Sat-Nav wiring

[478cc]

Just ordered myself a Garmin 2610.
It comes with a power lead that looks to have two bare wires at one end. I was looking at another Rock the other weekend that had the same power lead, it was routed along the left hand side of the engine and dissapeared behind the starter cover.
I assume this is just connected to the back of the Aux power socket?
Does this mean the power to the sat nav is live all the time, ie not switched off with the ignition key?
Does not really matter because the sat nav will not be left on the bike when I am not around.
Where is the best place to wire the power lead in so that it is switched with the ignition?

[bimrluvr]

I have both my Autocom and my 2610 clipped into the first fuse (lights?) for power and grounded on the battery negative terminal...seems to work fairly well. Would appreciate suggestions for a better way.

[chibbert1]

478cc if you hook it up to the back of the accessory socket (as I did with mine) indeed you will have power all the time. I never feel comfortable leaving the GPS in its RAM mount when I am away from the bike anyway so power drain has never been an issue.

Enjoy your 2610

Chris

[malcolmm]

Back of the power socket is where I just wired my AutoCom to as well.

There are a couple of issues with tapping into this point though.

1. It's always on. My Solution... I put an inline switch on the AutoCom lead up in the saddle area where I have the AutoCom device.
2. Power Socket uses 15Amp Fuse (position 2) and AutoCom requires less than 1Amp draw. My Solution... I put an inline 1Amp fuse on AutoCom lead.

Question to you guys who have also wired to back of Power Socket... How did you manage to do a neat and tidy job. There's not much of the Power Socket wiring harness to use and you don't want to use Scotch Connectors, so how did you do it.

I did it like this... I cut the Power Socket lead 25mm from the back. Added 150mm of 15Amp wire by butt joining with solder and insulated it with heat shrink. Then I spliced the AutoCom midway along the added 15Amp wire by soldering it and insulated it once again with heatshrink, then soldered the 150mm of 15Amp wire with the AutoCom splice back to the shortened Power Outlet harness and reinforced it with double screwed connectors and wrapped them with insulating tape. The job doesn't look as nice as I would like it too, but at least it's solid and sound.

[neevee]

I've been using a Garmin Quest unit as I've travelled across the US on my Rockster. I am using this on battery power which works fine. Being switched on for 8-10 hours per day, still does not use all the battery power and I just recharge it each night. Great unit, and with the RAM Mount on the brake reservoir the small screen is close enough to read easily.

[whaycoc]

I used the accessory power socket to connect my 276C.

First, it is to your advantage to have the power "always on!" That is the way you want it to be hooked up. If your GPS turns off every time you stop for gas or turn off the key then you have to wait for it to power up again, re-acquire and that is a pain! Also, most of my route making, modifying and analyzing is done standing next to the bike at a gas pump or rest stop - I want the GPS to stay on at all times - that is the only logical way to use the unit! The amp draw is so small you could never drain a bike battery - and, when the unit is off the battery in the unit will continue to charge up if needed.

The question of how to connect the black (negative) wire and the red (positive) wire to the bike is simple and fast and clean!

Un screw the one screw that holds the plastic cover over the starter motor area on the left side of the bike. Pull the cover out of its two rubber mounting studs and disconnect the electrical plug from the back of the accessory socket. This plug is a standard "male-female" plug.

Notice one wire running to the back of the plug is red and the other is black - red=positive (12 volts) and the black=ground. You can confirm this with a volt meter if you are not sure. The "inline" fuse is on the 12 volt (positive) wire.

now, I am assuming at this point you have run the power cord down from the handlebar location - i ran it along the left side of the bike just up under the fuel tank so it wouldn't show - zip tie the cord so it stays nice and "dressed up" under the tank - run it down to go under the plastic starter cover and into the area where the accessory plug is located. Be sure you have left enough cord to easily attach to your GPS unit.

Now to the "how to connect" part - look at the two wires from the GPS power cord - red and black - notice how thin they are? They will simply slide down into the "female" part of the accessory power plug - just slide the red one down into the red female part and the black one into the black female part of the plug - then, take the "male" plug part and attach the two parts together - the wires are so thin they will just stay nice and tight in the plug - no need to do anything else - they are secure - mine has been on for years and over very rough roads and dirt!

