "it's just two wires, how hard can it be?" I splice the micro usb plug into the two corresponding clips, (I just cut the plug that goes into the wall off), plug it into the GPS (without tuning on the unit) and I get a green light indicating it's being charged. I go to turn the unit on and it's dead. DEAD!!!!!!
I attach my cell phone to it because it's the same plug and my phone says "unauthorized charger". But it doesn't kill the phone.

I'm no electrician, that's why I normally leave these things for someone else. Even something that on the surface seems simple. I figured that if I crossed something it wouldn't charge, not kill the unit. Is it the electrical system itself? Too much juice? What? :confused::confused::confused::please1:

[Mellow]

Ah... yeah.. .the wall is 110v vs 12v on a bike.

I'm still not sure what you did though. However, all usbs are supposed to be the same output so one will / should work on anything, I think it's 4v or something...

Anyway.. your GPS probably only needs a max of 4v to run and the wall charger includes a reducing element going from 110 to 4... A car charger goes from 12 to 4 for a usb output.

What gps do you have? You might try removing the battery and reinstalling. Sometimes, that fixes some things.

[Dstrickland]

I have a Tom Tom One 130. I thought about taking the battery out of it. There are no screws or anything I can see where you can remove the battery. I thought I might be overlooking some form of voltage regulation. CRAP!!!! I'm probably gonna have to buy another Tom Tom but this time I'll let a person who knows what they're doing finish it. It's just 12 volts. I knew better than to wire straight into something higher but 12 volts I figured wouldn't fry it. WRONG! I'm kicking myself.

[Mellow]

The manual should have a power input spec on it somewhere. A lot of stuff out there can handle 12v but everything I've seen w/mini usb or usb input connector is at a lower voltage.. If it's fried, it's fried... but I'd still try removing the battery, the manual may show how, you've got nothing to loose.

[Landon]

Have you tried charging the GPS with the wall mount? Maybe the battery is to weak to power the device on if you have been using it a few days on the battery? I would not give up just yet. Is their a reset funtion on the Tom Tom? I know the zumo you hold something like the power button and + button and it resets.

[Dstrickland]

Have you tried charging the GPS with the wall mount? Maybe the battery is to weak to power the device on if you have been using it a few days on the battery? I would not give up just yet. Is their a reset funtion on the Tom Tom? I know the zumo you hold something like the power button and + button and it resets.

Yes, the device was fully charged. Also I learned this. On the Tom Tom website, they list as an accessory for their Rider GPS, a plug to splice in and the wire they provide to hook into your motorcycle appears to have no form of voltage regulation/reduction built in. It's just a USB plug with two loose end wires. Just like I tried to use. I've not seen a reset button but I'll check the manual to see. I'm going to hook it up to my computer when I get home tonight and play with it, see if that boots it into doing something. I'm not giving in yet. I want to save a $150.

[Flashdog]

The TomTom and Garmin car chargers are 12VDC input and 5VDC output. Inside the cigarette lighter plug is where it steps the voltage down.(Thats why its so big!) If you cut that off it will allow the full 12 VDC to go into your TomTom. I would attempt to use the unit using the household wall mount after pressing the reset button on the bottom of the unit. You use a toothpick or ball point pen.

[Mellow]

Yes, the device was fully charged. Also I learned this. On the Tom Tom website, they list as an accessory for their Rider GPS, a plug to splice in and the wire they provide to hook into your motorcycle appears to have no form of voltage regulation/reduction built in. It's just a USB plug with two loose end wires. Just like I tried to use. I've not seen a reset button but I'll check the manual to see. I'm going to hook it up to my computer when I get home tonight and play with it, see if that boots it into doing something. I'm not giving in yet. I want to save a $150.

I saw that on their site. That one is specific to the Tom Tom Rider which is specific to a motorcycle app... which means they may have made it to work w/12v or have the reducer inside the unit.

I didn't see anything like that for yours. Sorry. But, keep trying.

