Zumo User Forums

Hi all ..
I've got USB power supply on my handlebar already.
And I want to use the motorbike mount with built in power cable.

The power cable wants a 12v power source .. but can I presume that if I simply cut the cable after the voltage regulator then I can splice a USB connector on the wires to connect to my existing USB power supply?

Hi and welcome to the forum

Simply put no you can't!

The cable is not just the two wires you would normally find it's actually a coax cable.

I suspect you could make it work some how but not sure how you would connect it all

Thanks for confirming.
I'm pretty sure I would have just gone ahead and started cutting things up and stripping cables to end with up with a useless cable.

I do believe other people have managed to do it but not sure how

It can be done. It is a shielded cable, not a standard, individually insulated two-conductor cable inside a sheath. If you cut the cable, you will find an insulated cable in the center. Around the outside of that cable's insulation, you will find a braided bare-wire shield (think braided steel brake line). That braided bare-wire shield is the other conductor.

So, shortening the cable is a more complex process and requires you to cut it long, cut back the outer plastic sheath, unbraid that shielded wire from around the inner conductor and insulation, and twist it into a wire that can be used to solder to your USB connector.

It's been done plenty of times successfully. Do some searching on the internet and you will find plenty of illustrated examples.

I shortened a cable on the mount on my Husqvarna TE610 and connected the wires to a programmable Power Distribution Module (PDM 60), not a USB connector, but the same principles apply...

Just get a Thunder Box or any of the other power distribution products available and wire the Garmin input cable into that,

https://www.healtech-electronics.com/products/tb/

Thunder Box are my new power distribution products of choice they are so simple to use.

BTW I'm sure that the power cable I got for the Zumo mount simply had two bare leads on the other end from the mount. I just clipped them into the Thunder Box and bingo job done. There was none of this multi core cable people talk about.

On the end opposite the voltage step-down box that is built into the factory cable, you are correct. Two standard insulated wires. Go up the cable, past the step-down box to shorten the cable, and it becomes a shielded cable.