External USB Charger Question

When the USB charger is connected, the traffic receiver is not. The traffic receiver is part of the power cord when it is plugged into the car's cigar lighter outlet.

dobs108

As dobs108 said, you need the Garmin power cord for traffic, the Power Cord is also the Traffic Antenna. As for the USB Charger, make sure it's rated at 2amps or better. I have a Samsung USB Phone Charger rated at 2.1amps, works Great for Charging the Unit and running Simulations, But traffic, no.........

I'm looking for a wall charger that won't make the Nuvi go nuts.

Will this work?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YDFX7Y/

All wall chargers will cause the GPS to lose its traffic receiver. They are only for charging, not for operation.

The charger mentioned has a micro USB connector, not mini. Most phones or tablets now have a micro USB connection. Amazon.com has hundreds of wall chargers, but they don't include the amperage rating for most of them.

dobs108

It appears the adapter has the necessary amperage rating in the ad but according to reviewers, it does not. Most say it is not a Samsung product. This may be the reason the product was discontinued.

Whether it works or not will depend on the Nuvi and USB cable used to connect it. The cable must have the proper pinout (pin connector wiring) to function correctly. The ad mentions a micro connector and most Nuvi's use a mini as dobs108 mentioned.
I'd stay away from this one.

The charger that came with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 looks exactly like the one in your Amazon link, although as
bdhsfz6 suggested, that product may be a knock-off and not the authentic Samsung charger.

What I can tell you is my Samsung charger, used with a generic mini USB cable from Monoprice will power up any one of my 3 nuvis (755T, 855 and 3597LMTHD). They power up in navigation mode (not computer mode) and charge and operate just fine. Interestingly, with the 3597LMTHD using this charger I DO NOT get the "Incompatible charger" error that I get with many of my other wall chargers. I use the Samsung charger all the time when I want to charge the battery on the nuvi, create routes, go through the settings, test a route in simulation mode, etc.

Of course, as dobs108 said, you do not have traffic service when connected this way, but then, I don't have much traffic to worry about when sitting on my sofa .

Edit: I just looked at the model number on my Samsung charger. It is ETA-U90JWE, which is the first one listed in the ad. I guess if I needed another charger for my nuvi, I would be willing to take a chance on this one, although there could be something kinky with your 2639. I don't think you will know for sure unless you try it..

Could you recommend one then?

I'll use the data cable that came with the device.

How's this?
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B012WMWPJW

Like I said, I don't think you can know unless you take a chance and try it.

One thing that I suspect is different with your 2639 from my 3 nuvi's is that it may have the traffic receiver built into the device rather than the power cord. That could cause different issues with wall chargers. All of my nuvi's have the traffic receiver in the power cord and can operate (without traffic service) using a generic power source.

Thanks!

Assuming your traffic receiver is built into your nuvi and not in the power adapter, is there any place in the settings menu or diagnostic menu where you can turn off the traffic receiver? I have never used one of these devices with the built in traffic receiver, so I don't know. But maybe if you can turn off the traffic receiver, your current charger would work OK.

It can be turned off, but I believe the problem is with the adapter as it's rated only 1A.

Thanks, guys!

A good thought.

I just looked up the nuvi 2639. From what I've read, for it to have an internal traffic receiver, it would have a power cable starting with TA (a power cord plus traffic antenna). From what I see on the 2639 page, instead of a TA cable it uses either a GTM60 Digital or GTM36 North America power cable which has the traffic receiver built into the cable. Of course, this is Garmin (and I am me), so this could all be wrong.

This is correct; the receiver is on the vehicle cable.

Anyway, does Nuvi 2639 use a micro USB cable, or is it mini? I'm not good with hardware stuffs.

I am pretty sure it is a mini USB cable.

Here are two other sites that say the 2639LMT comes with the TA20 cable which would indicate the receiver is in the device ... maybe there are different versions of this model? In any case, since you have one in hand, you know what your 2639 has (which I assume is the GTM36).

http://www.gpscity.com/questions?qid=55706
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-gJHajrwgFQm/p_1502639LMT/Garmin...

Thanks!

Just out of curiosity, what is the model of your power adapter? GTM36 or GTM60? Did this come with your nuvi when it was new? Or was your nuvi used or a refurb? I am trying to figure out if there are multiple hardware versions of the 2639LMT.

Again, if there is a way on the menu to turn off the traffic receiver, I think turning it off would be worth a try, even with your old 1.0A wall charger.

Isn't that interesting. I did look at a photo of a 2639 being offered on ebay and I think I can make out a TA power cord rather than a GTM and this agrees with your two references.

Even on the Garmin site for the nuvi 2639, there is a bit of an issue. On the 'In the box' tab, it does state 'antenna/vehicle power cable' while on the 'Accessories' tab, it lists no TA option but does offer two GTM power/traffic choices and three non-traffic cables. Cyberian seems to confirm having a GTM rather than a TA.

If there aren't different versions of the 2639, then at the very least it appears that it could use the TA with the built-in internal traffic receiver or bypass the built in and go with a GTM cable.

I wouldn't bet 25 cents on what is correct here and only our 2639 users can help out by saying what they have. It's been said before but this supports the claim that Garmin offers too many automotive GPS models for even them to keep track of. Of course, the owners manual isn't much help since it's a manual for the entire 25x9 26x9 series models.