[Yamifj1200]

"I'm no electrician, that's why I normally leave these things for someone else. Even something that on the surface seems simple. I figured that if I crossed something it wouldn't charge, not kill the unit. Is it the electrical system itself? Too much juice? What? :confused::confused::confused::please1:[/QUOTE]"



I hardwired my nuvi and burned it up. I purchased it from Best Buy and bought the extended waranty. It was 10 months later, I called Best Buy and found out they would replace it because it was still under the makers warranty. I dont know where you bought your GPS but the seller may replace it if its still under the makers warranty. I would not hurt to ask anyway. Good luck been there done that...... Hope it works out for you...

Eric

[Rich Johnston]

My father was an electrical engineer for 25 years. His favorite quote for this type of SNFU is "You can only let the smoke out once. Once the smoke is out you cannot put it back in." Hate to hear that you're SOL with your GPS. Do you have a meter? Did you check polarity? 12V lights could care less about which direction the electrons flow. High tech electronics do. If your polarity is reversed then you will see the smoke. Did the Triumph dealer screw this up from the get go? Put a meter on it. Red to positive. Black to ground. If you come up with a negative reading (digital) or the dial pegs to the left (analog) then the polarity is reversed and the Triumph dealer screwed you pooch for you. Now keep in mind that my advise is worth what you paid for it and that I'm a cook by trade, but thus far I've been able to keep the smoke on the inside.

[Dstrickland]

My father was an electrical engineer for 25 years. His favorite quote for this type of SNFU is "You can only let the smoke out once. Once the smoke is out you cannot put it back in." Hate to hear that you're SOL with your GPS. Do you have a meter? Did you check polarity? 12V lights could care less about which direction the electrons flow. High tech electronics do. If your polarity is reversed then you will see the smoke. Did the Triumph dealer screw this up from the get go? Put a meter on it. Red to positive. Black to ground. If you come up with a negative reading (digital) or the dial pegs to the left (analog) then the polarity is reversed and the Triumph dealer screwed you pooch for you. Now keep in mind that my advise is worth what you paid for it and that I'm a cook by trade, but thus far I've been able to keep the smoke on the inside.

I like you. The mess is mine and mine alone. Triumph did their job. I thought (and I really did some thinking before hand) that if I had hard wired into 110v with out some form of voltage regulation, oh yeah, big problem. But 12v? I really didn't think it would fry it, and yes, I went through the reset proceedure and it is DEAD. But hey, I'm still under the cost of a motorcycle specific GPS if I get another Tom Tom One 130. I could buy 4 more and still be under that cost. But this time I'm gettin someone to do it right. I feel like "Tim the tool man Taylor". :dizzy1:

[greybeard]

you must keep in mind also you are dealing with 2 different types of current the 110v is AC(alternating current) the 12v is DC(direct current) AC units will fry on DC and visa versa

[SDD74]

Did you hard wire it with no fuse? if you had no fuse you could have gotten a surge. I did this on my boat. I direct wired my fishfinder to the battery and fried it. the unit called for a 4 amp fuse. The fish finder was the only thing on the battery. I sent it back to humming bird and they fixed it for free. most places will do this to keep there costumers. The hell of it is I ran like this for three months before it fried.

[Dstrickland]

I think the major malfunction was that I assumed Triumph placed these safeguards as part of the install. Not the case apparently. Sooooo, I've ordered a new GPS from Tom Tom. It's one the least expensive ones they sell and the fried one is going to them to see if it's worth fixing. I just might have two of these things which is fine with me. I had backup compasses and crap in the Rangers. Seems like we carried two of everything.

The bike will go back to Triumph to finish the install. And hopefully, I'll be a HAPPY CAMPER!

[rbertalotto]

A fuse will do absolutely nothing to the voltage. It will in no way change the characteristics of the voltage. All a fuse does is protect the wiring from burning up if the insulation should be damaged and the internal copper wire shorts out. It will not protect the device. There might be an internal fuse in the device that could blow if hooked up backwards or if water entered the unit.

