When I Switch My Garmin Zumo XT To USB-C, What Wire Size Should I Use?

[Jim1348]

As posted above, I am preparing to switch my Garmin Zumo XT to a cable with a USB-C port.

Would a 20AWG wire be sufficient?

[jfheath]

I don’t understand. Do you mean that you are removing the USB A port from the circuit board of the XT1 ?
Or do you mean that you are using or making an adaptor for USB C to plug into the USB A socket on the XT1

I was under the impression that USB C allows for much greater current to be used in charging. But I am also under the impression that the circuit board has to have the ability to cope with the higher currents.

[Jim1348]

I don’t understand. Do you mean that you are removing the USB A port from the circuit board of the XT1 ?
Or do you mean that you are using or making an adaptor for USB C to plug into the USB A socket on the XT1

I was under the impression that USB C allows for much greater current to be used in charging. But I am also under the impression that the circuit board has to have the ability to cope with the higher currents.

I want to take the Garmin Zumo XT motorcycle power cable and use USB-C instead of the bare wires.

I will need to remove the power converter that drops it from 12 volts to volts, since USB is 5 volts.


https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/715051/pn/010-12953-03/

[jfheath]

Ok - So you are hard wiring a cable with a USB connector to the XT1.

It still begs the question - The XT1 has a USB A connector built in. USB-C is a system that allows significantly more power.

Is the circuit board able to cope with the higher current that a USB C charger can provide ?

I don't need to know, but you might !

[Jim1348]

That is a good point. The device in the middle of the OEM cable shows this.

zūmo XT Motorcycle Power Cable

Input: 10-30V, 1.5A (max)

Output: 4.8-5.5V, 1.5A

For current draw on motorcycle cable when zūmo XT is not mounted, see Current Draw of the zūmo XT Motorcycle Power Cable.

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=A ... JTlWs7YacA

zūmo® XT GPS navigator:

When the zūmo XT is NOT connected to the motorcycle charging mount, the parasitic current draw of the Motorcycle Power Cable is 150uA @ 12V.

When the zūmo XT IS connected to the motorcycle charging mount, the current draw is Input: 10-30V, 1.5A (max) Output: 4.8-5.5V, 1.5A.

[lkraus]

The XT will not be able to negotiate power delivery with a USB-C charging port, so I would expect the port to deliver only 0.5 amp of current at 5V. And even that will require resistors to ground on the CC pins of the cable before the charging port will deliver any power at all.

The XT needs at least 1.3 amps for full brightness with a fully charged internal battery.

I think you need to use a different method to power your Zumo.

[Jim1348]

The XT will not be able to negotiate power delivery with a USB-C charging port, so I would expect the port to deliver only 0.5 amp of current at 5V. And even that will require resistors to ground on the CC pins of the cable before the charging port will deliver any power at all.

The XT needs at least 1.3 amps for full brightness with a fully charged internal battery.

I think you need to use a different method to power your Zumo.

Would a cable with a USB-A connector work?

[Peobody]

I am watching this discussion hoping to learn exactly what the ultimate goal is. I have yet to figure out for certain which cable, the one that provides power to the mount, or the one that connects to the port on the back of the XT.
Things I know:
- A cable connected to the port is a bad idea while riding because the port is weakly soldered to the circuit board making it susceptible to damage from vibration (fortunately, my first XT was replaced under warranty when this port failed).
- A USB cable used to connect to something like a USB adapter in a cigarette lighter socket must be a data-only cable and the output from the lighter must be 2 amp. This is what works when using my XT in my car but it did not work with the cigarette lighter socked on my bike. The output was to low to run the XT and keep it charged.
- The cable to the mount is best connected directly to the bike's battery or to another power location that is directly connected to the battery.

[rbentnail]

I am watching this discussion hoping to learn exactly what the ultimate goal is.

^this. I interpreted that the cable shown would connect to the cradle as normal, but instead of hooking the bare wires supply to the 12 V battery, it would be converted to plug into USB-C, hence the need to remove the 12/5 V converter.

[lkraus]

I am watching this discussion hoping to learn exactly what the ultimate goal is.

.

I believe the idea was to cut the cradle mounting cord, remove the converter box, and splice a USB-C plug on the end to connect to an existing USB-C charging socket.

Would a cable with a USB-A connector work?

You can find cables with USB-C to miniUSB, microUSB, or USB-A connectors but I think they are intended primarily for data transmission. All the ones that I have found with charging specs are all limited to 0.5 A. I believe they have the necessary CC to ground resistors built into the cable, but I have no idea which end.

A USB-A connector on the mounting cord (sans converter) plugged into a 2A USB-A charging socket would work, because there is no power delivery negotiation involved. But the reliability of USB-A socket would still be somewhat questionable on a motorcycle.

If mount portability is the goal, I would just keep the stock cable and converter, tape up the excess wire and use waterproof 12V connections to the bike.