USB charging port question

[jimzpsd]

I installed one of these and realized how useless it is for me. Took it out and replaced it with a 12 volt out port. If needed I can charge my phone with a usb adapter. But with my 12 volt port I can run all my accessories (gps, spotlight, etc.) as needed and I can also charge the bikes battery through this port. Am I missing something about the usb port? Seems like everyone has put one on (including me), but I realized I'll never use it.

Amazon.com

 

[m in sc]

i have one, and used it like 2x up in the mts. however, what i -did- add was battery tender cable and a usb adapter (that plugs into the battery tender end) that is under the seat. the leads are long enough to pull out and set in my crate on the rack, and charge a phone, with the bike off (or on) if i ever find the need. to ME, that was the best possible solution of 'holy shit i need to charge my phone and im stuck out in the middle of nowhere' scenario. I -did- use the usb cable to power the go pro on one ride, since its old and the batteries were sort of old as well. that being said.... i mean, that plug was just 'there', adding the port doesnt cause any harm. but the 12v power port is more flexible for sure. .02

 

[jimzpsd]

Agree, makes sense. If people are riding with their phone mounted to the bike, the high pitch vibrations can destroy a phones fragile circuit boards rendering it useless. LOL, proof I need to slow down with my mods, and only install what "I" need. Thank you

 

[m in sc]

my garmin gps also only likes the power port to allow for live updates, doesnt like it with just the usb cable. Not sure if yours is like that. I dont use the gps on the trail, but have used it on other bikes. just something for anyone else to consider.

 

[dmonkey]

I went with a dual USB port because I only expect to be using USB powered devices at the bars - phone and GPS. I have a vibration dampener with the phone mount (QuadLock) so it doesn't rattle all the sensors to death, but really the phone goes in my pocket most of the time when I'm off-road. My heated grips are directly wired to the battery and the only other thing I'm regularly plugging into the Trail is a 12v micro inflator for airing up the tires, that plugs into an SAE plug (the connection commonly used for battery tenders and heated garments) under the seat.

 

[SneakyDingo]

2x USB on the front. Rear is the SAE cable that most would use for trickle charging, runs to the inside of my Apache 4800 case, and from there I can get another 2x USB, or a 12V cigarette, or continue to use the SAE through the use of adapters. Works great, doubles for trickle charging and also as a pump attachment point, and I can also have the option of only charging USB while the bike is on vs. all the time.

 

[Kritou]

I installed one of these and realized how useless it is for me. Took it out and replaced it with a 12 volt out port. If needed I can charge my phone with a usb adapter. But with my 12 volt port I can run all my accessories (gps, spotlight, etc.) as needed and I can also charge the bikes battery through this port. Am I missing something about the usb port? Seems like everyone has put one on (including me), but I realized I'll never use it.

Amazon.com

Agreed, and I had not thought of battery charging through the port, thanks.

Agree, makes sense. If people are riding with their phone mounted to the bike, the high pitch vibrations can destroy a phones fragile circuit boards rendering it useless. LOL, proof I need to slow down with my mods, and only install what "I" need. Thank you

Early iPhones up to the 6S had digital camera auto stabilisation and were unaffected by engine vibrations - mechanical auto stabilisation is the problem. One fix is to keep the good phone in your pocket and stick a cheap old phone in a plain mount up on the bars for navigation. I went down the route of a very cheap iPhone from eBay with a broken camera. If the old phone is hot spotted to the one in your pocket it needs no SIM card

 

[Tman]

Might I suggest an alternative? . . . I installed a power cable with the SAE connector for a battery tender which provides 12v as needed (like for a compressor) and I carry a battery backup for my cell phones similar to this (below) which is very compact and can be carried anywhere. It holds a charge for months. Of course you also need to carry the appropriate USB cable to interface with your phone. I've been very happy with the Anker products so far.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Ultra-Compact-High-Speed-VoltageBoost-Technology/dp/B07QXV6N1B/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=anker+cell+phone+charger&qid=1671113997&sr=8-1

 

[m in sc]

'cigarette lighter' power port in the front IMHO is prob the most versatile option, as you can get anything to plug into it. .02

 

[jimzpsd]

'cigarette lighter' power port in the front IMHO is prob the most versatile option, as you can get anything to plug into it. .02

Exactly my plans...........

