USB Charger port for bike
Discussion
I'm after a USB charger port for my bike but remember reading they needed to be wired in a certain way so they only charged when the bike was running.
Can anyone confirm and say how it needs to be wired? I'm hopeless at anything electrical and maybe which one I should go for. I've looked but no idea, thanks
Can anyone confirm and say how it needs to be wired? I'm hopeless at anything electrical and maybe which one I should go for. I've looked but no idea, thanks
What bike is it? As said some have an aux power unit. Mine does behind the dash so a £5 cable from ebay and a small hole cut in the dash to fit the USB is all it took
My previous bike didnt so I ran it from the battery and had a small on/off box/switch that allowed me to run when I needed ignition on or off
The cable ran upto the clutch cable and had a small rubber holder when not in use so you'd never see it there. Id use it for my satnav or phone and it worked brilliant. Cost me about £30 again ebay
My previous bike didnt so I ran it from the battery and had a small on/off box/switch that allowed me to run when I needed ignition on or off
The cable ran upto the clutch cable and had a small rubber holder when not in use so you'd never see it there. Id use it for my satnav or phone and it worked brilliant. Cost me about £30 again ebay
If you have an optimate charger, they do a USB charger that plugs into the SAE connector. Being an optimate product, it has technology built in that won't let the battery run down, which my previous USB charger didn't as it had a blue LED which was always on. Have only just purchased the optimate one but my plan is to leave it under the seat so I can charge things in there whilst riding the bike, or run a cable up to the sat nav if needed on long journeys. I think its the Optimate 0100 but you need the optimate lead too, which I believe is Optimate SAE71.
Spanglepants said:
Ok thanks, bike is Kawasaki ZRX 1200. I don't have an Optimate. Are those ones on Amazon on Ebay all roughly the same but its just how you wire them that makes the difference?
Do i wire it from the battery or from ,say, the little light above the headlight for example?
Thats upto you. Mine was to the battery and a switch to turn on or off whether bike was on or off and it worked great Do i wire it from the battery or from ,say, the little light above the headlight for example?
You could tap into a brake light or similar so it runs on ignition though
http://optimate.co.uk/o-101.htm
http://optimate.co.uk/tm71.htm
The upside of this solution is that if the battery discharges down to 12v then it cuts the connection.
A USB will always draw power unless switched - but it is minimal.. especially if you hook up the bike to the mains after every trip.
Threading the cable from the battery to the headstock will be the biggest faff.
http://optimate.co.uk/tm71.htm
The upside of this solution is that if the battery discharges down to 12v then it cuts the connection.
A USB will always draw power unless switched - but it is minimal.. especially if you hook up the bike to the mains after every trip.
Threading the cable from the battery to the headstock will be the biggest faff.
Looks good, but the bit about hooking it up to the mains puts me off. I wouldn't be doing that. Is it necessary ?
BobSaunders said:
http://optimate.co.uk/o-101.htm
http://optimate.co.uk/tm71.htm
The upside of this solution is that if the battery discharges down to 12v then it cuts the connection.
A USB will always draw power unless switched - but it is minimal.. especially if you hook up the bike to the mains after every trip.
Threading the cable from the battery to the headstock will be the biggest faff.
http://optimate.co.uk/tm71.htm
The upside of this solution is that if the battery discharges down to 12v then it cuts the connection.
A USB will always draw power unless switched - but it is minimal.. especially if you hook up the bike to the mains after every trip.
Threading the cable from the battery to the headstock will be the biggest faff.
Spanglepants said:
Looks good, but the bit about hooking it up to the mains puts me off. I wouldn't be doing that. Is it necessary ?
I hook mine to the mains to keep the battery topped off - i do not run it day to day - it's a summer toy.BobSaunders said:
http://optimate.co.uk/o-101.htm
http://optimate.co.uk/tm71.htm
The upside of this solution is that if the battery discharges down to 12v then it cuts the connection.
A USB will always draw power unless switched - but it is minimal.. especially if you hook up the bike to the mains after every trip.
Threading the cable from the battery to the headstock will be the biggest faff.
http://optimate.co.uk/tm71.htm
The upside of this solution is that if the battery discharges down to 12v then it cuts the connection.
A USB will always draw power unless switched - but it is minimal.. especially if you hook up the bike to the mains after every trip.
Threading the cable from the battery to the headstock will be the biggest faff.
To be clear, i have no installed the USB yet - it appears there is mixed reviews on it... some recommend the 12v cig lighter solution over the USB solution.
black-k1 said:
What's the issue with it being live all the time? I have a power take off socket that I've wired directly from the battery (via a fuse) thus is live all the time. It's never been an issue and means anything running from it continues to receive power even when I stop for petrol etc.
It doesn't make any odds unless you leave it plugged, and switched on, for many hours, without the engine running.When I wired mine I just used an old car 12v cigarette lighter socket, and then my sat nav's existing wiring and 12v plug. Cost nothing and took about 10 minutes. This is because I was being lazy however, the switchable live is the best way to do it.
More of an issue for things like heated grips in my opinion.
Ive got one of the other style Optimate lead converters on my other bike, it works fine too. I dont use it daily, just on the odd occasion I need to charge my phone/nav when out on longer journeys. If you already have the optimate charge lead fitted to your bike, then £15 for the adapter is an easy plug in solution
toxgobbler said:
Or fit a relay? Can be picked up for buttons.
A relay just increases complexity, more wiring for no real benefit. A USB charger is going to draw somewhat less than 1 amp even with a 2 amp USB device connected and the main switched ignition wire should be more than capable of this tiny extra load. It's really not rocket science, you just need to find the main switched ignition wire and splice into it, ensuring you use a fuse on the new wiring.I'd like do that but wouldn't know where to begin looking for an ignition live wire?
Mr2Mike said:
A relay just increases complexity, more wiring for no real benefit. A USB charger is going to draw somewhat less than 1 amp even with a 2 amp USB device connected and the main switched ignition wire should be more than capable of this tiny extra load. It's really not rocket science, you just need to find the main switched ignition wire and splice into it, ensuring you use a fuse on the new wiring.
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