mjmelancon
Junior Member
Hello everyone,
I've done some research on mounting GPS units to a bike, but haven't seen a whole lot on the details of how to actually wire the power cable into the motorcycle's electrical system. I found this by doing a quick search on the web:
Motorcycle / Bike Mount for Garmin Nuvi 1450 1450LMT 1490T 1490LMT GPS
Basically I have a Garmin Nuvi 1450 which works great in my car, and I would like to use it interchangeably between both my car and bike. The unit can run off the internal battery for about an hour to 1.5 hours, but wiring the power cable to the bike would be ideal. I know that other people have said that taping into the headlight, taillight, or even the ignition is the way to go so that the cable isn't drawing power when the bike is turned off. Another point was made that 5 volts must be supplied to the GPS and not the 12 volts that comes directly from the battery. I'm not 100% sure, but the black box on the power cable from the mount guys kit might be some sort of converter that brings the voltage down to the correct amount.
So, has anyone done this before on their bike or know someone who has done so successfully? Thanks in advance for any input!
I've done some research on mounting GPS units to a bike, but haven't seen a whole lot on the details of how to actually wire the power cable into the motorcycle's electrical system. I found this by doing a quick search on the web:
Motorcycle / Bike Mount for Garmin Nuvi 1450 1450LMT 1490T 1490LMT GPS
Basically I have a Garmin Nuvi 1450 which works great in my car, and I would like to use it interchangeably between both my car and bike. The unit can run off the internal battery for about an hour to 1.5 hours, but wiring the power cable to the bike would be ideal. I know that other people have said that taping into the headlight, taillight, or even the ignition is the way to go so that the cable isn't drawing power when the bike is turned off. Another point was made that 5 volts must be supplied to the GPS and not the 12 volts that comes directly from the battery. I'm not 100% sure, but the black box on the power cable from the mount guys kit might be some sort of converter that brings the voltage down to the correct amount.
So, has anyone done this before on their bike or know someone who has done so successfully? Thanks in advance for any input!