Garmin 276C will not run off of the BMW power socket

[North]

My garmin 276C will not run off of the BMW power socket. It does run if I connect the wires directly to the battery.

Is there a reason for this?

I can run my heated vest off the power socket. When I unplug the vest and plug in the GPS, it does not run off the bike. I switched the GPS plug with the vest plug and still no power from the bike to the GPS.

Is it okay just to wire the GPS directly to the Battery? (Although I would rather use the power socket.)


Thanks

 

[Mouse]

If you wire direct to the battery, add an inline fuse just to be safe.

I can't think of a reason why the GPS won't run from the socket though - I'd suspect a fault in the power lead, although I assume you were using the same lead (minus plug) to connect to the battery?

 

[North]

If you wire direct to the battery, add an inline fuse just to be safe.

I can't think of a reason why the GPS won't run from the socket though - I'd suspect a fault in the power lead, although I assume you were using the same lead (minus plug) to connect to the battery?

Yes the same lead, it does not make sense.

There already is an inline fuse.

The only thing I could think was, that the GPS could draw enough power, but the vest must draw more than a GPS.

Thanks

 

[Mouse]

Alternative theory - it's believed by some (myself included) that there's a bug in the control software that runs the auxiliary power socket. On my bike the power socket seems to cut out intermittently, whether running a GPS or heated vest. It may be triggered by the battery voltage being a tad low, so try charging your battery overnight.

That's really clutching at straws though.

 

[birdseye]

Alternative theory - it's believed by some (myself included) that there's a bug in the control software that runs the auxiliary power socket. On my bike the power socket seems to cut out intermittently, whether running a GPS or heated vest. It may be triggered by the battery voltage being a tad low, so try charging your battery overnight.

That's really clutching at straws though.

Has to be something like the socket cutting out or very low voltage.. I'm assuming that you start the bike, let it go through its startup checks and then plug the garmin into the socket ie when everything is powered up.

Do you see any sign of life in the GPS at all? Or does it power up and then shut down?

 

[Mouse]

The symptoms I see are:

Turn bike on, let it do the start up stuff. Start engine, turn on GPS - no problems. About a minute later the GPS turns off again. Have to reset bike (ie turn off ignition) to get the aux power back. Same applies to using a heated vest, and I've reproduced it with a 10W bulb connected to the aux socket.

My theory is that a voltage drop caused by starting the bike confuses the control circuit somehow. The good news is that this problem has been happening a lot less since I replaced my battery with a Hawker. The OE battery had got rather weak after about 18 months.

 

[North]

The GPS just runs off its own battery, when I connect to the bike battery, it runs off the bike.
I metered the female power socket plug and it has the same voltage as the battery, 12 volts.

 

[Nate]

Here is a different theory. Although I don't have a GPS so this may be the wrong tree i am barking up.

I have heard that the Aux socket powers down after a certain time if there is no power being drawn from it.

Therefore, must have some sort of sensing device (i.e. comparator or transistor or something).

So, heated jacket draws a good few amps, not a problem, sensor recognises this and continues providing power supply.

GPS is probably minimal loading (or even nothing if GPS Battery is present), therefore no load seen, therefore aux socket powers down.

thats my theory. please tell me if i am wrong.

Nate

 

[John Armstrong]

My 2610 had no problem from the front socket.

 

[birdseye]

The GPS just runs off its own battery, when I connect to the bike battery, it runs off the bike.
I metered the female power socket plug and it has the same voltage as the battery, 12 volts.

I'm not familiar with the 276 but I have several other garmins and I guess they will allwok similarly. So what should happen is that the 276 when plugged into the accessory socket senses the voltage and switches over from internal power to external. So its not sensing this power either because the socket has shut off or because there is a fault in the plug itself.

You've tried taking the plug off and connecting ther gps to the battery. Have you done it the other way round - connected the plug to the socket and then measured the voltage from the plug? Could be something as simple as the central electrode of the plug not touching the corresponding bit in the socket.

 

[shedracer]

North, can I make a suggestion. If you haven't already done so, try connecting the 276c straight to the bikes battery using an in-line fuse. If it works OK like this, it must be down to the power socket, which means you need your local dealer to sort out through a warranty claim.

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

Don't forget about the GPS power supply in the socket beside the frame number plate.
Matching plug hard to get but by soldering prongs off small safety pin onto the wiretails and poking into socket, you get power on / off with ignition.
Use the socket blanking cover to waterproof the job.
Deadly or what?

 

[North]

I now have the GPS connected via an inline fuse to the battery. It now runs off the bike. The GPS shows it is running from an outside source.

The male plug which I used on the GPS, works just fine on my heated vest. Both power sockets run the heated vest, but they will not run the GPS.

So, I have the GPS running of the Bike, but I just don't like having to connect it directly to the battery.

In summary:

The GPS power cable is okay, because it works off the battery.

The male plug is okay, beacuse I tried using it on the Vest and it powers the Heated Vest.

Both female power sockets run the Heated Vest.

But, the GPS will not off the either of the power sockets.