GPS draining motorcycle Battery.

[Hero Danny]

Hey everyone!

I just installed a GPS onto my ninja 300 and upon installation I realized that the stupid thing is draining my battery when my bike is off! Worried about being stranded somewhere is there something i can do to make it so it will automatically turn off when the bike is off? (without splicing into any wires)...

Currently I have this set up:
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...ry+tender+wire

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...le+usb+charger

Hoping I could just hook something up to either of those that has some sort of smart feature to cut power to the gps once the battery hits a certain level.
Anyone hear of something like that?

Thanks in advanced!

[Alex]

Either remember to turn the GPS off, or run the USB connector to something that has switched power rather than running straight to the battery.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by Alex

Either remember to turn the GPS off, or run the USB connector to something that has switched power rather than running straight to the battery.

I figured that would be the case....

Thanks Alex, I'm just going to remember to unplug it. Actually, I don't feel comfortable leaving my GPS alone on my bike so i'll be removing it anyway to bring it in with me.

[adouglas]

Not possible to do this without tapping wires or unplugging it.

My solution:

On those rare occasions when I want GPS, I use my phone. I've got a MotoD mount on my triple with a spring-loaded holder.

I have a permanently mounted Battery Tender harness running to the tail. Since this is normally not connected to anything except the battery, it does not cause any drain. I carry a USB adapter that plugs into it... but that draws power, so I leave it unplugged unless I want to mount my phone. Then I have a 10-foot USB phone charger cable running from the tail back up to the front of the bike. The phone end of this gets tucked out of the way and covered with a rubber cap to protect it from water.

When I want to use the phone, I lift the seat cowl and plug in the USB thing. Then I clip the phone into its mount, fish the end of the power cable out of its hiding place and plug it in. Takes maybe a minute all told.

The only catch with this rig is that if I forget to unplug the USB thing in the tail after the ride, the battery drains.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

............
Anyone hear of something like that?.......

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Making_...%27switched%27

[Alex]

Hernan - there are no accessory wires on these bikes from 2008 onwards. It was a useful feature on the pre-gens.

[Hellmutt]

Originally Posted by adouglas

I have a permanently mounted Battery Tender harness running to the tail. Since this is normally not connected to anything except the battery, it does not cause any drain. I carry a USB adapter that plugs into it... but that draws power, so I leave it unplugged unless I want to mount my phone. Then I have a 10-foot USB phone charger cable running from the tail back up to the front of the bike. The phone end of this gets tucked out of the way and covered with a rubber cap to protect it from water.

When I want to use the phone, I lift the seat cowl and plug in the USB thing. Then I clip the phone into its mount, fish the end of the power cable out of its hiding place and plug it in. Takes maybe a minute all told.

The only catch with this rig is that if I forget to unplug the USB thing in the tail after the ride, the battery drains.

Similar to my setup. Tender lead tethered to the battery is tucked up behind the lower right frame leg. Then I have a 6ft extension ( tender connector to 12v cig lighter power port ) from that point strung along behind the right side of the frame up to the triples. I disconnect the tankbag power bank ( 3 port and 2 usb ) supply out of that extension, and disconnect the other end of the extension to plug into the battery tender for winter storage. No switches needed, and I'm not yanking the power bank from the bike all that often...maybe 6 or 8 times a year. Works just fine.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Alex

Hernan - there are no accessory wires on these bikes from 2008 onwards. It was a useful feature on the pre-gens.

I see; thanks Alex.

@Hero Danny: How was the GPS connected to a hot spot?

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by Motofool

I see; thanks Alex.

@Hero Danny: How was the GPS connected to a hot spot?

Huh?

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Not possible to do this without tapping wires or unplugging it.

My solution:

On those rare occasions when I want GPS, I use my phone. I've got a MotoD mount on my triple with a spring-loaded holder.

I have a permanently mounted Battery Tender harness running to the tail. Since this is normally not connected to anything except the battery, it does not cause any drain. I carry a USB adapter that plugs into it... but that draws power, so I leave it unplugged unless I want to mount my phone. Then I have a 10-foot USB phone charger cable running from the tail back up to the front of the bike. The phone end of this gets tucked out of the way and covered with a rubber cap to protect it from water.

When I want to use the phone, I lift the seat cowl and plug in the USB thing. Then I clip the phone into its mount, fish the end of the power cable out of its hiding place and plug it in. Takes maybe a minute all told.

