Is there any reason not to power a sat nav (Garmin LM350) from one of the power outlets using a female USB adapter and a standards, if long, USB cable connected into the rear of the unit? Saves a lot of soldering/faffing about removing panels because the thicker USB cable is easier to thread into the correct position.
True. But the USB lead solution is still simpler because there's no soldering involved. Do you know of any reason it cannot be employed?
I'm not clever enough to answer that, mate. The only issue i can see worth checking is the voltage coming from the bike feed is correct for the satnav. You can buy Optimate USB connectors that presumably give the same voltage as any computer USB connection.
If you plan on doing that, buy a Powerlet lead or similar just to be sure. I powered my Duc sat nav that way but as Duke says, it's easy enough to hard wire it as I have just done with my new Zumo.
Thinking of new garmin 590lm, would straight to the battery be the best option and if so would it have a constant drain on power even when not used?
I have a 590LM that I connect via a long lead and a USB adapter to the MTS Hella power outlets. That steps the power down from 12V and means you can disconnect easily when not in use.
I have a 2013 mt and have fitted a garmin 390 sat nav. I am not tech minded, but wanted to wire it to the white plug on the left side below the tank. I checked the voltage coming from the plug and it was 5V. But the lead supplied has a regulator attached which drops the voltage down to 5v so it would not power up the unit. I have temporally wired it straight to the battery. Should I have cut out the voltage regulator on the garmin lead supplied and attached it to the white plug, or is there an other plug (12V) that I can wire it to leaving the regulator in tact . I want to be able to have the unit powered up only when the ignition is on. Also does anyone know if it drains the battery if the lead is permanently connected to the battery with the unit removed ?
This hard to understand. The white plug on the left side below the tank is supposed to be a 12 volt feed, switched to come on only with the ignition on. Yet you say your is 5 volts. Has there been some strange modification to your electrics, perhaps by a previous owner?
The sat nav works on 5V, that's why there is an inline rectifier on the lead to reduce it from 12 to 5. I think if you buy the garmin with the Ducati badge on it , it might not come with a rectifier on the lead . (guessing here)
Are you sure there's a voltage regulator in the lead, I assumed that the black plastic block where all the cables meet is simply a method of joining the separate leads into the one that goes to the mounting bracket, there's no electronics in there. I've cut mine out and wired straight to the Sat Nav connector and it works fine, as it does when you use the car mounting bracket.
My 2010 multi is 12v down on that left side. To that, I've hooked up a 12>5 converter for my iPhone and action cam. Are you the first owner? Maybe a previous owner fit a converter further back in the wiring and you just aren't seeing it.
Oops, just checking, but I checked the voltage at the white plug. Should the connection be to the adjacent black plug
No, it's the tiny two-pin white plug under the cover on the left side of the tank. As standard it is a 12 volt supply. This connects directly to a Garmin Zumo (motorbike type) mount and works fine. If you are using a Garmin Nuvi (car type with a USB feed) it needs to be stepped down to 5 volts USB. As indicated before, it is hard to understand how the tiny white plug can possibly have a 5 volt supply, unless somebody has made a very strange and unusual modification to your wiring. [Edit: Or unless you do not have the electronic fuel filler cap fitted and you are looking at the connector for that, which is nearby.]
Thanks for that. I do not have the electric fuel cap fitted, and I am sure that that is the plug I have been testing.
The connector for the electric fuel cap is a whitish 2 pin connector, rather larger than the satnav connector and should be somewhere near the handsfree unit behind the steering head. The connector on mine is in front of the airbox at the right hand side. It should only have power for around 1 minute after ignition off and I doubt if it's 5V. The only 5V circuits are likely to be between the ECU, the TPS/APS units and various sensors.