Direct wiring your fishfinder to the battery would have zero effect. A 12v battery can not surge high enough to cause an issue with your device. Now if the voltage regulator on the motor went crazy, that's another topic............

Hope this helps.........

[SDD74]

The motor doesnt run on the battery. All the battery does is power the fish finder.

[TJ Willy]

I like you. The mess is mine and mine alone.


Electrical stuff can put the dunce cap on the most handiest handy man... no worries mate.

I get that stuff but not till someone spends a lot of time explaining it.

Wiring up all the relays and pressure switch on my jeep's ARB system was like rocket science to me... but thankfully, I had good friends that taught for beer!

Notice I did not say "worked".

:D:D:D:D:D

You'll get it... P^

use this excuse to jump on a TomTom Rider 2 or Zumo.

[Dstrickland]

Well, I have it wired in, correctly this time, and Triumph did a great job. You would never know the bike didn't come from the factory like this. Wasn't expensive. 'Cept for the replacement GPS. I'm sending the other one to Tom Tom to see if it can be repaired. Keep one as a spare or something. Thanks for all of the input.

[Capt_Gruuvy]

I am happy to see that this turned out good in the end for you. I travel overseas for work and I have learned to just bring a battery powered shaver and not trust the step-down converters.

I'd like to see a picture of the final install if you have one.

[Dstrickland]

I am happy to see that this turned out good in the end for you. I travel overseas for work and I have learned to just bring a battery powered shaver and not trust the step-down converters.

I'd like to see a picture of the final install if you have one.


Final install is like this, only it's wire properly. I'm very happy with the location now that I've done some riding with it.

[jabo1945]

For my extended backwoods camping trips I am wanting to add a cigarette lighter plug type charger to my new, to me, Honda CF230 dirtbike for charging my cellphone only.
As most probably know the CF230 is just an off road bike with basic electric start only with no lights, etc.

I'm assuming that I can come straight off of the battery with the female end of the cigarette plug/pigtail and it shouldn't fry my phone but.

Also being electronics challeged,
1 Will coming straight from the battery to charge the phone,,, fry the phone?
2 Would a fuse between battery and female plug be necessary or advisable?
3 Approximately how much juice,, %wise,, will a cell phone, in a few hour charging session, drain from a motorcycle battery that's 100% charged up? The 230 also dosen't have a kickstart.
4 Is there a better method, or doodad, for hooking up what I need to do than the 12v cigarette lighter plug. I just want to keep it cheap and simple.

jerry

[G wizz]

jabo1945:
You won't have a problem with your instillation, if you do as you stated.
Wiring in at your battery to charge up a cell phone won't draw enough juice to even be noticable, even from the small battery in your little Honda, as most all cell phones draw very little current while being charged.
(I always plug my phone in at night, and let it charge while I'm sleeping.) P^
Wire the cigar lighter plugs two leads directly to the battery, using a inline fuse, probaly no more than a 3 to 5 amp fuse, being sure the positive wire goes to the positive post (+) and the ground wire goes to the negitive (-) post.
Just be sure the wires and plug are located (mounted) somwhere where it won't rub against something and ground out, or snag on something and be pulled out.

G wizz



For my extended backwoods camping trips I am wanting to add a cigarette lighter plug type charger to my new, to me, Honda CF230 dirtbike for charging my cellphone only.
As most probably know the CF230 is just an off road bike with basic electric start only with no lights, etc.

I'm assuming that I can come straight off of the battery with the female end of the cigarette plug/pigtail and it shouldn't fry my phone but.

Also being electronics challeged,
1 Will coming straight from the battery to charge the phone,,, fry the phone?
2 Would a fuse between battery and female plug be necessary or advisable?
3 Approximately how much juice,, %wise,, will a cell phone, in a few hour charging session, drain from a motorcycle battery that's 100% charged up? The 230 also dosen't have a kickstart.
4 Is there a better method, or doodad, for hooking up what I need to do than the 12v cigarette lighter plug. I just want to keep it cheap and simple.

jerry

[jabo1945]

Thanks G wizz,

I guess the battery juice drain and the inline fuse answers everything I really need to know about charging the phone but, as usual, I came up with more
ideas to maybe improve, and complicate, the whole plan.

