Hooking up TomTom to battery on motorcycle

[emsyff]

Hey all,I have a Tomtom ONE 3rd Edition mounted on my bike,but the battery doesn't last long enough for my weekend rides.Can anyone point me in the right direction of how to go about hooking it to my bikes battery without giving it too much voltage?

 

[1XL-on-XR650L]

I purchased a car (cigarette lighter) charger, and modified the plug to bypass the cigarette lighter contacts with 18 gauge wire (soldered directly to the PC board). I then potted the whole thing into a mold (to make it water proof) that had threaded lugs inserted for mounting. The whole thing then was mounted under my seat and the connector end (that plugs into the Tomtom) is routed to the mount on the handle bars (and capped when not in use). It works great!
DO NOT wire your Tomtom up directly to your motorcycle power source! 12 volts will fry it for sure! There is a fair amount of electronic regulation going on in the background to conform to the USB power standards. The car charger takes care of all of those issues.

 

[emsyff]

I'm lost...Is there an adapter for sale anywhere?I'm not soldering ....unless I wanna break my bike.

 

[Thom]

Here is what I'd do...

go buy an add-a-fuse (get the correct size for your fuses)

http://www.amazon.com/Littelfuse-FHA200BP-Fuse-Add-Circuit/dp/B0002BGELQ

That'll get you power.

purchase a Cigarette lighter adapter for your TomTom (ebay)

Then go get a cigarette lighter socket.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=265-274

wire the socket to the bike somewhere (under the seat, behind the pastic etc. Wire the positive lead into the add-a-fuse adapter and ground the other lead.

I'd personally (and when I did mine) wire the add-a-fuse into a "switched" fuse so leaving the unit on the bike (not that I ever do) would not kill the battery.

Plug the TomTom cigarette lighter adapter into the socket, power your TomTom and ride off into the unknown guided by your trusty digital map...

 

[emsyff]

Hmm..I'm going to give this a try.I take it there should be an empty fuse slot somewhere on the bike?Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[emsyff]

Which of these two add-a-fuses is the one I need?Looks like I can get both parts from the same site.

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage...a+fuse&search_type=main&WebPage_ID=3&x=23&y=8

 

[TomB2]

I just hooked my TomTom ONE to my HD Heritage. If you have a battery tender already on your bike then it's simple to just get this kit. It icludes a couple of other useful SAE connectors as well, and great customer service, I might add. I used a non-coiled Radio Shack universal (Non-Coiled) charger. Works great.

 

[a720user]

I second TomB2's approach. I like the power adapter powered when the bike is off. On trips I use it to charge my cell phone when I'm parked. Most batt tenders come with a cig lighter adapter, you can just plug in there as well. These things draw so little power, there is no need to worry about your gps killing your power, I've left mine plugged up for days with little voltage drop.

 

[dag]

Hmm..I'm going to give this a try.I take it there should be an empty fuse slot somewhere on the bike?Thanks for the help everyone!

With that adapter you pull an existing fuse and insert it in the adapter after plugging the adapter into that fuse slot. Your TT 3rd should have come with a car charger. I simply mounted a 12v accy power jack under one side cover, it already had leads on it, just had to add a fuse and then connected that right to the battery. To get a pair of those, buy a two-one adapter that uses wires.

 

[Thom]

Which of these two add-a-fuses is the one I need?Looks like I can get both parts from the same site.

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage...a+fuse&search_type=main&WebPage_ID=3&x=23&y=8

It depends on the size of the fuses on your bike. One is made for the standard size "blade" fuses and the other is made for the mini blade fuses.

 

[tat2]

This is what you want. Simple & easy. Only connections to bike are at the batt. terminals. & one spliced into the lic plate light to switch the relay on/off.
http://www.canyonchasers.net/shop/generic/relay.php

Wire up a cig adapter to the above distribution block & plug in the car charger unit.

Also allows you to hook up other devices (heated grips/vests) as well.

 

[emsyff]

Thanks for the suggestions everybody.I'm ordering the parts tonight to give this a try.I'm going with Thoms' method since I don't have a battery tender and don't understand some of the other ideas to be honest.Here's the grocerie list:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=071-585
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=265-274
and just in case I need it:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-050

I already have the cigarette lighter adapter that came with the GPS so I should be good.

2 more questions(sorry)..How do I ground the negative lead?

Wire the positive lead into the add-a-fuse adapter and ground the other lead.

And when the GPS is not connected what would you recommend to use to keep the exposed charger wire free from moisture?

 

[crawforj]

Now mt PC will not see my TOM TOM One

Ok I bought a new power addapter on e-bay, used a lighter socket wired to my aux power source. Works great on the bike.

However now when i try to connect my TOM TOM One to my PC the green LED lights but i have to slowly start to remove my USB cable from my TOM TOM till a good connection is made. I just received a RMA from TOM TOM for repair. Has anyone else had a simular problem?

 

[guitrman1001]

The cable you need

http://www.mountguys.com/product_p/gusb-5v-b-tomtom.htm

This is what you need!!

Guitrman

 

[Dangermouse]

In a similar vein, I want to run and power my ONE in my '65 VW Beetle, which is 6V. If I were to wire up the above mentioned cord to my 6V electrical system, will it provide my TomTom with what it needs to run and charge?

- DM

 

[jollis]

I went to Meijers and bought a cig adaptor that plugs into a 2 prong trailer plug and going to use a regular Tomtom car charger plugged into that. My Harley has a 2 prong battery charge connector from the factory.

 

[tightwad]

I use (and sell) Powerlet parts. This is the easiest/cleanest option for a motorycle. The Powerlet plug is a smaller size that a regular Automotive Cig Cable, thus is fits cleaner on motorcycles.

I have mine wired into a fuse panel I added in, which is relayed from a keyed source so it only works when the bike is on. Naturally it is fuse. I can run anything I need to from the socket, phone, camera, GPS, tire Inflater, etc.

Connections just need to be made at Battery Positive, Negative and License Plate or Tail Light wire.

PM me if you need something for your bike.

 

[mikeb53]

Hey all,I have a Tomtom ONE 3rd Edition mounted on my bike,but the battery doesn't last long enough for my weekend rides.Can anyone point me in the right direction of how to go about hooking it to my bikes battery without giving it too much voltage?

If you have a battery tender cable on the bike, take a look at what they guys offer.

Been using one since March on my bike, ATV and riding mower with no problems at all.

www.americancrossroaders.com

 

[dhn]

Are you affiliated with the company in any way OTHER than just a customer?

 

[mikeb53]

Are you affiliated with the company in any way OTHER than just a customer?

Nope just thought I would pass the information along.