BMW Luxury Touring Community banner

Charging Nav 5

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  garr2 
#1 · (Edited)
I only use my BMW Nav 5 GPS on trips so the battery usually goes flat between uses. What are my options for charging the battery?
I know I can charge it by using it on the bike or in the car (I have the car kit). But sometimes I want it charged before I go on a trip eg when downloading a route from Basecamp before the trip or updating maps.
Bright idea 1 - I tried putting the Nav 5 (with flat battery) onto the bike, starting the bike and leaving it running until the screen came alive then turning the ignition off hoping that the bike battery would continue to charge it. Didn't work.
Bright idea 2 - I then tried starting the bike, putting the GPS into the car cradle, plugging the car cradle into the rear auxiliary power socket then turning the ignition off - once again hoping the bike battery would charge the GPS while the bike wasn't running. Didn't work.
Bright idea 3 - As I type this I have the GPS plugged into the computer USB 3 port with Garmin Express running. I checked the GPS battery level after an hour or so and I'm not sure if battery level has moved or not.

Any comments or Bright ideas?

Ian
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Just my bright idea! Since you have the usb cable for your Nav, just plug the cable into a electric usb charging device, say one that you use for your phone.


As for plugging it into the usb drive on your computer, most times the computer does not provide enough voltage to provide both charging and "screen" use at the same time. You do not need to have Basecamp or Garmin Express running to provide voltage to the gps, just plugging it in will suffice (if you go that route).



Again, just my bright idea!
 
#4 · (Edited)
Not really important but all working USB ports provide 5 volts. What varies is Amps, my Mac puts out 5V @ 0.5 A or 2.5 Watts. At last, math so easy I can do it.

Just my bright idea! Since you have the usb cable for your Nav, just plug the cable into a electric usb charging device, say one that you use for your phone.


As for plugging it into the usb drive on your computer, most times the computer does not provide enough voltage to provide both charging and "screen" use at the same time.



Again, just my bright idea!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Just my bright idea! Since you have the usb cable for your Nav, just plug the cable into a electric usb charging device, say one that you use for your phone.
After 14 hours plugged into a USB port of my computer the Nav 5 battery level now shows half. OK, so it does work, as long as you're not in hurry. I intend leaving it to charge from the computer just to see how long it will take to get a full charge. Luckily I'm only 65 and healthy!

On mtrevelino's advice I checked the charger I use for my phone and it says it is 5V/2.1A. So next time I need to charge it from dead I'll give that a go and see how long it takes.

I did find another thread that covered this same topic.


Ian
 
#6 ·
OK, stop the clock. Battery level not quiet full but I need the USB port for something else.
18 hours from dead to almost full using the computer USB port to charge the Nav 5.
As I said above, next time I'll use the 2.1 amp mobile phone charger.

Ian
 
#7 ·
Most of my personal computers (IBM Thinkpads,swapped yearly) lost power to the USB port when the laptop entered "sleep mode" or when the lid was closed.
Your garmmin could have been plugged in 18 days, but without the required time on a powered port, it would have done little.
I've charged a good variety of GPS devices over the years, currently Zumo 660, using standard phone chargers (phone and home) with never a thought of amps and watts and never had a problem?
One final thought an incomplete charge of 18 hours might suggest a battery problem rather than a charging issue.
 
#8 ·
OK, stop the clock. Battery level not quiet full but I need the USB port for something else.
18 hours from dead to almost full using the computer USB port to charge the Nav 5.
As I said above, next time I'll use the 2.1 amp mobile phone charger.
So I did, use the 2.1Amp phone charger that is.
All done in about 3 hours.
Thanks to Goose 11 & John Brock

ian
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top