Hi gents, trying to wire up my Garmin Montana, through the side light feed so it becomes live through the ignition. Problem is I can't manage to get the sat nav to power up despite having power in the cradle. Is it a cambus system, although I don't understand that system, am I overloading those little wires ? If I power straight from the battery it works fine. Sorry for sounding a bit thick, but I'm not a sparks, and dont really understand electrics. If someone could tell me what im doing wrong, or a better way of wireing it I'd be really grateful. Thanks in advance.
Wiring sat nav
- Thread starter Wardy
- Start date
Mine is wired direct from the battery - there is an on/off button on the unit, how hard is it to press one extra tit? I press the on button before I go to put on helmet and gloves, then by the time I have done that, the unit has lit up and found the satellites. No splicing, no extra terminals, just wire straight onto the battery terminals. Another option would be to wire it to the plug socket under the seat. 
AberdeenAngus
Registered user
Easy to forget though. Remember the cradle is live and using power even when the unit is removed. Not a lot but enough to cause a problem if the bike is laid up for a time.Mine is wired direct from the battery - there is an on/off button on the unit, how hard is it to press one extra tit? I press the on button before I go to put on helmet and gloves, then by the time I have done that, the unit has lit up and found the satellites.
AberdeenAngus
Registered user
Is the side light coming on? Does it stay on when you clip the satnav in?
If not then you're overloading the circuit and the Canbus system is shutting it down.
If the light is on then its something to do with the cradle.
Wolfgang
Registered user
Surely the live cradle is only sapping power when something is connected to it?
I have found with doing it via the battery that the terminals go a nice green colour and start to play up, just like mine have started to do now. I will have to get someone who knows what they are doing to splice the cable into the loom.
Mine is direct to the battery. As above, it will try and charge the device if it is left in the cradle. I spray grease on the battery terminals to prevent corrosion etc.
I have previously wired one to the switched live feed, but no discernable benefit to me for the hassle involved so not bothered on subsequent bikes.
I have previously wired one to the switched live feed, but no discernable benefit to me for the hassle involved so not bothered on subsequent bikes.
Yep side light stays on, and I have power to the cradle. Think might just come off battery, in line fuse, and maybe switch on handle bars, jobs a goodun. Thanks for all responding guys. Just on another note, is it a canbus system?
Does your bike not have an spare aux power supply near the fork yokes a la R1200/1250GS's?
How can you forget? The TV screen is right in front of you... if it is blank, one needs to press the tit to liven it up. If it is bright and showing the latest episode of 'neighbours', you need to press the tit to turn it off. How the hell can you forget?
I didn't know an empty cradle was still creating a circuit though, what with all the pins being disconnected and so on and so forth!
No, it's not Canbus. I have mine wired direct to the side light wire. Works just fine. If I switch off, or remove from the cradle, the Garmin tells me it's lost external power ... opt to keep on its own battery, or switch off!
Careful, with reverse wiring, will your sat nav will now tell you where you have been, rather than where you're going?
Glad it is sorted.
Any pictures of wiring into side light for those of us who need help with electrickery?
Similar threads
