Garmin 595 install question: Wiring harness

[CraigRegs]

Just received my new Garmin 595. Was a bit surprised by all the wires extending from the harness connected to the mount:

• Power + and -, I get that.
• USB port is a nice feature, but the cable's longer than I need (5' from where the cables break from one to many). Will have to coil up some of that.
• And then there are the 3 audio jacks: (1) 2.5mm female and (2) 3.5mm females. (22" each)

I don't need the audio jacks. So where am I supposed to put all that extra cable and three attached jacks? Anyone care to share photos/description of their install?

I prefer to run power direct to the battery so I always have power to the GPS. I have an underseat fuse block but it's switched power. My battery compartment is a bit crowded with relays and leads for the Clearwaters, aux horn relay, and fuse block relay. I could *maybe* stuff these audio jacks in there somewhere.

Cutting them off is a last resort, but that prevents me from ever putting them into service should I find that need.

And with all that wiring running to the mount, I can't just cut it to custom length and mount SAE connections like I did with my 550, so I can easily remove the mount. The new one will be a permanent fixture.

 

[101stpathfinder]

Craig,

I ran them together toward my fuse block which is on a rear panel.

I coiled and tied off the unneeded wires near the tool tray.

If your fuse block is under your seat, hook it up there as unswitched power and coil the rest in the tool tray.

Just an idea…

I think for a long term solution is to cut the wires short and add a connector to allow a plug and play on the ends if

you ever need the wires in the future. (Just don't misplace them)

 

[DennisJ]

I did the same thing as 101stpathfinder die since my fuse block is under the seat also.

 

[bseelbach]

Switched fuse block under the seat and wires coiled up in the tray like the guys above.

I feel your pain though...Tonight I was wiring up a second Zumo mount and a radar detector on a new to me 09 FZ1.

If you think it's tough to find space for things on the FJR, just imagine how bad it is on a FZ1.

 

[BigOgre]

Craig, reach up from the wheel and check inside the fairing area under the glove box. There's a bit of a void/pocket there where I was able to coil up and tuck away all of my 590's wires.

 

[PJ4863]

I did like bigOgre did, ran power wires from my seat up to the front, coiled up the wires, and zip tied them in place. Don't forget to leave enough slack to do the valve check. (Ie, don't be like ne)

 

[its just rain]

When my first 650 crapped out Garmin sent me a new one after I sent the broken one back. They said to keep the battery and the rest of the accessories so when it was all done I ended up with two of those crazy harnesses.

I was tired of having to deal with all those wires, and since I now had a spare I clipped everything off except for the power leads, so much simpler.

 

[CraigRegs]

Edited first post to add photos and cable lengths.

 

[HelzBelz]

Yeah same thing here. I am installing a centech AP2 PDB under my seat, and will be sending those wires I think under my tank or down the left side to the centech. Sending power to the centech down the right side.

Anyone have any tips on wiring under the tank? Good idea, bad idea? I know I pinched the wires on the harness on my 665 last year.

(btw - be very careful if you try the fix for the battery life problems. those power wires from the battery to the device are very brittle and disintegrate easily. Ask me how i know.. better yet don't)

 

[CraigRegs]

A post on FJRiders opened the door to a solution. I'm routing power under the tank to the fuse block, have the USB up by the left bar near the GPS, and will use the audio-in jack for my RD. It will be tied up near the right bar where the RD sits. And all that excess cabling will sit in the cavity just behind the steering head on top of the engine heat shielding. Pics to come.

 

[TripperMike]

A post on FJRiders opened the door to a solution. I'm routing power under the tank to the fuse block, have the USB up by the left bar near the GPS, and will use the audio-in jack for my RD. It will be tied up near the right bar where the RD sits. And all that excess cabling will sit in the cavity just behind the steering head on top of the engine heat shielding. Pics to come.

I'm anxious to see this 'cuz I've still have 2 zumos to wire up yet (+radar det. & 2 pairs of aux. lights). I've been dreading doing the electrical on this gen III bike for months now.

 

[101stpathfinder]

A post on FJRiders opened the door to a solution. I'm routing power under the tank to the fuse block, have the USB up by the left bar near the GPS, and will use the audio-in jack for my RD. It will be tied up near the right bar where the RD sits. And all that excess cabling will sit in the cavity just behind the steering head on top of the engine heat shielding. Pics to come.

