Hard wiring Satnav won’t charge Garmin.

[Ingwe]

Have hardwired both Satnav and dashcam. However, the Garmin satnav goves a message that the Garmin will not be charged with that cable.
For the most part it doesnt matter but it prevents putting destinations with the Garmin disconnected.
Anyone know of a hardwire kit that will allow charging of the Garmin?
I bought two kits from ebay at £7 each. Maybe the Halfrauds one at £30 will charge?

 

[pappajohn]

Maybe its a data transfer only cable.... Power wires not connected at USB plug.
Cheap ebay tat.

 

[Phill D]

i agree pappajohn have had that happen and changed cables and all been good.

 

[Speve]

I just wired a socket to rear of dash and plugged in the car charger to mine and it works fine?

 

[Off da Grid]

Does the satnav use a 5volt supply or 12volt.
Could be your usb or 5v supply is not giving enough amps, mine needs at least 1.5 amps at 5 volt to charge.
It says don’t plug it into the on board usb sockets in vehicles as they are only really for the audio connection to the radio and don’t give more than 0.5 amps.
My iPhone won’t charge in the car usb socket.

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[TinaLes]

I agree, maybe insufficient current available from USB socket.
We get the same message when connected to laptop USB port, when downloading updates.
To charge at home I just find a mains to USB charger plug/adapter that can provide enough current and charge the Garmin from that, but even that takes hours when its totally flat from being left in the van.
We have no problems using the Garmin in the van connected to the Fag Socket which can deliver more current, so thats the answer, more current is required.
Even when its charged, we find The New Camper Tourer One lacking in so many ways over our previous old faithful Tom Tom.
Good luck
LES

 

[jimcg]

Have had the same problem and resolved it by using a genuine Garmin charger and cable. The ebay “bargain” ones just don’t seem to be compatible with the sat nav for some reason.

 

[Ingwe]

Thank you all for the replies. I expect it is the owerviddue. was cheap ebay stuff. Will order the Garmin one.

 

[TinaLes]

Ingwe
Just found this useful link.
Hope it helps.
Les

Can You Power Your Garmin With a USB Cord?

Most modern GPS devices from major manufacturers such as Garmin come equipped with a USB cable. It's primarily intended for connecting the GPS to a computer, enabling users to install or back up new maps, points of interest, and tracks or routes. Garmin devices with a built-in charging circuit...

itstillworks.com

 

[Ingwe]

Thanks Les. Going to source one of the official Garmin ones unless someone can point to another supplier who's kit will power and charge.

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[Ingwe]

Thank you all for the replies. I expect it is the owerviddue. was cheap ebay stuff. Will order the Garmin one.

Damned auto-correct. It should have said "power issue" above.

 

[HugoBNB]

Exactly the same problem. Thanks for putting this thread up. Thanks to posters.
Going to now get the Garmin cable.

 

[Lenny HB]

Another problem I've found with the couple of Garmin's I've had is they use the power lead for the traffic channel aerial. Use any other lead and no traffic updates.

 

[Deneb]

I've read in the past that Garmin include some sort of electrickery in their cables which identifies them to the satnav, and if it's missing or not detected, you can get the "unit cannot be charged from this cable" error.

Some even seem to be specific to individual Garmin models. I bought a genuine Garmin mains adaptor and charger cable several years ago, which worked with my old unit. After replacing the satnav with a newer model, I get the "won't charge" message from it every time I connect it to that cable.

What I do with hardwiring in my vehicles is to wire in a dedicated power socket cable, and connect the existing satnav cable into that. Never had a problem that way. The power socket in my car is buried behind the dash above the passenger airbag with the Garmin cable permanently connected to it and routed through the dashboard to the mounting bracket for the satnav.

 

[HugoBNB]

Just got this off Garmin help. If I am reading this correctly, you can run a fully charged unit off a cable that gives the not-charging message but, if your unit is flat, only the Garmin approved lead will work.
This does not make sense as a USB has only four wires. Red+ Black- then two for data. This is industry standard.....?
Confused.com

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[TinaLes]

Just got this off Garmin help. If I am reading this correctly, you can run a fully charged unit off a cable that gives the not-charging message but, if your unit is flat, only the Garmin approved lead will work.
This does not make sense as a USB has only four wires. Red+ Black- then two for data. This is industry standard.....?
Confused.com

Yes I am confused also, reading the link I posted earlier it states that the Garmin battery "will have a longer life if charged via USB" so I take that as being sufficient current supplied by mains adaptor or supplied fag lighter socket plug, which converts 12V to 5 volt DC and enough current.
It also mentions that you can use a cable with micro usb plug one end and "bare 2 wires" the other which can be connected to cars fused 12 volt supply. I doubt you would get traffic updates using this method though.
I would guess this "2 bare wire"cable has to have an in line drop down step transformer to drop the voltage from 12 to 5V to provide the Garmin with the correct voltage to slow charge the internal battery.
I cannot find or see such a cable from Garmin on E bay, or Amazon. Might have to contact Garmin directly to get some answers.