The only catch with this rig is that if I forget to unplug the USB thing in the tail after the ride, the battery drains.

Hold up... So that little USB adapter thingy drains my battery even with nothing attached to it? wtf? How long does it take to completely kill it?

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Huh?

lol.... youngsters!

He means, how is it getting power now?

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by csmith12

lol.... youngsters!

He means, how is it getting power now?

@Motofool
From the battery. I have it hooked up via positive and negative cables like a battery tender then that is fed around the frame and zip tied off, then I have a usb adapter on it. Gps is wired and plugged directly into the USB. Everything is zip ties off cleanly and safely.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Hold up... So that little USB adapter thingy drains my battery even with nothing attached to it? wtf? How long does it take to completely kill it?

This is true of any charger or power supply. That little USB cube you plug into the wall that you use to charge your phone or tablet? It's drawing power all the time whether anything is plugged in or not. Power supply for your laptop? Ditto. Wall wart for random electronic devices? Same thing. Pretty much anything that changes voltages does this. So does anything that converts AC to DC or vice versa, but of course that doesn't apply here.

Something like a cigarette lighter adapter doesn't draw power because it's not changing voltage at the output. It is simply a plug adapter.

Never timed it, but I'm guessing it'd take anywhere from a few to several days for an unloaded USB charger thing to completely kill a bike battery. The draw is pretty low.

BTW, what I have is similar to this. Not this brand, but it's the same thing. Battery Tender makes 'em, too.



You could also run the Battery Tender harness up to the front of the bike to avoid buying a long USB cable. I elected not to do this because space at the front end of my bike is at a premium, and because having the charger in the tail compartment lets me do things like conveniently charge other devices when I'm not using the phone as a GPS (e.g. BlueTooth adapter, camera, etc.)

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

@Motofool
From the battery. I have it hooked up via positive and negative cables like a battery tender then that is fed around the frame and zip tied off, then I have a usb adapter on it. Gps is wired and plugged directly into the USB. Everything is zip ties off cleanly and safely.

Oh, then you're already doing what Helmutt and I are doing. Just unplug the USB adapter from the harness when you're not using it. Simple.

You could also rig a switch in the Battery Tender harness. Simple rocker or toggle switch. Same caveat applies... you need to remember to turn it off.

The advantage of tapping into an existing switched lead is that it's automatic.

But having your USB port in a concealed compartment adds convenience. Consider this: Say I'm out on the road and have forgotten to charge, say, my camera. With my rig I can just pop the tail, plug everything in, and button it up... camera charges while I go have lunch, etc.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Oh, then you're already doing what Helmutt and I are doing. Just unplug the USB adapter from the harness when you're not using it. Simple.

You could also rig a switch in the Battery Tender harness. Simple rocker or toggle switch. Same caveat applies... you need to remember to turn it off.

The advantage of tapping into an existing switched lead is that it's automatic.

But having your USB port in a concealed compartment adds convenience. Consider this: Say I'm out on the road and have forgotten to charge, say, my camera. With my rig I can just pop the tail, plug everything in, and button it up... camera charges while I go have lunch, etc.

Thanks! I guess it makes sense. I could probably get a cigarette adapter and that will prevent any unnecessary draining... correct?

I did leave my bike off for 24 hours with everything hooked up and gps just manually turned off and the battery seemed perfectly fine.. Like you said, I'm sure if I left it like that for 3-4 days it would run the risk of being dead. :/

[DEFY]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Thanks! I guess it makes sense. I could probably get a cigarette adapter and that will prevent any unnecessary draining... correct?

I did leave my bike off for 24 hours with everything hooked up and gps just manually turned off and the battery seemed perfectly fine.. Like you said, I'm sure if I left it like that for 3-4 days it would run the risk of being dead. :/

Cigarette adapter yes it would use the 12 volts from the battery but not draw anything except when an adapter is plugged in. USB is a 5V system so uses a dc-to-dc converter to step voltage down usually.

[adouglas]

Hang on there, Sparky.

What sucks power is the USB circuitry, not the plug. Whether that's built into a cig lighter plug, a Battery Tender harness dongle, or even a hard-wired USB cable makes no difference.

What's indie this


is the same as what's inside this


and is the same as what's inside this


All of these consume a little bit of power even when there's no USB device plugged in.

