Wiring A Gps

[gypsy]

I know nothing about electricity. Ok now that we have that out of the way. I have a Garmin 276C GPS. I have a power cord which came with it which has a black and red wire on one end. (Not surprisingly the other end plugs into the GPS!) The red wire has a fuse in it.

Question 1: Is it ok to just wire this directly to my battery?

I also have a Powerlet outlet which I am installing tomorrow. The instructions that arrived with that device are quite clear. It was my intention to use the Powerlet to power my GPS. It was after reading the Powerlet installation instructions that I started thinking I could possibly wire the GPS power directly to the battery and use the Powerlet for something else.

gypsy

 

[motorgod]

It is perfectly OK to wire directly to the battery. That is how mine is connected. The fused link goes to the positive side and the other side negative. Some people will say you need to have it switched so that if you forget to turn it off it doesn't run down your battery. WRONG----if you ever do any long distance riding, like an IBA 24 hr ride, you will want the GPS to stay on all the time in order to track your time at fill-ups or breaks. Even if you don't run any long distance rides, some day you might just want to know how long you have been riding, you total average speed, including stops. You just have to be smarter than the GPS and remember to shut it off. I doubt you have that problem.

 

[Woodstock]

Concur w/ motogod here, the GPS is the one thing I have that does _not_ go through switched power. The 2610, for example, will count stopped time vs. driving time, and you want to have it count stopped time as you fill up for gas, etc. Other GPS's may be able to run off a battery and not have this problem.

 

[antvq]

The 276C has a couple of power options for when external power is shut off. It can be set up to turn off and charge the internal battery or to stay on and switch to battery power. I think option 2 makes the most sense if you want to keep track of all the stats. Plus that way, you can still put it on a switched circuit if you want.

 

[PAFJR]

With a 276C, it's worth the extra effort to use a switched power source such as the left front running light.

When connected to unswitched external power, the 276C is either "on & charging" or "off & charging". When the engine isn't running and the GPS is connected, there is a small but unavoidable drain on the battery.

With a switched external power source, set the external power off option to "stay on" and the 276C will automatically switch to its internal battery when you turn the ignition switch (external power) off.

BTW, Garmin's protective cover for the 276C with its Garmin logo blacked out really reduces the "visibility" of the mounted GPS to casual observers (with sticky fingers) during short gas and meal breaks. Don't even turn the unit off. When the screen and buttons are covered, it just doesn't register as electronic gear to the average person.

Jon

 

[gypsy]

....

 

[gypsy]

Thanks very much. This board is so helpful.

Well I did it and everything still seems to work. A small achievement for many but I'm still proud. Since discovering you folks I have started doing a lot of things I would not have attempted.

Thanks again.

gypsy

 

[SpeedyR]

I agree with the others that the 276 can go thru switched power as it does have a battery (vs. the 2610 which you shoudl probably run direct to power). one big advantage of the 276C over the 2610 in my opinion and one of the big reasons I went with it..

as for connection, I have another questions. I haven't hard wired mine yet as I have a cig. lightter plug in my fairing on the FJR but in the near future I will wire it. I also have some extra leads on the power for audio. Any idea how to wire these into a plug for an Autocom????

Jeff

 

[antvq]

Any idea how to wire these into a plug for an Autocom????

I don't know if this is a new cable, or I just never spotted it before, but it seems to solve a lot of issues with wiring up a 276C. Looks like you just plug it into the unit, connect + and - to your choice of power option (battery, power block, solder on a cig lighter connection, etc) and it as a standard jack for ear phones. IMO, you should be able to get a male/male patch cord from Radio Shack that will connect the 276C to the Autocom.

I'm going to order one of these and try it out to see if I can hear the GPS talking to me on the bike.....finally

EDIT: Forgot to include the link to the cable! Clicky Here

 

[gypsy]

antvg,

Yup that is the cable I installed. The jack for the head phone is not standard (or my idea of standard anyway). It is too small to fit regular headphones like from a Walkman or MP3 player. I assume I can find an adapter at Radio Shack. (Oops here in Canada they are now called 'The Source by Circuit City'...but I still call them Radio Shack.)

gypsy

 

[PAFJR]

The jack for the head phone is not standard (or my idea of standard anyway). It is too small to fit regular headphones like from a Walkman or MP3 player. I assume I can find an adapter at Radio Shack.

The adapter that you need is Radio Shack #274-381, 3/32" Mono Phone Jack to 1/8" Stereo Phone Plug. Enjoy.

Jon

 

[SpeedyR]

I'll have to double check to see what came with my 276C but if I remember right, mine doesn't have anything but bare cables coming off the plug in.. I would guess and say that there's about 6 wires coming off the plug. one is obviously the power and one is the ground, but not sure about the others.

more like this one:

https://shop.garmin.com/accessory.jsp?sku=010%2D10513%2D00

so I just need to figure out which wire to solder into some sort of a stereo plug I guess???

Jeff

 

[PAFJR]

The 276C wiring color codes are found on page 94 of the Owner's Manual.

Brown is voice (+), Orange is voice (-); Red is power (+) and Black is ground (-).

Jon