 

[Tman]

Yes, the cigarette lighter socket works pretty well for most applications but I have had problems with some of the cheap sockets and a huge variance in tolerances in plugs such that the combinations are not as reliable as I would like. Also, since I am a Amateur Radio operator (Ham) and somewhat anal in utilizing 12v power, I have set up a group of cables & connectors that give me a fair amount of flexibility. These include short adapters such as the ubiquitious SAE connector to: Anderson Power Poles (APP) - usually 30 amp, cigarette lighter socket to APP, cigarette lighter plug to APP, battery clamps to APP, APP to USB sockets, etc. etc. And then of course specific power cables from my Ham radios and all other electrical equipment (compressor, GPS, etc.) terminated in APP's so everything is completely compatible. These adapters (along with a couple of alligator-clipped test leads) are compact and are carried in a tiny zipped bag which I call my "Power Pack". BTW, this could just as easily be set up with just the 12v SAE connectors but the Ham community favors the APP's so that's what I've standardized on.

Carrying this a step further, I think I have mentioned this before, but when I'm riding alone in the wilderness, I carry, in addition to my cell phone, a handheld Ham Radio programmed with all the local repeater frequencies and also a Garmin inReach Mini 2 GPS satellite communicator. On a related note, I urge anyone who rides alone in back country to look into getting a Ham Radio license -- it's absurdly simple to pass the test and there are hand held 5 watt FM transceivers covering the most popular frequencies available for $30-$50 and up. An example of its utility: I have actually made a connection to a repeater over a hundred miles away (line-of-sight) on my handheld radio when on the crest of a mountain. This repeater re-broadcasts (repeats) my transmission further over a wide area thus increasing the probability that someone will respond.

 

[Cpd419]

Cigarette lighter port for me. I mainly use it to charge the battery.

 

[AZ7000']

On a related note, I urge anyone who rides alone in back country to look into getting a Ham Radio license -- it's absurdly simple to pass the test and there are hand held 5 watt FM transceivers covering the most popular frequencies available for $30-$50 and up.

We race and ride in Baja with bike and chase truck radios... Here is a bad idea, go to rugged radio or PCI Race radio on the internet and use one without a license...

 

[SneakyDingo]

Might I suggest an alternative? . . . I installed a power cable with the SAE connector for a battery tender which provides 12v as needed (like for a compressor) and I carry a battery backup for my cell phones similar to this (below) which is very compact and can be carried anywhere. It holds a charge for months. Of course you also need to carry the appropriate USB cable to interface with your phone. I've been very happy with the Anker products so far.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Ultra-Compact-High-Speed-VoltageBoost-Technology/dp/B07QXV6N1B/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=anker+cell+phone+charger&qid=1671113997&sr=8-1

Something I've noticed is the current delivery on the CT125 is not super consistent through the headlight; plenty good for a headlight to illuminate from, but not good enough to use with an iPhone plugged in (iPhones are very sensitive to incoming voltage). When the voltage drops, the iPhone thinks water is in the connection port and disables charging to protect the hardware, along with displaying a warning on the device. There are two solutions here; one is to charge a battery and then use that, and the other more expensive option is to use wireless charging via a maglock or quadlock + wireless charging pad..

I've noticed pass through charging battery packs (even low current, early USB 2.0 / 1.x spec) are getting less common nowadays, where you can use the battery as a reservoir to deliver power while also being charged. This was a pretty useful feature because it'd allow you to plug the battery in and use it as an intermediate stabilizer for power delivery but it does require designing a slightly more expensive battery unit. Keep an eye out for that as a feature if you're looking for a battery (but don't count on finding it).

As @Tman points out - I frequently have a cheap Jackery bar I bought years ago that I charge on the bike and then use that to charge the phone. It's not as efficient as straight through charging, but it is more reliable. I haven't run power stability tests from the SAE cable connected directly to the CT125 battery yet, but I would expect that generally has pretty good reliability. Also if it's reasonable, buy two small ones instead of one big one. If one dies (e.g. water ingress) you aren't SOL and you can charge one while using the other too.

 

[bryanchurch06]

It's sad, but I remember riding motorcycles without a cell phone or any digital equipment on the bike at all. I don't know how we managed it but I'm sure it was very difficult to do. Just thinking about it gives me cold chills. To be perfectly honest the 1st Harley I rode you needed a friend with a pickup and tools to follow you if you were going far, a phone might have come in handy then I suppose. Although switching to a Suzuki gs450e solved the problem to. Crap I'm old, not sure how that happened either.

