Wiring in a 12v lighter socket/Charging a GPS

[Mjolnir]

I was planning on mounting a gps on my bike. I have the mount, the GPS and the bike but no way of charging it at the moment.

I have a charger that plugs into the car cigarette lighter socket (12v socket i believe) and the charger cable has the extra gubbins on the plug that I believe converts the charge to 5v so that it doesn't fry the little tomtom.

I though that adding a cigarette socket to the bike would be the most sensible way of doing things. A bit of searching came up with a couple of thread on the subject of attaching things to the battey. This one has some good information and I think the diagram might be the stuff i'm after.

Heres the diagram:
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v142/Gonzo2053/jopeg.jpg

and heres the picture of it plugged in:
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v142/Gonzo2053/bandit07012Medium1.jpg
They belong to Jose from the original thread. I hope it's ok that i borrowed them.

I just wanted to check that if I head off to maplin in the morning and buy wire, fuses, switches and cigarette plugs that this will work fine for charging the tomtom. Does the battery normally kick out 12V and will it work.

Is this the best method for attaching the GPS in the first place?

Any help is appreciated. As you can see I haven't got a clue about electrics and don't want to fry anything

[Itchy]

you must have about 20 cable ties on that! (and yes this is how I wired up mine and it works except mine doesn't have a switch and has a relay attached to the rear bulb so it is only on when the bike lights are on ie when the bike is on.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Mjolnir]

Cheers Itchy. if you say thats the way to go then that's good enough for me.

I'll head off to maplin in the morning and see if I can pick up the bits. I'll probably stick to the switch idea and turn the plug on manually as I don't feel up to tinkering with the lights yet.

The pics in my original post aren't my bike. My underseat area is nowhere near that neat and I bet when i'm done tomorrow it will be a right state.

I was made up to find a diagram that I could understand. I have panic attacks thinking about the proper wiring diagrams in the Haynes manual

Is there anything else that I need or will that be fine?

[Itchy]

Not really , other than an LED or some sort of warning system to alert you that it is still on , hence you don't wake up with a killed battery , though if you disconnect the thing you are charging it ought NOT to suck up any juice.

Oh and how are you attaching it all together ? solder ? , if so get some shrink tube to make the connections water proof, and in my experience M5 solder tags to connect to the battery aren't big enough by a tiny amount.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Mjolnir]

Right then. Shrink Tube is on the list as well.

Hopefully it won't be too affected by the weather. The whole thing should live under the seat and I will try to have the charger cable follow the loom out of the front and up to the GPS mount.

The M5 rings are soldered to the end of the wire and then bolted onto the battery right? If they don't quite fit whats the alternative? Maplin sell M9's too. Are they too big?

Thanks for your help

[kawakid]

I wouldn't use a switch i'd use a relay.

If you need help with this, let me know.
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I've a twin and a 4.

[calum17]

[map]

For using a relay with GPS then this thread may be worth a read. It has diagrams as well

HTH
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[Mjolnir]

Thanks for the help everyone.

I went and bought all of the bits i'll be needing this morning and have taken a few pictures of the underseat area to see where i'll want to route all of the wires. I'm going to use a switch at first although having thought about it I understand the impracticalities of using one over a relay, especially where luggage is involved, but I can always alter it later if i'm feeling a bit braver.

At the moment i'm just trying to figure out where to put everything and wondering if i'll need to take the tank off to route the cableing along with the rest of the loom. That's probably the best idea I suppose because i'll be able to cable tie everything along the way to keep it neat.

I'll take pictures along the way and let you know if I manage it or set fire to everything.

Any more suggestions are very welcome though.

[Sparks!]

Sorry to hi-jack a bit but it is on topic afterall and I didn't see the point of yet another 12v socket thread... I'm about to wire 2 sockerts into my VTR .. was just wondering what people tend to do with regard to charging phones? I am going to wire one socket on a relay for the GPS at the front of the bike, and then a second socket under the seat to charge phone/ipod/camera/beer fridge lol ... my thinking is that charging stuff would be done when parked up, so was looking to put this second socket on a inline fuse direct from battery.

wouldnt thought charging a phone would drain the battery too much? or do people charge stuff whilst riding was tempted to put a voltmeter on as well to keep an eye on the battery level...

I know how to wire everything, just curious as to whats the most practical way of doing the phone charging...
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Itchy]

[Finglonga]

Charge my phone while driving the car with no problems, the charger should compensate for voltage and not fry whatever its connected to.

Itchy gotta disagree there, you should fuse anything that comes directly from the battery(and as close to battery as possible) as a short will result in a fire if there is no fuse to blow . . . Seen it happen, not good.
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Andy Sez....
F.Y.Y.F.F.

[Itchy]

[Sparks!]

Itchy the fuse in accessory leads are to protect the accessory lead itself, not the wiring on the bike side.... you should still fuse the wiring on the bike itself.

If there's a problem with the circuit when nothing is plugged in then it could still fry... inline fuse = problem solved.

I'm not worried about charging whilst on the move as such, the phone wont fry or anything.. but the thing is, the VTR boot space is pathetic and the seat is a pain to get on and off so would rather charge the phone up when parked, just wanted to make sure it's not going to drain the battery too quickly.
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Itchy]

[Mjolnir]

I wasn't planning on putting this together just yet but it's been a fairly quiet sunday so I thought i'd get the soldering iron out.

I connected everything up as per the original diagram (no relay yet... i'm not quite up to it) and put in a fuse, manual rocker switch and the socket itself. I got hold of some ring connectors large enough to screw down onto the battery and connected it all up.

I used shrink wrap on every connector and probably went overboard with the electrical tape afterwards.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/Pluggedin800x600.jpg

Amazingly enough, It works
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/working800x600.jpg
Thanks for all the help from everyone and i'll no doubt be in need of more help when I decide that a relay working off the back lights would be a far better idea than the manual rocker switch

I just need to cable tie it all together so that it's neat and tidy now.