12v into top box

ninjarich1971

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Ok so I’ve got a usb point wired directly to the battery for charging stuff up on trips etc. My problems are that obviously if you park up you have to remove whatever you are charging and it’s not mega practical when riding if I want to keep something charged.
So my thoughts are a bulkhead fitting into the top box and then I can just stick an extension lead from the socket to the top box which will unplug for removal. On the inside it just needs to be usb female.
Obviously it needs to be waterproof, but not necessarily usb going in.
Anyone done this or any ideas would be appreciated. Cheers
 
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Ok so I’ve got a usb point wired directly to the battery for charging stuff up on trips etc. My problems are that obviously if you park up you have to remove whatever you are charging and it’s not mega practical when riding if I want to keep something charged.
So my thoughts are a bulkhead fitting into the top box and then I can just stick an extension lead from the socket to the top box which will unplug for removal. On the inside it just needs to be usb female.
Obviously it needs to be waterproof, but not necessarily usb going in.
Anyone done this or any ideas would be appreciated. Cheers

Yep... have done this. I have the HEX EZcan wired in so have taken a feed from that which means that when the bike is off, no power drain. some pictures of the setup.
 

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That is exactly what I’m looking at, now if you don’t mind doing all the donkey work for me, what is the socket that you have used and where does one acquire such a device? Also I’m gathering that the inside is just straight twin poles. Thank you in advance.
 
Hi
All of the items were from
eBay/Amazon... vey cheap. Will try and find links for you and post again later in week. Basically it is a two way connector fixed through the box via a drilled hole and then waterproof connector on other end and the USB kit connected to that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi
All of the items were from
eBay/Amazon... vey cheap. Will try and find links for you and post again later in week. Basically it is a two way connector fixed through the box via a drilled hole and then waterproof connector on other end and the USB kit connected to that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think I’m getting too bogged down with keeping it usb, I’ve spent ages searching out electrical bulkhead sockets but I think the answer is to go from usb to a twin waterproof socket and then back to usb from the twin poles on the back. Can you recall whether yours are marine or aviation grade or are we being ott on a simple 12v socket
 
I think I’m getting too bogged down with keeping it usb, I’ve spent ages searching out electrical bulkhead sockets but I think the answer is to go from usb to a twin waterproof socket and then back to usb from the twin poles on the back. Can you recall whether yours are marine or aviation grade or are we being ott on a simple 12v socket

OK... so these are the items I used.... As I said, I have an EZcan plugged into the canbus so that powers the lead from under the seat to the connector on outside of box.

If you don't have this then a feed from the battery with inline fuse to a DiN connector and a lead from there would also work.

Inside I use a simple waterproof male connector and then the 4 port USB is connected to that. Drilled a whole through the box and attached the connector (with rubber cap). you need to be able to solder the outer cable and inner cable to the aviation connector but other than that it is an easy set up. Hope this helps and happy to answer any further questions. :beerjug: (ignore 2.5mm jack plug. that was for something else)
 

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Are you not overthinking the challenge.

External charging into tank bags and tankbags was all the rage a few years ago, when mobile phones and cameras really took off and bikermates decided that they struggled to keep things charged on the move. Then came along the now very cheap but pretty powerful battery packs, which will cope with charging two (sometimes more) devices quite comfortably. Buy a pack, charge it up and use with confidence, re-charging it when you need to. No heart searching over what to buy by way of plugs and sockets, no holes to drill or cut. Easy.

PS If you are determind to drill holes and fit something, one company is heads and shoulders over the others: Powerlet.

PPS Most cafe owners and the like won't mind if you plug a charger into a spare mains point whilst you chill (with like minds) over a coffee. Ask El Patron and kill two birds with one stone. Worried that someone will steal your phone? Don't.... or just buy a long USB lead, they really are very useful as the plug is very often never where you want it, even in some of the best hotels and first class airport lounges. Anker do some very good ones, trust me.
 
Very good point that Wapping has made. There are plenty of power packs on the market that could do the job. I suppose the up point is that you have 4 ports that can be used without ever thinking about running out of power for yourself and / or your mates.
 
Are you not overthinking the challenge.

