Interesting tidbit about hardwiring Garmin Nuvi

[OldBoldPilot]

In an earlier thread I mentioned that I intended to use a Nuvi 765T on my Harley, and someone said they had tried it but found the screen hard to read. I may have found out why.

 

Ordinarily, the 765 (and many other Nuvis) get their power from a car mount, and from a cigarette-lighter plug that fits into that mount -- not into the Nuvi itself.

 

All the 3rd-party hardwire "kits" I found online plug into the Nuvi's mini-USB plug. However, the mini-USB plug doesn't supply the same amount of voltage as either the internal battery or the auto mount's power receptacle. So if, say, the Nuvi is running on its internal battery and you plug in any mini-USB power source, whether a 12v wall charger, the regular USB cord or a hard-wired power source, the screen will dim enough to make it pretty much useless on a motorcycle.

 

There is a solution. You need to detach the cradle from the auto mount and leave it attached to the Nuvi. RAM sells a cradle for less than $10 that attaches to a RAM mount and is deep enough to accommodate the Nuvi with the cradle attached to the back. Then you need to hook up a cigarette-lighter receptacle to your bike's battery, and use the supplied auto power cord.

 

In my case, I attached a cigarette-lighter plug to one end of a 3-foot cord, and an SAE plug to the other end. The SAE plug plugs into the SAE "pigtail" under the seat that I use for the battery tender when the bike's in the garage; the cord runs under the tank up to the handlebars, where I zip-tied the lighter plug to the handlebars behind the fairing. I bought an extra vehicle power cord for a few dollars to use on the bike, so I can leave it there all the time.

 

When I want to use the Garmin in the car, I just unplug the power cord end from the Garmin and remove it from the bike, with the cradle attached.

 

Why the Garmin 765T rather than a Zumo 660? Other than being waterproof, for my purposes the 765T has everything the Zumo has. Rain is rare in Southern California, but if I do get caught, I'll put the Nuvi in my pocket. And it's almost $300 cheaper.

 

Hope this helps someone.

[BeemerLover]

Hmmmmm........ I have a Nuvi 200w and there is absolutely no difference in screen brightness whether running on battery or off the usb car charger. On its highest setting the screen is bright enough to be seen with the sun shining directly on it from over my shoulder and me with my sunglasses on. Maybe the Nuvi 765T is different, I don't know.

 

I agree about the Nuvi line over the Zumo, price versus features. All I use mine for is to see where I am, not for route planning, MP3's, traffic, XM radio, etc. I use paper maps for routing. Much quicker than trying to get the GPS to show me the route so I can figure out where it wants me to go. I have found that the route the Nuvi chooses for me is not the most fun and it yells at me if I don't go the way it wants me to go. Additionally, I do what you do, just put a plastic bag over it if it starts spitting rain, take it off if it looks like it will get really wet. Can't see it well in heavy rain anyway.

 

Works for me but may not for everyone.......

[OldBoldPilot]

It may be a difference between how the different models are built. I called Garmin support (half-hour on hold but very helpful when they go on the line). The fellow there duplicated my experience with a 765 while I was on the line....

 

Glad yours works well for you. Now mine does too

[tcshooter]

What base are did you get that accomodates the Garmin base? Is it this one? RAM-HOL-GA26U

[OldBoldPilot]

Bingo! That's it exactly. I got it from GPSCity.com, $8.54 plus shipping. The Nuvi snaps in and is held very securely. No chance of it coming out by accident. It comes with three different-length screws to accommodate whatever base you're using to attach it to.

[Ken H.]

It’s a lesser known fact that there are actually several different USB port provided power specifications. If one doesn’t match the adaptor to the device, one can indeed get into weird powering scenarios.