Got to thinking about it after my initial post and the only other item at this time
that I would probably like to do out in the boonies would be to charge up the batteries for my little Kodak Camera. That might draw more off the battery than the phone??

I am also going to install a "Battery Tender Junior" for using at home so am wondering if I can implement the tenders plug n play pigtail to also plug the Cigar lighter plugs to charge the cell phone and maybe the camera batteries.
I'm assuming the juice will flow both ways through pigtail, TO the 230 battery for charging it and FROM the 230 battery to cellphone.
Any thoughts on how simple or difficult, maybe expensive or impossible, to do this?

I had thought of adding a cheapo 35w or 50w ATV headlight to the bike for emergency situations at night, maybe gather firewood, and have read on the www that the factory cf230 generator won't handle too much extra draw. So if I did wire in an ATV headlight to the 230 battery, would the same battery tender wiring work on it? Or would the headlight need to go straight to 230 battery.
I might be better off going with just a clamp on spotlight that has it's on battery or just use my Ptezl Headlamp to get out of the woods after dark.
I just wish the 230 had a kickstart, the only thing I don't like
about it,, so far.

jerry

[G wizz]

And, for the second round of quizzes ...
Yes, You can charge your cameras batterys the same way, IF you have a 12 volt charger for them.
Yes, you can incorperate the battery tender pigtail for your other battery charging needs. Just be sure you get polarities correct on the plug half that has the cigar lighter lead attached to it.
You can buy the Battery Tender style pigtail plugs at any Raido Shack.
And No, I don't think I'd get carried away with the spotlight thing ... you might be asking for a walk home.

G wizz

Thanks G wizz,

I guess the battery juice drain and the inline fuse answers everything I really need to know about charging the phone but, as usual, I came up with more
ideas to maybe improve, and complicate, the whole plan.

Got to thinking about it after my initial post and the only other item at this time
that I would probably like to do out in the boonies would be to charge up the batteries for my little Kodak Camera. That might draw more off the battery than the phone??

I am also going to install a "Battery Tender Junior" for using at home so am wondering if I can implement the tenders plug n play pigtail to also plug the Cigar lighter plugs to charge the cell phone and maybe the camera batteries.
I'm assuming the juice will flow both ways through pigtail, TO the 230 battery for charging it and FROM the 230 battery to cellphone.
Any thoughts on how simple or difficult, maybe expensive or impossible, to do this?

I had thought of adding a cheapo 35w or 50w ATV headlight to the bike for emergency situations at night, maybe gather firewood, and have read on the www that the factory cf230 generator won't handle too much extra draw. So if I did wire in an ATV headlight to the 230 battery, would the same battery tender wiring work on it? Or would the headlight need to go straight to 230 battery.
I might be better off going with just a clamp on spotlight that has it's on battery or just use my Ptezl Headlamp to get out of the woods after dark.
I just wish the 230 had a kickstart, the only thing I don't like
about it,, so far.

jerry

[jabo1945]

Thanks again G wizz,

All of my questions might be answered in the forum somewhere but I'm new
here and haven't figured out, or found, a forum search feature yet.

jerry

[SDD74]

I had a 230L and wired in a 12v power point. I used it to run my Garmin nuvi as well as my cell phone. I wouldnt try to run a spot light off of the battery. They tend to drain a battery pretty quick.

[Ironheadziggy76]

jerry, welcome to the site! You should probably stick with the Ptezl for searching out the firewood. If you think your battery charger for your camera will draw more power than your phone, charge it while you are riding and your alternator is charging at full power. My camera uses four AA batteries that I charged often on my trip to AK. I have a quick charger that will charge the batteries from dead in about 20 minutes. I just plugged it in and stuck it in the tank bag or in a jacket pocket.

