GPS wiring

[jmerlino]

Can I just wire my GPS unit (Garmin GPS V) directly to my R100's battery, or do I have to do something else first? On my F bike I used to run it off the accessory outlet, but the placement of the outlet on this bike makes that impractical. Plus if I could wire it in directly, it would just be neater.

The manual says it wants 10-32 volts, which makes it seem like wiring it to the battery should work fine.

If this is the case, is there a usual, or "normal" place to tie it into the bike's electrical system?

[BradfordBenn]

Yes, it should work fine wired to the battery. Actually I know quite a few people who have it wired that way. I would recommend an inline fuse just in case. I am always leery of connecting something to the battery without a fuse or disconnect.

Also you may want to look at a switched source so that when you turn off your bike, the GPS turns off so that it does not accidentally drain your battery when you forget to turn it off.

[PGlaves]

Battery voltage is perfect for the unit. You have to decide whether you want switched or unswitched power. I hate mine turning off when I kill the bike. Too much button punching when I go to leave, and it loses a bit of mileage accuracy and a lot of time accuracy if it goes off every time you stop to gas up.

I've got so much stuff on my K75 that I used an auxilliary fuse box with 6 added fuses, but on most bikes I just run a fused 12v lead to the battery +12 and find a convenient frame ground.

Paul Glaves

[jmerlino]

Sounds good. Thanks, guys. :thumb

[Gizmo]

I'll throw my hat into the wired directly to the battery ring. The fuse addition is a good idea and the units draw so little power that draining your battery is not a concern.

[flash412]

Lots of folks just tap into the running light circuit, which is already fused.

[jmerlino]

Mission accomplished. Thanks everyone. I went straight to the battery with a 1.5 amp fuse spliced into the positive line.

[pmdave]

Over the years I had added several extra wires directly to the battery on my R100, for charging, etc. It was getting a little messy.

With an upgrade to the 400W Omega system, I also upgraded the "hot battery" bus by installing a Centech AP-1 fuse panel under the side cover, mounted to a stainless steel bracket. I have one extra large hot wire directly to the panel input, then several different circuits coming out of the fused connections. It's a nice little fuse panel, and now there's only one additional wire connected to the battery terminal, so it's all neat and tidy.

One circuit is used for a hot wire to the dual horn relays. Another is for a Molex plug for charger input. Another is for a vest connection. Another for the GPS. You can connect 8 different "hot" circuits to the board, through the 5 fuses, which are standard automotive.

All the aux circuits are "hot" all the time, so the GPS stays on whenever plugged in. Mine just indicates "charge complete" when turned off with the GPS switch. And, since I always plug in the charger (I prefer the Battery Doc) when the bikes are parked, the small drain from the GPS and the clock are of no consequence.

Incidently, I have found that mounting the GPS on a fabric tank bag is much kinder on the GPS than mounting it to the handlebars. There is always a buzz through the solid parts, and that abrades the mounts, shakes the GPS, etc. After some experiments, I settled on a piece of dark plexiglass screwed to the top of the bag (about 6 x 10 in. ) with T nuts inside the fabric at the front of the mapcase flap. A ball is mounted in the middle of the plexi, to which a short RAM clamp can be attached. The RAM clamp allows tilting the GPS to the desired angle, and the plexi base keeps it from flopping around. That also means the GPS goes with the tank bag if you don't want to leave it exposed on the bike while you're sucking up a latte at Starbucks. The clear mapcase still fits under the GPS base.

pmdave

[jmerlino]

That's a good idea. I think I'm gonna stick with leaving it mounted to the bars for the time being, because I don't have a tankbag, but if/when I do get a tank bag, I'll take a look at your suggestion.

[JohnnyMoto68]

...I also upgraded the "hot battery" bus by installing a Centech AP-1 fuse panel under the side cover, mounted to a stainless steel bracket. I have one extra large hot wire directly to the panel input, then several different circuits coming out of the fused connections. It's a nice little fuse panel, and now there's only one additional wire connected to the battery terminal, so it's all neat and tidy.

Fantastic - thanks for this! I'm installing my StreetPilot 2730 to my 02 K1200RS. Initially I'm going to go straight to the battery since I have the Garmin bike kit with the fuse already in-line...but this feels like a much cleaner approach and preps for the future. I'll be wiring my GPS into one of the aux inputs. Many thanks!

[sumran]

Over the years I had added several extra wires directly to the battery on my R100, for charging, etc. It was getting a little messy.

With an upgrade to the 400W Omega system, I also upgraded the "hot battery" bus by installing a Centech AP-1 fuse panel under the side cover, mounted to a stainless steel bracket. I have one extra large hot wire directly to the panel input, then several different circuits coming out of the fused connections. It's a nice little fuse panel, and now there's only one additional wire connected to the battery terminal, so it's all neat and tidy.

One circuit is used for a hot wire to the dual horn relays. Another is for a Molex plug for charger input. Another is for a vest connection. Another for the GPS. You can connect 8 different "hot" circuits to the board, through the 5 fuses, which are standard automotive.

All the aux circuits are "hot" all the time, so the GPS stays on whenever plugged in. Mine just indicates "charge complete" when turned off with the GPS switch. And, since I always plug in the charger (I prefer the Battery Doc) when the bikes are parked, the small drain from the GPS and the clock are of no consequence.

Incidently, I have found that mounting the GPS on a fabric tank bag is much kinder on the GPS than mounting it to the handlebars. There is always a buzz through the solid parts, and that abrades the mounts, shakes the GPS, etc. After some experiments, I settled on a piece of dark plexiglass screwed to the top of the bag (about 6 x 10 in. ) with T nuts inside the fabric at the front of the mapcase flap. A ball is mounted in the middle of the plexi, to which a short RAM clamp can be attached. The RAM clamp allows tilting the GPS to the desired angle, and the plexi base keeps it from flopping around. That also means the GPS goes with the tank bag if you don't want to leave it exposed on the bike while you're sucking up a latte at Starbucks. The clear mapcase still fits under the GPS base.

pmdave

If you could post some pictures of the install it would be very helpful. Thanks for the info.

[wuli959]

If you could post some pictures of the install it would be very helpful. Thanks for the info.

You might note that the original thread is over three years old.
If you don't get a direct response to your request you might just do a search on "Centech".
You'll probably pull a number of examples.