Electrical tap to power GPS

I need to run an electrical tap or splice to power a Garmin Zumo 550 GPS cradle mounted on my left brake reservoir. All suggestions will be appreciated.

Also, any cautions or "Never do this!" pointers will be greatly appreciated!!

I'm looking for the best points to tap into to safely power the unit as well as any other useful suggestions.

I installed 12V sockets in the left cubby in both SWs I had. There's a flat spot in the left box for a 12 socket, for some reason the European models got the socket but the North American ones didn't. Just run a pair of wires from the battery to the pocket. Use an inline fuse near the battery where it's easy to get at or tap in under the left rear cover for a neater look near the battery. I prefer to use the newer type of fuse over the older cylindrical ones. If you choose to mount a 12V socket on the outer skin of the bike be sure to get a marine type with a spring loaded lid to keep water out.

There are pictures in my album of the one I fitted to my first Silverwing.
I've done the same on my present one.

The cap is not spring-loaded but fits tightly.

Fuse the line, use heavy enough gauge wire, watch routing to prevent wire chaffing. If there was space and single small wire I would run the wire through 02 tubing for extra protection.

My Zumo 500 and heated grips are powered by the sidelights circuit. You need to remove only the front panel and tap to one of the wires supplying  front sidelights. You can replace the 10A fuse with 16A one, but  I didn't and never had any problems. BTW Zumo does not need a lot of power anyway.

My Silver Wing has a 12v socket in the left glovebox pocket to power my Garmin, but I suppose I could just as easily charge my sat nav/GPS up in my house or a hotel and get at least a full days riding in.

Lazyfox wrote:

My Zumo 500 and heated grips are powered by the sidelights circuit. You need to remove only the front panel and tap to one of the wires supplying  front sidelights. You can replace the 10A fuse with 16A one *, but  I didn't and never had any problems. BTW Zumo does not need a lot of power anyway.

I pulled the right cubby and I found a - and + wire to tap into with a five Amp fuse* in the + for my Zumo 500 and garage door opener. I didn't put the one/only screw that holds it in back in. That way if I need to get to the fuse I don't need any tools to get to it.

*It's not wise to replace a fuse with a higher Amp one. The gage of the wire may not be able to carry the higher Amps. That's why I used a five Amp fuse. The wire I tapped into is on a ten or fifteen Amp fuse, so if the wire I put in shorts out it will blow the five Amp fuse and not interfere with the power in the original wire.
The connector for my GPS just plugs into a hole in the GPS holder when you're not using the GPS. I worry that rain could possibly get in the connector and cause a short. In five years and about 70,000 miles I've never blown the five Amp fuse. I ride in all weather and we have gotten over fifty inches of rain so far this year so I guess I'm worrying over nothing.

I have wired my Zumo 550 in a similar manner as above (but live with key off) and also would advise against using a larger amp fuse. I find Honda in particular using the minimum size wiring. Howard

Fusing a circuit properly means installing a fuse that has a burnout amperage less than the maximum the wire can carry. Fuses are sized to protect the wiring not the load. One can safely install fuses that blow at lower amperage than the wire is designed for but not higher. The link below has a good table for fuse sizing in 12V circuits.

http://www.oznium.com/forum/topic15761

model28a wrote:

Lazyfox wrote:

My Zumo 500 and heated grips are powered by the sidelights circuit. You need to remove only the front panel and tap to one of the wires supplying  front sidelights. You can replace the 10A fuse with 16A one *, but  I didn't and never had any problems. BTW Zumo does not need a lot of power anyway.

I pulled the right cubby and I found a - and + wire to tap into with a five Amp fuse* in the + for my Zumo 500 and garage door opener. I didn't put the one/only screw that holds it in back in. That way if I need to get to the fuse I don't need any tools to get to it.

*It's not wise to replace a fuse with a higher Amp one. The gage of the wire may not be able to carry the higher Amps. That's why I used a five Amp fuse. The wire I tapped into is on a ten or fifteen Amp fuse, so if the wire I put in shorts out it will blow the five Amp fuse and not interfere with the power in the original wire.
The connector for my GPS just plugs into a hole in the GPS holder when you're not using the GPS. I worry that rain could possibly get in the connector and cause a short. In five years and about 70,000 miles I've never blown the five Amp fuse. I ride in all weather and we have gotten over fifty inches of rain so far this year so I guess I'm worrying over nothing.

A fuse have basically two functions:

1) to prevent a long term overloading which can cause circuit overheating, melting and burning
2) to prevent a short term overloading cause by a short circuit and very high current.

In case of 2) 16A fuse will burn out as quickly as 10A one.

In my case I calculated the max load on that sidelights circuit and came to conclusion that additional load created by my heated grips (3A max) and Zumo (750mA) is BELOW 10A, but close.

In this case replacing 10A with 16A would be just additional safety measure that I would not lose this circuit while I am on the move. In the end I have not replaced yet 10A with 16A which proved that my calculation was correct, but I will soon.

If you only need to power Garmin Zumo 550 there is no need for that at all.

How many use a isolation panel to eliminate using OEM wires as much as possible? One thing it does is take load off relays.