Garmin Power Supply fuse?

[ncoutts]

I recently bought a Garmin Coil Cord PPC-001 from Powerlet (here)

This takes power for the StreetPilot 111 from my tankbag which is wired into the acc socket on the GS.

When it arrived without a fuse I queried this and got this reply:

Thanks for the inquiry and the recent purchase.
I can understand your concern but assure you that this in no way jeopardizes or opens the door to possible problems down the road.
The fused cigarette plug that comes with the unit originally is not needed.
The actual outlet source you have on your vehicle is fused and the only reason that manufacturers put the inline fusing is to protect the power supply wiring from burning up. Their wiring is rated at a lower amp draw than what Powerlet supplies.
Our wires are all rated for 16 amps and since your system only draws what it needs, you can rest assured that you will be without problems.
We've sold thousands of these and NEVER have had a problem. Our components are specifically engineered for the application.
There is no intent to cheapen the item by not offering an in line fusing system. It is not needed and we feel that our customers should get what they pay for and not pay for incidental extras that may cause problems down the road.
Don't be disappointed, be happy and keep riding and enjoy your new Garmin.
Ride Safe and thanks again.............

Ought I to be reassured? In other threads around here I have read that a 0.5 amp in line fuse ought to be put in place.

Any advice welcomed. Norman

 

[Greg Masters]

What they say is about right.

It's good practice to have an appropriately rated fuse in the direct line to the GPS, but the power socket on the bike is fused just as they say. I think that it has an 8 amp fuse which is rather heavier than the GPS would need.

However, if the GPS unit itself were to draw enough jiuce to blow that fuse, the GPS would have to have such a catastrophic fault that you'd probably be throwing it out anyway. But they are, electrically, very reliable units so I wouldn't worry.

the biggest risk would be wires fraying onto the bike's metal parts. If that happened, the fuse would blow and, as they suggest, no further damage to the wiring is likely to take place.

Finally, if you did put a fuse in, it could be a source of unreliability through dirt, corrosion physical breakage etc.

It'd live with what you've got.

Greg

 

[ncoutts]

Greg, thanks. Very reassuring.

In passing I can't remember how I learned anything before I found UKGSEEER. Norman

 

[BTBR]

What they say is about right.

It's good practice to have an appropriately rated fuse in the direct line to the GPS, but the power socket on the bike is fused just as they say. I think that it has an 8 amp fuse which is rather heavier than the GPS would need.

However, if the GPS unit itself were to draw enough jiuce to blow that fuse, the GPS would have to have such a catastrophic fault that you'd probably be throwing it out anyway. But they are, electrically, very reliable units so I wouldn't worry.

the biggest risk would be wires fraying onto the bike's metal parts. If that happened, the fuse would blow and, as they suggest, no further damage to the wiring is likely to take place.

Finally, if you did put a fuse in, it could be a source of unreliability through dirt, corrosion physical breakage etc.

It'd live with what you've got.

Greg

Greg

UR a truly a font of all knowledge

BTBR

 

[Greg Masters]

UR a truly a font of all knowledge

...and a purveyor of much bollox!



Greg

 

[PanEuropean]

Norman:

An interesting question. Thanks very much for posting Powerlet's response. Considering that the Garmin AC power adapters don't have fuses in them, I suppose what Powerlet says makes a lot of sense - the fuse is most likely in the Garmin DC adapter just to protect the wires in the cable, rather than to protect the GPSR itself.

I never thought about it from that perspective before - the idea of the fuse protecting the cable, as opposed to what is connected to the far end of the cable.

PanEuropean

 

[BTBR]

...and a purveyor of much bollox!



Greg

I was never a man to argue...........................

BTBR