Garmin Nuvi cradle issue

[FJmonkey]

Last weekend I rode down to San Diego and meet up with Mopar Man Steve and Mike Ramos. While heading South my GPS (Garmin Nuvi 765T) indicated the external power was lost. So I pull over and fiddle with the power connections but no such luck. I was thinking I pinched the cable and caused internal damage. Once home I fiddle with it some more and decide to get a new cable. The expensive one with the built in traffic receiver, half price on Ebay. New cable arrives and still no power. Ok, now I need to look into the cradle as it transfers power and data between the cable and GPS unit. Once the two halves came apart...

zut alors!



The connector is surface mount with no strain relief protection. Not good for conditions with added vibration like motorcycles. It does have an auxiliary power connection but I have yet to find any information of what size the connector is. The cradle may still be good for powering the unit if I can find the connector size.

So if any of you have a Garmin cradle mount like I do, be very careful with causing strain or letting the cable shake this connector. I have a new cradle on the way. Once here I will crack it open and Pot it with epoxy. That is all for now, back to your Kookaloo.

[pdxfj]

I would suggest taking the cradle to your local radio shack. The have universal ac to dc power supplies that you can change the tip type to suit what you want to plug into.  They usually have all the tips out on a ring or such so you can try them and choose what works. From there you can buy a solder tip and make your own cord.

Make sure you know the correct input voltage for the jack/unit. If you are able to hook the gps to a computer via a USB port then your dealing with 5 volts instead of 12.

[FJmonkey]

I would suggest taking the cradle to your local radio shack. The have universal ac to dc power supplies that you can change the tip type to suit what you want to plug into.  They usually have all the tips out on a ring or such so you can try them and choose what works. From there you can buy a solder tip and make your own cord.

Make sure you know the correct input voltage for the jack/unit. If you are able to hook the gps to a computer via a USB port then your dealing with 5 volts instead of 12.

Thanks Garth, I thought of doing the RS tips galore thing. The voltage part might be tricky, the Nuvi 765 has two ways of getting power. From the cradle, used for power while driving. And from a USB connection but it cannot operate as a GPS and charge from USB. I have a new cradle now so I can power it it up and put some really skinny tips on my multi-meeter and get some power readings. I am hoping it takes 12VDC so connecting from the battery is as simple as wires, RS plug and a fuse.