Hi all, A few weeks ago I installed mounts for my Navigon Sat Nav unit & in-car CCTV on to my America LT. They are both powered from a dealer installed power socket under the tank feeding a dual USB socket under the seat. Individual USB cables then run to each device.. When I first clipped the camera into its holder, it immediately turned on & displayed a normal charging icon (but after about two hours of riding the camera suddenly displayed a "low battery" warning & then it shut off. I checked all the connections but it would not stay on for more than a minute or two before shutting down so I unplugged it and put it in my saddle bag. When I got home I plugged it into the holder in my car & it worked perfectly (albeit that the charging light stayed on for quite a while). Last week I took a ride down to the South coast. Before I set off I coupled up the Navigon sat nav and it displayed the normal "charging" icon on screen when the bike was idling, however, after about an hour or so of cruising along, the screen suddenly displayed a "low battery" warning and then the sat nav shut off. I use both these devices regularly in my car and they have worked faultlessly on extended journeys (London to Moscow) without any "low battery" problem in the past so I've come to the conclusion that it may be something to do with the way the power to the USB cables is being regulated by the bike's electronics at lower revs. (2-3000rpm cruising speed). Has anyone else had this problem when externally powering a sat-nav or camera (or both) or is it possible I have some underlying defect in the bike's charging system ? Any help would be much appreciated..
What is the ampage Of the USB socket on your bike ? It might not be producing enough to charge the device.
I had a similar problem. The cause was where the USB cable joined. It kept coming apart even though it looked like it was connected. My solution was to put a wire round the end of each cable and then twist it so it tightened each end of the USB together. It's been fine since.
I have heard of USB ports not giving enough to both work and charge a device at the same time, ie if you are using your mobile as a sat nav, a dual usb adapter generally has a 1 amp and a 2 amp socket and Ive heard the 1 amp isnt enough to power and charge a mobile.
Have to say, I didn't give that any thought Crispey but I've just researched the Camera & the Sat-nav and they both require a 5volt 1 amp min power supply, so 2 amp min... I've just discovered that the dual USB plug I purchased is rated at 5 volt 2.1 amp Max !! I have a mobile power-pack that I know will power my CCTV camera for 16 hours so I'm going to rewire the camera to run off the power pack & just run the sat nav from the bike to see if that cures the problem...
I think your right steve, I discovered that problem myself after a lot of head scratching. Why would you want a 12v takeoff on any vehicle to produce 1amp? When a USB is normally used at home it's only to generally charge things but when on a vehicle it's to use the thing so all the 12v take offs should be 2amp in my opinion.