If you are not sure of these instructions just email me with your phone number and I will talk you through it all!

706-568-9039

[email protected]

[478cc]

Thanks whaycoc that's just what I wanted to read.

I still need a bracket to fix the garmin holder to the bike so have not wired anything in yet, but it looks pretty simple. The power cable fits nicely up under the tank without needing to take the tank off.

The power cable is about a foot too long so I may just coil it up, secure it and hide the extra under the starter cover.

Have played with the Garmin in the everyday car, bean bag mount on the dash and plugged into the cigarette lighter. Very impressed.
Now just have to figure out how to wire a cigarette lighter into my 1970 Sprite so I can use it in that as well.
Now I need to go on some long journeys to make the most of it .

[FGanger]

478cc,
I received a 2610 at Christmas and do I love it. I'm in the process of mounting it to my bike, the parts arrived yesterday. I bought a 1 Gig card for it. That holds half of the States and Canada. On my first trip West I will probably purchase another 1 Gig card to put the Western sections of both countries on it.

With all the construction that goes on during the Summer months the detour feature is one I use a lot. I also like using the AC power cord and placing all the address' of the places I intend to visit in a new city as way points. The next day I'm traveling around the city like I was born there.

I'm sure this will be a real help in places where I do not speak the language - like London.

Frank

PS: waycoc, thanks for the timely answer.

[DJ Downunder]

Hey guys I have an electrical question....I want to plug my iPod into the accessory socket on my bike to charge the iPods battery.

My battery went flat on my Mt Buffalo ride and I stopped and bought a car cigarette lighter charger for an iPod but it didn't fit the smaller size BMW socket...they gave me my money back.

I'm sure it can be done.

DJ

[whaycoc]

DJ - this is an easy one!! Almost any BMW dealer will have an adapter BMW power plug that allows you to use your standard cigarette male plug to plug into it.

See this link for a picture:

http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/?cat=ELECT

[bimrluvr]

Bill and the rest of you for your suggestion.
I changed my wiring over today to back of the accessory outlet and it is neater and seems to resolve an interference issue I was experiencing.
Appreciate the guidance.

[whaycoc]

The power source from the accessory plug is so handy! Glad it might have resolved some "RF" issues to!

[FGanger]

Bill,
Upon your suggestion, I also tapped into the outlet for my GPS. Easy, clean and neat; what more could one ask for?

Boy I really like my Garmin 2610, thank you Santa.

Frank

[samson]

Hello Whaycoc:
Thanks for the detailed wiring instructions. My question is: Does one have to lift the tank to bring the wires to the handlebar?
Thanks in advance for your answer
Red Baronsbd

[whaycoc]

My reply to your question:

My question is: Does one have to lift the tank to bring the wires to the handlebar?

Most people will mount their GPS unit on the left side of the handlebar - this allows occasional use of the left hand while riding to change "zoom" levels or scroll, or whatever. Try to keep "fooling with" the GPS unit to a minimum while riding as it can be a real big distractor!

From my observations over the years most people who have handlebars like we do us the RAM "U" bolt mounting system - it is easy to mount and inexpensive to buy. Along with the "U" bolt you need the three inch RAM "arm" and a RAM mounting plate on the back of your Garmin GPS "cradle."

Here is a picture of my RAM mount as described above:




Now to your question:

No - you do not have to move the tank or anything else - looking at the picture you see the power cord from the GPS is zip tied to the handlebar with enough length to easily connect into the back of the GPS unit.

The lead then goes down under the tank and is fed back up under the tank along the left side of the bike - zip tyeing as you go to keep it neat and "dressed" up - guide the power cord down to the edge of the plastic starter cover and under it and tie it off there - that is where you will connect the positive and negative leads as described in another thread.

The whole job is probably no more then 15 minutes! No need to do anything except feed the cord along the left side up under the tank and tie it off as you go.

Hope this helps.

[DJ Downunder]

Thanks Bill for your answer to my iPod question.

So I buy the standard iPod car kit and then get myself one of these

I guess I was after a more simple or direct way to do it without going the piggy back way..but that looks the best way to go.

I just have to find one over here...I'll check with my BMW dealer first.

DJ