I'm anxious to see this 'cuz I've still have 2 zumos to wire up yet (+radar det. & 2 pairs of aux. lights). I've been dreading doing the electrical on this gen III bike for months now.

Mike, Isn't that what winters are for in Minnesota… To get ready for the spring & summer riding?

And especially you and your planned summer ride… no pressure there right?

 

[HelzBelz]

ditto, nice confirmations and info on the other forum. I am going to likely do the same, as I am also using the Rambone so the cable will be fixed and not have to flex with the bars moving. Just waiting on my centech to arrive.

I actually started toying with the idea of mounting a hobby box on top of the battery cover panel, just to stick the extra wire into it, and then maybe drill a hole to access the battery from there. (but then I started thinking about the possibility of it leaking in the rain..)

 

[CraigRegs]

So wiring was really a non-event, once I figured out where to tuck all that extra cabling. Here's the Zumo mount by the clutch reservoir. I'm pointing to the USB port below it. Note that the USB port is powered only when the Zumo is on.

Here's the wad of extra cable to stuff somewhere.

Under the tank has plenty of room. Looking in from the right side of the bike. Red/black power lead running along the throttle cable path to the fuse block under the seat.

Power lead tied off, with a length of asphalt loom to protect where it runs over the stay holding the throttle cables.

I had the Audio In lead routed to the right handlebar, hoping to feed my RD audio into it. However, I discovered the 595 only passes ONE source at a time: Internal MP3, Bluetooth, Line In, etc. I'm using BT to pair the 595 to my Sena 20S, so the line-in is unavailable. I coiled it up with the rest of the orphans under the tank.

It seems to me, the bulk of that cabling could have been eliminated and the USB and audio jacks included in the Zumo mount. Then make more money selling cords to guys who want to use those features. Sure, it makes the mount larger, but so what? Just my $.02.

 

[HelzBelz]

Nice, and Thank you, going to do the same. but I am going to put some plugs/caps in those audio wire ends.

No need to allow them to collect crud. (that's about as AR as I will ever get.)

(BTW - Excellent point on what Garmin should have done to make more money and make it easier on us.).

 

[CraigRegs]

And just a follow-up on the cabling collected on top of the heat shield: I had the tank up last week, checked out the wires, and there are absolutely no signs of wear. That's with about 5500 miles on the install.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I sealed up and tied off everything near the tool tray, leaving the usb port separate, under the seat, with some slack for the wife if she needs to charge her iphone. Nice pics. In a torrential rain- that zumo "cover" for your dock will take on rain. So in the unlikely event you're caught in a monsoon and your gps, for some reason, isn't mounted, remember to let that thing dry out when you get home. I've got a few thousand miles on my 595lm/mount and a lot of that was in rain. Crazy year. Except for the fact that the unit itself is glitchy, it's been nice. From time to time (not frequently, just when you really need it), mine will freeze. In those events, nothing you can do will make it unfreeze (you can't turn it off and back on) except for (sometimes) rocking it off the dock and back on. Other times, nothing but removing the battery and reinstalling it will wake it up. I've been able to minimize the glitches, and to be fair, it's only frozen 3 or 4 times.

 

[Fred W]

Not owning a 595 (yet?) I was surprised by the comment above that you could wire a radar detector audio output into the zumo audio input port. How does that integrate with the zumo audio? Does the RD input have high priority over other audio functions? Or is it heard over the top of everything? That would be ideal. If so, I might finally have a reason to upgrade from my age old zumo 550.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I haven't given it much thought, but the 595LM just handles alerts seamlessly. Whether it's from phone or hardline, it pumps it into the helmet plenty loud enough to hear with plugs and over music. I can't say how loud your detector would be, but my TPMS alerts come through just fine. I do that through bluetooth, but I tested the zumo audio lead when I was installing and it worked just the same. When I get an alert, all I think I hear is the alert. I'll have to listen closer and pay attention to if the music is lowered or muted during the alarm. I don't know if using the audio-in jack would produce the same result, but it'd be plenty audible either way.