Vehicle Power Cable

 

Somebody broke into my car a few days ago and swiped my radar detector and the power cable for the Nuvi 350. (Which was in the house...awww..too bad.) Can anyone tell me where I can get the equivalent cheap? The factory cable is 28 bucks. It looks like a standard piece, like a car cell phone type of cable.

power cord

here is a link for one a little less.

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-Nuvi-650-Accessories-C212....

All Nuvi will take the same cord

.

nrbovee wrote:

It looks like a standard piece, like a car cell phone type of cable.

Did your original one have a 90° mini-usb connector, rather than the normal 'straight' plug? If you use an ordinary 'straight' plug with the cradle of my 310 it severely restricts the amount of adjustment possible...

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

All vehicle cables are not the same

nrbovee wrote:

The factory cable is 28 bucks. It looks like a standard piece, like a car cell phone type of cable.

Be careful! If the factory cable is 28 bucks, it probably is NOT a standard piece like your cell phone.

Most cell phone cords are just "straight" 12 V. cords. Many GPS units, however, don't take a 12 V input. The power cords are "active" and drop the voltage down to 5 or 6 Volts.

Applying 12 V to a unit that only wants 5 would likely let out the "magic smoke" and cause it to stop working !! mrgreen

--
Magellan Maestro 4250// MIO C310X

nrbovee wrote: Somebody

nrbovee wrote:

Somebody broke into my car a few days ago and swiped my radar detector and the power cable for the Nuvi 350. (Which was in the house...awww..too bad.) Can anyone tell me where I can get the equivalent cheap? The factory cable is 28 bucks. It looks like a standard piece, like a car cell phone type of cable.

As mentioned all power cables are NOT the same. If it doesn't have the correct number of pins, it will only activate the mass storage mode, not the navigation mode, which isn't much good in the car. Make sure that whatever you buy, it's rated for your GPSr.

--
Rick - Nüvi 260 - eTrex Summit HC

voltage

Ok, just looked it up and USB voltage is 5V so apparently the cable did the same, dropping it down to 5V. thanks for the warning as it saved me from frying the thing with 12V. I did have the pin at a 90 degree angle on mine. I'll try looking aroudn the lot tomorrow in case someone threw it away in disgust. I could always take my voltage inverter and AC adapter along I guess, but that's a lot of extra junk to be toting, and that much more to have to conceal in the car.

It's not just the voltage that is important.

It's not just the voltage that is important. There is a specific resistor that tells the unit that it is not connected to a computer. If that is not there it will go into mass storage mode and you won't be able to use it for navigating.

--
><> Glenn <>< Garmin nüvi 2598

5 volts vs 12 volts

Does the power cord plug directly into the car cradle or the Nuvi itself. The reason I ask is the Zumo's get their power through the car cradle and I'm pretty sure it handles the conversion down to 5 volts.

Mine plugs directly into the

Mine plugs directly into the unit. This allows me to set a destination and just put it on the seat without having the suction cup in the window. Much easier and far less distracting for me. I'm going to see if Fry's has one that will work, as their web site lists two different ones and if it does I'll report back with the brand and SKU number. Theirs are $15. I'm hoping the resistor is common across various brands so the GPS doesn't kick into mass storage mode. I'll go down there tonight and pick one up.

Depends on the unit

gdfaini wrote:

It's not just the voltage that is important. There is a specific resistor that tells the unit that it is not connected to a computer. If that is not there it will go into mass storage mode and you won't be able to use it for navigating.

On the Nuvi 350, that resistor is present in the cradle connector. So it does not matter what is plugged into the cradle USB connector or how it is wired. It will never go into storage mode, even with a USB cable connected to a computer. Not so with the side USB port on the Nuvi itself. That port responds as intended by the USB standard concerning storage vs charging only modes.

Power Cable

The power cable has circuitry to determine when the lithium ion battery is charged and is matched to the battery. These batteries are much more sensitive to charging than the NiCd or Ni-MH types. Full charge is normally determined by the rate of change of voltage. Overcharging can cause a fire like you have heard about in notebook computers.

OEM

A general advice - stick to OEM stuff!
The peace of mind is really worth the couple $$$ more you're paying for...

Just my $0.02

--
“There is always a solution; the only challenge is to find the best one”

Good price!

nrbovee wrote:

Ok, just looked it up and USB voltage is 5V so apparently the cable did the same, dropping it down to 5V. thanks for the warning as it saved me from frying the thing with 12V. I did have the pin at a 90 degree angle on mine. I'll try looking aroudn the lot tomorrow in case someone threw it away in disgust. I could always take my voltage inverter and AC adapter along I guess, but that's a lot of extra junk to be toting, and that much more to have to conceal in the car.

The nüvi auto cable is $19.95 at erwincomp.com smile

--
Rick - Nüvi 260 - eTrex Summit HC

Gilsson cable

Picked up the Gilsson referenced in the second post for $14.99 at Fry's tonight. Fry's SKU is 5342108-this was at the B&M Chicago area store. Prices are all over the place for the OEM erwincomp.com sells-I copied the SKU number, googled it, and one local store here (ABT) wants $47 for it!

Who would want to take a

Who would want to take a chance of frying there Garmin that is hundreds of dollars to save $10 on a oem charger?

Seems like a no brainer....

eBay

I bought an extra cord and cradle for my 250w for $25 plus shipping. It's not made by Garmin, but is is definitely designed for the Nuvi.
I've had no problems with it, and would recommend it to anyone.

hMM COULD IT BE.....

E_BAY!

12v on a USB style connector?

ka1167 wrote:
nrbovee wrote:

The factory cable is 28 bucks. It looks like a standard piece, like a car cell phone type of cable.

Be careful! If the factory cable is 28 bucks, it probably is NOT a standard piece like your cell phone.

Most cell phone cords are just "straight" 12 V. cords. Many GPS units, however, don't take a 12 V input. The power cords are "active" and drop the voltage down to 5 or 6 Volts.

Applying 12 V to a unit that only wants 5 would likely let out the "magic smoke" and cause it to stop working !! mrgreen

I don't think you can find an auto charger USB style connector running 12V wink

--
nüvi 680, nüvi 770, Garmin Mobile XT, etc...

Power Connections

dcoffing wrote:

I don't think you can find an auto charger USB style connector running 12V wink

My mistake. The OP referred to a cord similar to one used for a cell phone. Do some cell phones now use the USB connector for external power ??

My unit has a power connector which is seperate from the USB connector.

--
Magellan Maestro 4250// MIO C310X

Motorola uses USB

Motorola has switched almost all there phones to the USB type charger. They are Great no more sticking pins in the side and Broken connectors on car cell phone chargers. And best yet because it is a Standard so when you upgrade phones the same charger works...

--
Dave_ Nuvi 660 , 760,1490LMT Wooster, Ohio

Nokia as well

Nokia is headed that way as well with USB charging.

PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

Actually, I think most cell phones are going USB

I read recently that most of the major cell phone makers will go USB in their new models over the next year or so. 'Bout time they did something like that.

--
*Keith* MacBook Pro *wifi iPad(2012) w/BadElf GPS & iPhone6 + Navigon*

*

Mike107 wrote:

The power cable has circuitry to determine when the lithium ion battery is charged and is matched to the battery. These batteries are much more sensitive to charging than the NiCd or Ni-MH types. Full charge is normally determined by the rate of change of voltage. Overcharging can cause a fire like you have heard about in notebook computers.

The charging circuitry is built into the unit. Otherwise, you will not able to charge your Garmin using a regular USB cable connected to you computer's USB port.