External charging into tank bags and tankbags was all the rage a few years ago, when mobile phones and cameras really took off and bikermates decided that they struggled to keep things charged on the move. Then came along the now very cheap but pretty powerful battery packs, which will cope with charging two (sometimes more) devices quite comfortably. Buy a pack, charge it up and use with confidence, re-charging it when you need to. No heart searching over what to buy by way of plugs and sockets, no holes to drill or cut. Easy.

PS If you are determind to drill holes and fit something, one company is heads and shoulders over the others: Powerlet.

PPS Most cafe owners and the like won't mind if you plug a charger into a spare mains point whilst you chill (with like minds) over a coffee. Ask El Patron and kill two birds with one stone. Worried that someone will steal your phone? Don't.... or just buy a long USB lead, they really are very useful as the plug is very often never where you want it, even in some of the best hotels and first class airport lounges. Anker do some very good ones, trust me.

Yes all excellent points but when camping for ten days I just want to be able to charge battery pack so I can charge headset, torch,phone, iPod you know, all the shit we never used to need. I do have a solar battery pack too but that’s really just a backup. Just seems that whilst the bike is running it may as well be doing something other than lugging me around on it
 
OK... so these are the items I used.... As I said, I have an EZcan plugged into the canbus so that powers the lead from under the seat to the connector on outside of box.

If you don't have this then a feed from the battery with inline fuse to a DiN connector and a lead from there would also work.

Inside I use a simple waterproof male connector and then the 4 port USB is connected to that. Drilled a whole through the box and attached the connector (with rubber cap). you need to be able to solder the outer cable and inner cable to the aviation connector but other than that it is an easy set up. Hope this helps and happy to answer any further questions. :beerjug: (ignore 2.5mm jack plug. that was for something else)
Brilliant, thanks. The aviation plug is the one for me I think. Waterproof and screw on fittings will do just nicely thank you
 
Are you not overthinking the challenge.

External charging into tank bags and tankbags was all the rage a few years ago, when mobile phones and cameras really took off and bikermates decided that they struggled to keep things charged on the move. Then came along the now very cheap but pretty powerful battery packs, which will cope with charging two (sometimes more) devices quite comfortably. Buy a pack, charge it up and use with confidence, re-charging it when you need to. No heart searching over what to buy by way of plugs and sockets, no holes to drill or cut. Easy.

PS If you are determind to drill holes and fit something, one company is heads and shoulders over the others: Powerlet.

PPS Most cafe owners and the like won't mind if you plug a charger into a spare mains point whilst you chill (with like minds) over a coffee. Ask El Patron and kill two birds with one stone. Worried that someone will steal your phone? Don't.... or just buy a long USB lead, they really are very useful as the plug is very often never where you want it, even in some of the best hotels and first class airport lounges. Anker do some very good ones, trust me.
The last point about plugging in at cafes always makes me titter. When we go over to the tt it’s always a scrum to see how many phones you can get plugged into a single socket in the clubhouse at the camp site. I think that in this modern age most folks would happily carry on without food or drink but a flat phone aaaaagggghhhh
 
Mmmh not really, I’m after a bulkhead fitting so I can have an external weatherproof socket and an internal lead. I think flaming ts idea is a winner. Thanks for ideas though
 
Mmmh not really, I’m after a bulkhead fitting so I can have an external weatherproof socket and an internal lead. I think flaming ts idea is a winner. Thanks for ideas though

Just curious..... did you get to do this project ?
 
Hi, yes. I used your aviation plug and socket.
So I have a switched usb plug on the bike which I made some time ago, I made a male usb plug to the male aviation plug. Into the female socket which I put in the same place you did, mostly as it’s out of the way if you have a pillion. To the back of this I soldered another lead onto a male usb plug which is long enough to go anywhere in the top box. I then use a double ended female to give me both options. The only thing I discovered was that the socket sticks out into the box, not much but the wires are soldered onto pins on the back and although I’ve put heat shrink on them I was concerned about hitting the pins with heavy stuff and breaking them off. I don’t really think I will but it’s a possibility. All in all I think it was an excellent idea and has worked out to exactly what I wanted so thank you for all your advice, it was taken on board and used. :beerjug:
 
Sounds perfect.

I know what you mean regarding the inside being vulnerable. I found some pieces of thick foam and cut out a 'house' to go over the socket. Have a look on my YT channel... I did a short vid on the subject. https://youtu.be/aI1P2jrst_o

Ride safe...:beerjug:
 


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