Garmin Rugged powered mount with 12v cigar plug

[clutchspring]

Like others have mentioned the wires are very thin on the Garmin mount's .
I bought a used mount of eBay that was off a water cooled BMW GS so it had extra plugs fitted , I just cut off all the plugs & joined a length of twin cable with a in line fuse straight to the battery, work's fine on my classic be.

Ian.

[bikenav]

these mounts are pretty good only killed one electrically so far never use the little screw road or trail should use some kind of lanyard really, not too badly priced a lot more reliable than my old zumo. good kit.

[dibbs]

Well i found an old cigarette lead that i used on my old garmin car sat nav. It has the same mini usb connector that plugs into the rear of the montana, but when plugged into the cigar socket it only comes up with a data icon on the screen, and wont allow me into the navigation screen! So looks like ill have to wire it up to the battery

[bikenav]

that sounds like the montana at least thinks that your using a data transfer cable, I dont see how going direct to the battery will change that, or am I misunderstanding?

[AustinW]

I have a Garmin Rugged mount that's been fitted to three different bikes each in a different way. I have also dismantled it a couple of times after connection problems.

Power to the mount goes straight through the connectors with 12v supplied into the Montana unit. This comes through pins 4 & 5 (from the left), with pin 4 being +'ve. Any old source of power will do as long as its between 10v and 50v (as per install instructions). I can confirm (coz I tried it) that the Montana unit will not power up or charge if the Rugged mount is connected to a 5volt USB power outlet. The device itself must therefore have the electronics within it to cut 12volts+ down to charge a 3.7v battery.

Connecting to an ignition switched supply will kill power to the mount when you switch the ignition off. Your Montana will prompt you to stay on on battery power of switch off. If you don't make a selection it will switch off in 30 seconds. If your power source is not ignition switched you won't get this prompt and run the risk of running down your bike's battery - but probably only over several days as all you are doing is keeping a relatively small 5v battery topped up. The main drawback would be the device staying on and illuminated so drawing attention to it if you have left it on the bike. For info the Montana battery is 3.7v, 2000mAh, 7.4wh - someone could do the maths on how long a 12v 12Ah battery would keep this topped up, although I don't know the power draw of the divide itself.

The rugged mount comes with a ridiculous amount of cable as its trying to be all things to all users. Cut off the cable for the audio output jack if you don't use it very close to the "splitter". Inside the branch with the power are 4 other very thin cables. I have no idea what these are for - aerial perhaps or to interface with boat or aeroplane systems. I just cut them short and wrapped all four with tape. The power wires are the thicker one - red and black IIRC - easy to do a continuity test to pins 4 or 5.

The little torx T10 screw is a simple but lightweight bit of security - enough imho to leave the Montana on the bike while I go and pay for petrol or while its parked somewhere and I can keep an eye on it. I shoved the little tool supplied into a piece of petrol pipe with just a mm or two of the business end showing and put it on my key ring. The pipe stops rubbing on the top yoke (or wherever your key is) and also provides a bit more purchase to tighten and loosen. On my mount the torx screw lost its thread somehow (perhaps overtightended ) so I drilled a small hole in the release button and put a tiny brass padlock through. Again just enough security for a few moments away from the bike but nothing will stop the determined thief who could just rip the device from its mount.

If you plug a USB cable that is capable of carrying data as well as power the Montana recognises this (how ???) and will go into "Mass Storage Mode". You can use setting to configure the Montana to set a prompt for if you want to go into storage mode or not. I THINK if you can get a USB cable for power only the Montana does not go into or prompt for mass storage mode. I wouldn't recommend powering the Montana on the bike from the USB port as you are exposing some of the electronics to dust, squashed flies etc and possibly water. Never good. Also the bikes vibration as well vibes from the road are going to cause damage to the socket and plug over the medium to long term. I would have thought a knackered USB will see the unit scrapped or being sent off to Garmin for a swap out with a refurbished item - cost about £100. I have had to do it twice - once with a screen issue and the other, under warranty from the 1st time, due to a connection issue with the rugged mount.

[zimtim]

Well i found an old cigarette lead that i used on my old garmin car sat nav. It has the same mini usb connector that plugs into the rear of the montana, but when plugged into the cigar socket it only comes up with a data icon on the screen, and wont allow me into the navigation screen! So looks like ill have to wire it up to the battery

Was it a.genuine Garmin charger lead.

[bikenav]

I have a Garmin Rugged mount that's been fitted to three different bikes each in a different way. I have also dismantled it a couple of times after connection problems.

Good info there thanks for going to the trouble

[dibbs]

that sounds like the montana at least thinks that your using a data transfer cable, I dont see how going direct to the battery will change that, or am I misunderstanding?

The rugged mount can be wired into the bikes electric supply separatley, wheras the cigarette charger plugs directly into the montana unit, It is confusing, i was just after a quick way of getting round the wiring in issue, as im not very good with even simple electrics, but i think ive got this one!!!!!

On the Africa Twin there is an accessory plug under the rear seat so i think i can buy a plug from Honda and wire the mount to the plug then just plug and play, that way its wired to the ignition and not direct to the battery. If the wires arent long enough then i'll just hook it up straight to the battery as the mount only draws power while the montana is mounted in the mount as previously pointed out by Tramp.

[dibbs]

Well i found an old cigarette lead that i used on my old garmin car sat nav. It has the same mini usb connector that plugs into the rear of the montana, but when plugged into the cigar socket it only comes up with a data icon on the screen, and wont allow me into the navigation screen! So looks like ill have to wire it up to the battery

Was it a.genuine Garmin charger lead.

Yes Tim. I tried it on the bike and in the car with the same result, powers up but just shows the mass storage data icon on the screen! I did ring Garmin helpline and they say they sell a cigarette 12v lead that will work, but ive looked at the picture and it looks the same as the one I already have so not willing to waste £20 to find out! I might go to Halfords and see if I can borrow one to try out and see if it works and will let you all know!!!

[AustinW]

I am not clear what your problem is here.

Have you got something that is stepping down the voltage out the cigarette socket from 12volts to 5volts. I am pretty sure the USB socket should only be powered with 5 volts (although I could be wrong on that).

If, when you plug a USB cable directly into your Montana it goes into mass storage mode then it's doing what it's supposed to do. What you need to do is go into settings and change it so it prompts you as to whether to go into Mass storage mode or not. (I would need to get my device from the garage to tell you exactly what to do, and I am half watching the rugby at the mo, so not happening for an hour or so by which time I will have drunk beer). You also don't really want to be powering your Montana via the USB port while on the bike as I am pretty sure vibration will terminally damage to plug and/or the socket quite quickly.

The Rugged mount needs 12volts powered into it. 5volts won't do it. So if your answer to my first question above "yes 5volts out the cigarette plug" then it won't power up in the mount.

If it is going into mass storage mode when in the mount then I haven't a clue and would suggest Garmin support but being very clear what you are doing and asking only one short question at a time as they only seem to be able to provide one answer at a time.