Phooey....my GPS plug is rubber and works just fine thank you

Stop trying to ruin my vacation

 

i wired my garmin zumo 450 to the unused HID plug under the fairing. this circuit is only activated when i turn the keyswitch to ignition or accy.

 

Just an FYI .....
Alot of devices need some type of step down voltage adapter and
most times it is installed in the thing you plug into the lighter plug.
I bought this for my Garmin setup and spliced it into the lighter wiring
inside the fairing. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=27931#
I think someone said that you can buy just the cable off E-bay or some
other online vendor.
I ran the wire out thru the same hole in the inner fairing that the throttle cables use.
Rob .....

 

Wizard, found this out when I had Garmin 330 on handlebar before the Zumo arrived. Set it up and turn the wheel to left and thought...Nope that ain't gonna work on a hard left. Was't nearly as concerned about the tank as I was having the plug decrease the turn radius at jsut the wrong moment. As you have seen me riding in the twisties it wouldn't take much blockage to put me in the ditch! Hard wired the Zumo to the spare lead for the HID.

robandlyn, I have had my Zumo wired in as detailed above for two years now with no problems using the kit that came with the 550.

 

I took the outer fairing off and found two wires running to the headlight bulb connector, I believe these are for European models, anyway I wired my hot and ground to these two wires, run the wire through fairing holes and it works flawlessly....only with ignition on....

 

I purchased cig. lighter plug to wire in my gps. Double checked after Mr. Wizard gave me a heads up. It clears nicely. Might be a more compact version. Purchased from Radio Shack. Just received my Zumo 660. Way to much cable to have exposed. Ended up running it into the fairing and splicing into the lighter wiring using SAE plugs for a quick disconnect.

 

Went to AutoZone and purchased a rubber coated cig adapter with a 4 bolt flange on the side. ($8) Opened up my outer fairing where there is a vacant screw hole on the fairing bracket just above the factory cig lighter and below the speaker. Measured and drilled another hole then tapped it. Mounted this new adapter with two screws and used piggyback spades on the factory cig lighter. Ran the GPS connection through the clutch cable hole.. all is well.

Some GPS power adapters are smaller than what I have and will not bother the left turn. Mine was big enough to cause the tank harm and shorten the left hand turn.

Hope everyone catches it before it's too late.

Just one last note... I always check an electrical item with an ohm meter for short to ground before installing it. The first adapter I purchased was shorted out new in the box so I had to take it back. The second one was fine. If I had installed the first one it could have caused wiring, switch or fuse damage to the trike. Always best to check first before installing.

 

I prefer the accessory switch because I can turn the power off when I don't have the GPS setting in its mount. I don't care to have live power that is only covered by a flimsy rubber cap. I run the wire into the fairing on the left side and then out of the bottom of the fairing on the right side then if you don't want to pull the gas tank just run it under the console. I buy the "Y" adapter from HD and cut one of the sides off it then solder the connections to the 2 switched leads and heat shrink the connections and the wire stubs from the other 2 that I cut.

 

Unless yours if different than mine, the fairing cig adapter is only hot when the Tike is powered. The GPS asks me to convert to internal battery after I turn the trike off. When I take the GPS off, the power cable gets stuck in my windshield bag which is rare.

Just easier for me cause I'm lazy.

 

May not hurt a thing but I wouldn't want to run in the rain with a power adapter stuck in the cigarette lighter, your correct that the power goes away from the cigarette lighter socket when the ignition is turned off. I used to do the cigarette lighter thing when I was using XM radio on my 06 Ultra, but then I would chicken out and pull the plug if it started to rain. The storm I was caught in last week in KY was pretty nasty. I hit a water puddle that was deep. I was going about 35 mph when I hit it and I felt the water coming straight up from under the Trike lift my feet up off the running boards and when the water came down into my wife and my laps it was like someone dumping 15 gallons of water in one shot. The powered mount for my Zumo 550 didn't survive the soaking, it was DOA and I was without a GPS for the rest of my trip. I have to believe a cigarette lighter adapter would have shorted out and taken out some fuses. To my surprise the 2 amp fuse in the Zumo wiring harness and the 15 amp accessory fuse were both fine. It looks like the water got into and shorted out something in the circuit board that for the pins the GPS sits on.