 

[dmonkey]

Something I've noticed is the current delivery on the CT125 is not super consistent through the headlight; plenty good for a headlight to illuminate from, but not good enough to use with an iPhone plugged in (iPhones are very sensitive to incoming voltage).

Is that the actual headlight wires, or the ignition wires that are within the headlight housing?

It's sad, but I remember riding motorcycles without a cell phone or any digital equipment on the bike at all. I don't know how we managed it but I'm sure it was very difficult to do. Just thinking about it gives me cold chills. To be perfectly honest the 1st Harley I rode you needed a friend with a pickup and tools to follow you if you were going far, a phone might have come in handy then I suppose. Although switching to a Suzuki gs450e solved the problem to. Crap I'm old, not sure how that happened either.

I have a Wolfman tank bag with a map pocket, the only maps it sees these days are the ones I get at the entrance booths of state & national parks.

 

[jimzpsd]

Is that the actual headlight wires, or the ignition wires that are within the headlight housing?


I have a Wolfman tank bag with a map pocket, the only maps it sees these days are the ones I get at the entrance booths of state & national parks.

The connectors that come in the kit is plugged into the main circuit 3 pin in the headlight case (black wire w/white strip). And this is normally protected with a 25A fuse, providing constant power. I cannot verify cause I'm traveling now, but this is what I'm thinking. And no way would you want to tap into a lamp (+) wire.

 

[bryanchurch06]

Normally a usb charger pull 1 to 3 amps, no idea what the led headlight pulls but I'd be surprised if it's over 10 amps, so 25 amp circuit seems good? Although if honda put it on a 25a circuit I'm sure it pulls more than I think it does. I plan on tapping the ignition switch wire every one else seems to use.

 

[SneakyDingo]

Is that the actual headlight wires, or the ignition wires that are within the headlight housing?

Probably the ignition wiring. I exactly followed the Best of the Backroads video and I'm pretty sure they say ignition wires.

I have had zero issues with fuses and current draw for the USB. This is a 36W charger @ 5V, but it never runs at full speed. I think the smallest fuse in the CT125 that we can easily replace is a 10A @ 12V, so we're really unlikely to blow a fuse doing these shenanigans.

To be honest, I ride with the phone on the charger 99.9% of the time but screen and navigation off. I'm not using it for active navigation though, it's because my battery health on my phone is atrociously bad. So if I have a portable battery pack, the phone sits in the bag on the battery pack instead.



Not looking at the phone means being able to focus on the road more. I also use the profile modes (Driving Mode) which hide notifications unless they're from very important people and things that require immediate action on.

The one exception is for commutes where I think traffic information will matter; for example, it's frequent that one of the two streets 116th and 124th (two streets parallel to each other with turnoffs 0.4 mi apart) will be completely blocked or have an accident on it and the other one will not. Even then it's not every day I'll use that, like I haven't used it for the last 3 weeks because I've been commuting out of peak periods.

 

[Kritou]

Yes, the cigarette lighter socket works pretty well for most applications but I have had problems with some of the cheap sockets and a huge variance in tolerances in plugs such that the combinations are not as reliable as I would like. Also, since I am a Amateur Radio operator (Ham) and somewhat anal in utilizing 12v power, I have set up a group of cables & connectors that give me a fair amount of flexibility. These include short adapters such as the ubiquitious SAE connector to: Anderson Power Poles (APP) - usually 30 amp, cigarette lighter socket to APP, cigarette lighter plug to APP, battery clamps to APP, APP to USB sockets, etc. etc. And then of course specific power cables from my Ham radios and all other electrical equipment (compressor, GPS, etc.) terminated in APP's so everything is completely compatible. These adapters (along with a couple of alligator-clipped test leads) are compact and are carried in a tiny zipped bag which I call my "Power Pack". BTW, this could just as easily be set up with just the 12v SAE connectors but the Ham community favors the APP's so that's what I've standardized on.

A problem I have encountered twice recently is the earth terminal on some 12v sockets is so wide that it is possible to short out the circuit by inserting the plug at an angle. This of course means removing plastic just before you set off to replace the fuse. I now keep a few 10A fuses taped under the seat near the supplied hex key as I just know it will happen again when I’m in a hurry!