If your GPS uses a USB cable for power, then by definition it wants 5 volts DC. Your bike's battery delivers 12 volts DC. You need a little bit of circuitry to step down the voltage. That circuitry draws power all by itself.

Make sense?

Full disclosure: Originally I had the last one, but had snipped the plug and wired it directly to the battery. One drained battery later I realized it had been sucking power.

[DEFY]

He gets something like this

and a Cigarette to usb adaptor

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by DEFY

He gets something like this

and a Cigarette to usb adaptor

Yes. That is what I was thinking. Get something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...igarette+power

My GPS has a cigarette lighter charger also so I can just hook that into that.

Edit: I think what @adouglas is saying is that the usb adapter itself will draw power even if it is going through a cigarette lighter.

[rgx107]

I was also worried about the idle current of the (Garmin) 12V/5V USB cable when installing a Zumo GPS, but it turned out it only draws 0.25 mA, corresponding to 1 Ah in 4000 h or almost 6 months. That is without the GPS unit mounted. So I decided it could be connected permanently to the battery. The self-discharge of the battery is probably around 2 mA, eight times as much.

So don't worry too much about it but for sure it's best to measure, especially with cheaper 12V/5V converters.

[DEFY]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Edit: I think what @adouglas is saying is that the usb adapter itself will draw power even if it is going through a cigarette lighter.

If you leave the cigarette lighter adapter plugged in then yes it will. The female cigarette connector allows for you to have the 12V battery line up front to plug into without drawing additional current. Any USB connector is specified for a 5v line which means that it will have a converter from 12v to 5v, this is a circuit which means it will continuously draw current and drain your battery. You need to either use the ignition power line for the usb only connector you mount or disconnect the cigarette-to-usb line from the female cigarette connector.

[snapshot]

I feel left out. I use a cordless solar-powered map.

Unless it's dark...

Ride on,

J~

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Yes. That is what I was thinking. Get something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...igarette+power

My GPS has a cigarette lighter charger also so I can just hook that into that.

Edit: I think what @adouglas is saying is that the usb adapter itself will draw power even if it is going through a cigarette lighter.

Yes. That would work... unplug at the cig lighter adapter and there is no power drain.

Downside: Now you have the bulk of the 12v plug, and your GPS cig lighter adapter as well. If you can manage all that, you're good to go.

The reason I did the USB cable is that the only thing up at the front of the bike is the end of the cable with a Lightning connector on it. Space is at a premium on my bike.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by snapshot

I feel left out. I use a cordless solar-powered map.

Unless it's dark...

Ride on,

J~

99+ percent of the time I use my brain. GPS only gets used when I really have no idea how to get to where I'm going. I spend my freakin' life dealing with technology... any excuse to get away from it is welcome.

[Hero Danny]

Perfect! Thanks for all your help guys!

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by Motofool

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Making_...%27switched%27

FYI, you can achieve the same thing without hacking up your junction box.

In the 8-pin harness with the larger wires, the upper left one is the one that feeds the ACC fuse (as well as FAN). The 500 uses the same j-box as the PreGen, and on the older harnesses, that input was fed from the switched brown wire. On the newer harnesses like mine, they use the always-hot white wire for it.



If you feed in switched power (brown) instead of constant power (white) there, that whole section of the j-box will be switched. My fan will run for a few seconds after I shut the bike off in the dead of summer, but I'm pretty sure it's not doing much, considering the coolant is no longer flowing. I'd much rather have a switched ACC circuit and my fan NOT able to run all the time, over that few seconds of questionable "extra cooling" a few times a year.

[InvisiBill]

On the USB power thing, adouglas is correct that all three of those adapters are just different shapes of the same thing. And yes, the voltage regulator circuit will always draw a little bit of power. But like rgx107 said, it's usually a tiny amount - like taking 6 months to draw ~10% of your battery. You wouldn't want to leave it on while it's stored for winter, but you're not going to come out to dead battery tomorrow morning.

If your gadgets can all be powered off USB, it's really handy to have a little USB plug right there. I too have one like the third picture, but mine came without the SAE plug. It's currently plugged into my ACC fuse's output (on the 500, there's nothing connected to it stock), but that's still connected to the always-hot white wire. Once I get it converted over to switched power, it won't be an issue at all.