Finding the right wire to tap into for GPS

[KhromalusionaL]

Guys,

Just purchased the Garmin Zumo 550 and i am looking for a safe wire to tap into for the power. What wire is everyone using for this? Any info helps thanks!

 

[Reaper]

I hooked mine direct to the battery!

 

[Ignacio]

Directly to the battery. The draw is such that you could leave it on for days and not drain the battery. It also stays on and figures my stopped time.

 

[johnny80s]

Put in a fuse block and run it from there.

 

[painman]

Ran mine to the AP-2 fuse block with the power on side. I like to have the GPS on when I stop for fuel etc. so it doesn't have to power back up each time. And by going with a fuse block or panel you don't have a birds nest getting larger at the battery as you add farkles and most of your fuses and connections are now in one place. PM. <><

 

[brazos parker]

I have a Blue Seas fuse block located under the rear seat. It supplies switched power to the tank bag which has 2 connectors...one for the GPS and the other, a cigarette adaptor, provides power to charge a cell phone.

My Hella FF50's are also wired thru the fuse block.

I've got room left on the fuse block for future additions...maybe, heated gear.

 

[squeezer]

I hooked the zumo up to a 2 prong SAE plug so I could plug it into my Battery Tender pigtail. Most of the time, I don't need it, so it's nice to be able to easily remove the mount.

 

[Geezer]

At first I wired mine to switched power. I used the spare wire that came off of the stock horns which became a spare after I installed after market horns through a relay. You could also tap off of one of the running lights. If you have disabled the windscreen retract you could use the wire from there. The current draw is small so you can use just about any switched power source.

However, I got tired of having the GPS run through it's power on cycle every time I stopped for gas, so I changed my wiring to go directly to the battery.

 

[okmac]

I just plugged mine into the cig. socket in the glove box. You can run the power wire out the hole in the bottom of the box. Makes things pretty simple .

Mac

 

[KhromalusionaL]

Thanks guys looks pretty easy then. I am going to run it direct to battery. I am waiting for my stem mount to show before puting everything together. Hope it makes it by friday so i can take the GPS on the camp trip.

 

[jmdaniel]

And good luck with your cradle. Mine went to crap, and Garmin doesn't stand behind it.

 

[Slick]

I want to be able to move the cradle from the HD to the FJR.

I already bought the ball stem thing.

I need to put an SAE plug in the wiring so I can move the cradle back and forth.

I looked at Home Depot yesterday and could not find any SAE connectors.

Where should I look for the SAE connectors?

 

[sportsguy]

Auto parts store maybe???

 

[squeezer]

Auto parts store maybe???

Yeah, auto parts stores should have them.

If you want to stay home, try www.wiringproducts.com. Go to the trailer connector section and look for molded connectors.

 

[dcarver]

The Zumo 550 has internal batteries that will recharge if in a hot cradle. If when the batteries start to fail, thus taking continuous charge, it's possible I would think, that the main Feejer battery could flatten out over time.

No science here, will let Fred and Ion and others debate - just wanted to bring forth that unlike other Garmins, the 550 carries an internal power source.