LES

 

[HugoBNB]

Found this. It looks like there could be two earth connections if it is a 5pin usb mini b.
I am nowhere near the MH to have a look right now.

 

[Gellyneck]

As said by Deneb we've got three different model Garmin sat navs and the cables are not interchangeable between them.

 

[Ingwe]

Yes I am confused also, reading the link I posted earlier it states that the Garmin battery "will have a longer life if charged via USB" so I take that as being sufficient current supplied by mains adaptor or supplied fag lighter socket plug, which converts 12V to 5 volt DC and enough current.
It also mentions that you can use a cable with micro usb plug one end and "bare 2 wires" the other which can be connected to cars fused 12 volt supply. I doubt you would get traffic updates using this method though.
I would guess this "2 bare wire"cable has to have an in line drop down step transformer to drop the voltage from 12 to 5V to provide the Garmin with the correct voltage to slow charge the internal battery.
I cannot find or see such a cable from Garmin on E bay, or Amazon. Might have to contact Garmin directly to get some answers.

LES

The cheapo gear I got from the internet, is effectively a micro USB plug with two bare wires but there is a step down transformer reducing the voltage from 12v to 5v the USB standard. The 2 bare wires terminate in a micro piggy back fuse which, as the name says, piggybacks onto a fuse that is on only with the ignition on.
So I'm not clear why this alone does not charge the Garmin's battery unless as Pappajohn suggested, not all wires are connected.
I'm a bit surprised by those who posted how long it takes to charge the Garmin's internal battery. When I've charged it either on the mains with the adaptor or via USB and my laptop it charges in less than an hour.

 

[Deneb]

Found the information I had read before:

The proprietary Garmin cables contain a resistor connected between pins four and five of the mini usb connector, which signals to the device that the cable is authentic. The value of this resistor is 17.3kΩ, and instead of buying a new cable, the resistor can simply be soldered between pins four and five of the female usb connector inside of the cradle. The unit I have is model number 3597LMTHD, but this hack will also work for any other Nuvi unit.

and

The provided vehicle power cable must be used in the vehicle in order for the device to operate and charge the battery simultaneously. The device cannot be charged by a USB cable in the vehicle.

As I said, I hardwire one of these to a suitable 12v supply and plug the genuine power cable into it, which means that the stepdown to 5v is done by the Garmin cable plug, which presumably also contains the resistor at one end or the other.

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[HugoBNB]

This last post seems the best solution.

 

[tonyidle]

Have hardwired both Satnav and dashcam. However, the Garmin satnav goves a message that the Garmin will not be charged with that cable.
For the most part it doesnt matter but it prevents putting destinations with the Garmin disconnected.
Anyone know of a hardwire kit that will allow charging of the Garmin?
I bought two kits from ebay at £7 each. Maybe the Halfrauds one at £30 will charge?

The traffic radio receiver for the Garmin is built into the cigar lighter plug. The easiest way to hard wire it is to buy a cigar lighter socket intended to be on the end of a flex. Connect the flex to your chosen power source, plug in the Garmin ciggy plug, then tuck away under dash. That's how I've had mine since I bought the Garmin a couple of years ago. You just need to make sure it can't unplug itself. Here's the thing:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=283640105517

 

[HugoBNB]

Sorted ours out today.
Bought a 12v cigarette socket off Amazon and wired it onto the 10a radio fuse on the Ducato in the fuse box under the dash. Put the socket behind the cover of the windscreen pillar and attached the Garmin male cigarette charger to it. Taped them together for good measure. Ran that cable under the roof lining to the central point. Took down the rear view mirror (a mystery as to why it was there in the first place?) and put the sat nav in its place. A little more work needed to get the mounting in the same position as the mirror, due to a rather large nut set into the glass, so the night screens will work but, should be able to sort with a bit of Sikaflex.
Upshot is that the sat-nav is working fine and there are no cables showing.
Result!

 

[HugoBNB]

Added this modification to do away with the useless centre rear view mirror.

 

[PeteH]

It can happen with many Auto Chargers. I have more than one which will not charge an I-Phone nor I-Pad. They need more "Amps" that your average Phone charger. There was an issue back when with Motorola phones not connecting except via the "Motorola" USB adaptors.

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