I believe it's GTM36. It came with the device...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N41USGS

As for my current adapter, it does charge the device; however, I can't manipulate the device, because it either reboots or its screen goes all white as soon as I hit OK for the traffic incompatibility message which by the way would not appear if the receiver was embedded in the device.

I think it depends on the tier of the model; i.e., 2639, 2689 and 2699.

It should be easy to nail it down exactly what you have. I think both the GTM and TA power adapters have the model number shown on the plug.

Only models with "LMTHD" comes with a GMT60 receiver which is digital, and mine certainly isn't TA.

USB standard only supports 0.5A. The device does not know if you have a 1A, 2A or 5A power source behind it. The device will only go into full power if paired with a special plug. This signaling is accomplished using the 5th pin in the USB-B connector.

Unfortunately, the 5th pin on a common cable does not leave the connector so you can't really configure it. Garmin adapter has it configured within the molded plug. If you want to charge inside your house, you would have to buy a charger kit designed for GPS and use a Garmin plug or get yourself a Garmin branded car cable, cut the cord and splice it into a 1.5A or higher rated USB charger.

If you have to pair it to a standard USB plug, glue it into the adapter.. and the adapter has to be rated higher than 1.5A. If you don't glue it in and it finds itself in a USB port, the unit will draw the full current and fry the host device

Thanks Falcon9

I've tried it with Power Adapter for Samsung Galaxy S4 and Garmin data cable, and this works fine.

I don't have a link to it... but for the 660 I reverse engineered USB cables and determined how you could power a 660 of USB such that it would run, verses just go to Computer Synchronize (POI Loader) mode.

I asked at that time to have the thread be made a Sticky but it wasn't....

If anyone has access to know where that post was.... It might be quite helpful now....

Jan

That's not quite correct. The standard allows for several different amounts of current across the cable depending on how it is used. The USB 3 addendum allows up to 20 VDC and 5A for battery charging. The 500 mA figure is the nominal current supplied for a USB data connection. If only 500 mA were allowed, many products would not function when connected to an external power supply. Tablets and phones often require a minimum of 1A and many even more.

I'm getting this just to be safe...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003N73S9M

In my opinion, a Garmin brand charger is now the right one to use. Previously, I thought that Garmin's advice to buy their product was self-serving. Not anymore.

Falcon9 gave us good advice - that the USB power connection is limited so that a device or the power source cannot be damaged by too much current. By recommending other chargers, or worse, modifying the pinout, there could be unintended results.

dobs108

Here's a simpler hack I just noticed today. Connect a powered hub or any USB charger with the standard cord, but not a computer. I used a dumb charger (USB port in AC adapter type) and a standard data cable.

With the GPS set to auto-detect (default), it will go into computer mode and you will see the orange computer logo. After about a minute, it gives up and boots up normally. Once its running, push the power button. It shuts off and displays "charging the battery". Come back in a few hours. It will be fully charged

It will be in 0.5A mode, therefore, it can only operate (to play around with) OR charge, so it won't charge unless you turn it off.

I don't need to charge it from the outlet often enough for the minute delay to bother me. I will just use this method from now on.

I wish there was a way to disable battery charging on the full power car cable. With how I use my GPS, I don't need to run on battery for more than a few minutes. It's actually quite damaging to the lithium ion battery to leave it constantly topped off. Leaving it about half full is the best way to take care of it.

http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slyt118/slyt118.pdf There ya go.

You're talking about specific implementations which isn't completely standardized.

It's fairly common for tablets and phones to stay trapped in 500mA mode despite using 2A charger even though they charge at full rate with the factory charger. The device has to be convinced that it's ok to draw the full current. Many aftermarket charging setup don't have that capability.

In the case of Garmin, it uses a specific jumper configuration on the 5th pin within the cord end that fits the GPS unit to inform the cable type to unit. Standard cables do not make any connection to the 5th pin.

Jan, the POI Factory doesn't do stickies. What you need to do is create a faq:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/add/faq

Your submission will be reviewed and in a day or two usually it's posted for all to read—and for our jgermann to add it to the Index!

Was this what you're looking for:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/44305

It cannot be determined whether an aftermarket wall charger has the correct 5th pin configuration. If it does not, it will not operate properly.

dobs108

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/44261

http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slyt118/slyt118.pdf There ya go.

You're talking about specific implementations which isn't completely standardized.

It's fairly common for tablets and phones to stay trapped in 500mA mode despite using 2A charger even though they charge at full rate with the factory charger. The device has to be convinced that it's ok to draw the full current. Many aftermarket charging setup don't have that capability.

In the case of Garmin, it uses a specific jumper configuration on the 5th pin within the cord end that fits the GPS unit to inform the cable type to unit. Standard cables do not make any connection to the 5th pin.

Box Car, you haven't quoted Falcon9 accurately.

Give it a rest, guys.

You are quite correct.............

Same with me. I powered my 2639 on just battery power and ran some sims till I was at 50% BATT. I ran more Simulations with the Samsung Charger ( P/N ETA-U90JWE ) with a Sony MP3 Player USB Cable. I checked my 2639 after about a Hour and a Half and the unit was fully charged. But I do use the supplied Garmin Cable when I do Map/Software updates....................

Thanks for making an FAQ!

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/46169

dobs108