Don't be shy about asking questions, there are a great bunch of folks on here with a lot of knowledge. I'll probably drive most of them crazy this winter with a trailer project that's still in the planning stages. :p

[jabo1945]

Thanks for the welcome.

Yep, as much as I'd like to add a few bells and whistles to the 230, the
cell charger is really all I need. I solo camp, except for my labrador
Rowdy, and we camp strictly in the backwoods and on the river and the phone could be a real necessity lifeline type thing to have.
A good first aid kit and snake pistol are close seconds. The local river, the Pearl in Mississippi, that I camp on is infested with big water moccasins and big alligators but I worry more about the dog with them.
It's hell trying to keep labs out of the river.

As far as adding another electrical necessity, or real nice item to have along, I think I will buy and carry an extra battery for the 230 beings it doesn't have a kickstart. I'll hate the extra weight but,,,,,,,,,,,,
I'm trying to get in the habit to always kill the engine by turning the key off but there's little doubt I'll leave the key on one of these days and kill the battery.
I ought to get out one day and practice push starting it. I don't have a clue
how much oomph it'll take to get her going. I imagine it would be hell on a sandbar.
Is there a "phobia" term for fear of dead batteries?

And I also will start a trailer project soon but it'll be a combo 230/canoe/mtn bike hauler/camp box trailer to be able to get on down the road aways. My head is swimming with clever ideas for that project.

[JimH]

Jerry,
I built a canoe/camping trailer years ago form a Northern Equipment trailer kit. I has worked great. I only use it for camping and hauling the canoe. But I think it would be strong enought to haul a 230 scoot. I'll post a few pics of it when the rain clears out.
JimH

[Sharpie]

...
I'm trying to get in the habit to always kill the engine by turning the key off but there's little doubt I'll leave the key on one of these days and kill the battery.
I ought to get out one day and practice push starting it. I don't have a clue
how much oomph it'll take to get her going. I imagine it would be hell on a sandbar.
Is there a "phobia" term for fear of dead batteries?

....

Hey, welcome to this great site Jerry!

What I did on my KLR (also anemic in the electrical output dept.) was wire in a waterproof switch for the headlight. I've been stuck with a weak battery before and it's not fun. When I'm starting it in remote areas I kill the headlight before turning the ignition on and hitting the starter. It keeps the 55W headlight off the battery when starting. You have to get in the habit of making sure it's back on after the bike starts though.:D

If you push start it make sure your in at least third/fourth gear before letting the clutch out. P^

[jabo1945]

I've been wondering what gear would be best for a push start and that will give me a pretty good idea. My home driveway, about 50' long and on a pretty good slope will give me a good practice place for what speed it will take and best gear for the 230. The 230 being cold natured also throws a kink in and complicates everything. I guess push starting it cold might be different than it warmed up?? I have to over analyze everything but better over than underthink stuff,, I guess.

The canoe/camping trailer DIY project,,,
I have an old, but in good shape, Jon Boat trailer out back that I'm thinking about rigging up for what I need. I'm leaning toward building a camp box
with kitchen, on board water tank, lots of storage, a dual wired combo on board 12v and 110 shore power for a dual type power. That'll be 12v lights and water pump and separate 110 lights and receptacles for public campgrounds. A bbq bottle size propane setup and hooked to a good cook top and a grill. Of course design all that to go under a 17' canoe and be able to park the 230 and mountain bike on it somewhere.

I'm wanting to design the entire box where I can back under an A-Frame setup and hoist the whole camp box setup off and set it aside in case I want to use the trailer for the Jon Boat.
I'll probably use that box remove thought for whatever trailer I decide to use to free up the trailer for other uses.

The boat trailer has the smaller size tires and I think I would rather have a trailer with larger auto size tires but this trailer is already bought and paid for. I'm watching Craigslist for a budget priced trailer that will fit the needs for what I'm wanting to do.
This will be my fall project so have a little time to think it out and decide.

jerry