Zumo User Forums

FWIW, mine is connected to switched power on a 2008 Goldwing. Thankfully Honda provided a switched auxiliary connection on the fuse block. It made the wiring of the Garmin mount easy, except for fishing the wire under all of the plastic. This doesn't help you solve your problem; it just reinforces what Russ said about a switched source being the way to go if you can get it to work.

Just a quick clarification: I have never said that switched is wrong. Instead, I have been trying to learn the reasons why some find it superior. I prefer my GPS wired to the battery, but that does not mean I'm trying to tell "you" what to do.

-dan

danham wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 11:07 am Just a quick clarification: I have never said that switched is wrong. Instead, I have been trying to learn the reasons why some find it superior. I prefer my GPS wired to the battery, but that does not mean I'm trying to tell "you" what to do.

-dan

Absolutely depending on ones preference. No right or wrong, but what works for you the best. I also like to have it connected directly to the battery cas I can do things in the nav if I need without running the bike or drowning the battery when the ignition is on.

Fxwheels wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 2:06 pm

danham wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 11:07 am Just a quick clarification: I have never said that switched is wrong. Instead, I have been trying to learn the reasons why some find it superior. I prefer my GPS wired to the battery, but that does not mean I'm trying to tell "you" what to do.

-dan

Absolutely depending on ones preference. No right or wrong, but what works for you the best. I also like to have it connected directly to the battery cas I can do things in the nav if I need without running the bike or drowning the battery when the ignition is on.

The XT has a rated 6 hour internal battery, more than enough to enter NAV info without turning the bike on, on the rare occasions when I need to actually use it for route planning. Most of the time, I just find it easier to have it automatically turn on and off with the bike for general navigation, GPS speed, weather, and local traffic info.

The replacement power harness arrived, but unfortunately, it too refuses to pass power through the little inline converter box (from the switched power source). I'm at a loss as to why it refuses to pass power through to the cradle pins.

Since I now have two cradle power harnesses, I'm tempted to cut off that inline converter on one of them, and try it without it. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

David

Be aware of doing that! XT needs 5V. Who knows how your switch board works, would be better to contact vendor's support (of the switch you are using) and send them the one of the convertor for tests. I'm using switched via relay with genuine realy and fuse and connectors on mine Honda (I did it all by myself).

BrAtKo wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 8:47 pm Be aware of doing that! XT needs 5V. Who knows how your switch board works, would be better to contact vendor's support and send them the one of the convertor for tests.

Yup, I thought of that right after I posted this. Now I'm looking for a cheap relay to use... I don't want to spend the money on a fancy fuseblock just to run the Zumo. Everything else is already tapped to appropriate power sources on my bike.

So have you checked the voltage at your source you are trying to use. The Garmin requires a minimum of 10.3 volts to the converter. If there is less it may not be enough. I measured the voltage on mine at the 2 pins on the mount and got 5.27 volts.The output of the converter is 4.8 to 5.5 volts.

So on your source like I said earlier did you measure the voltage and is there a switch to operate the source? You said earlier that it work off the battery. That tells me that maybe the source is switched off or the voltage is less than the required input to the converter.

Yes, I measured the switched power source at 12.38 volts with motor off, ignition switch on. 14. something with the engine running. No power at the cradle pins. The little converter is simply not passing current. The switched power source, is a two wire (female) auxiliary plug, that is there for the optional fog/running lights that were offered for the bike. Should be plenty of juice/amperage. They appear to be roughly 14 gauge. I crimped (and soldered) two small spade connectors onto the black and red wires on the Garmin power harness, and inserted into the appropriate plug receptacles. I metered on the spade connectors themselves, so the harness is getting power from the plug, it's just not passing through the converter for some reason, unless those very same spade connectors are connected directly to the battery terminals!

If it works directly from the battery and not from your source I am at a loss. Unless the hot and negative are reversed. IDK