Hardwired car power cord stops working - General Accessories

Back in the day, I installed a hardwired mini-usb power cord in my car (something like this: ebay listing
It worked great for a long time powering my GPS. I haven't used it in a couple years probably though, since I use my phone for GPS now.
I'm getting the Samsung car dock for my Galaxy Nexus, so I was looking for a neat way to run power to it. I remembered this, which already comes out the dashboard. I've got a mini to micro adapter cable, so I tried it. On my nexus, it seemed to work. I was curious how much power it could provide though (and samsung phones don't let apps display the current flow) so I grabbed my old Evo 4G.
Unplugged: from 150 to 350 mA used
Plugged into the hardwired connection: around 350 mA charging. Not great, but ok. After a minute though, it changed to 350 mA LOSS. The charge light was still on and the phone still claimed to be in AC charge mode, but it was losing power.
Any ideas? Unplugging it and plugging it back in did the same thing - several hundred mA in, and then change to losing power.
My best guess is that the old charger can't really provide 1A even though it shows as an AC adapter, so it's cutting out when the phone pulls too much power. Could that be? Or is it dying? Or something else?

Related

USB not powerful enough to charge?

Anyone else having this problem. When I have my TMOUS TP2 hooked up to USB I keep getting told it's not getting enough power to charge.
Interesting. Is the USB plugged into a USB hub or straight into a computer? I can charge mine via USB when its straight into the computer. I'll try with hub a second to see if there is a difference.
Edit-
No, I cant. When plugged into a 4-port USB hub, I also cannot charge. I'm using some generic nonsense hub, dunno if a higher quality one (or one that also plugs into the wall for juice) might make a difference
Yes!
Many laptops are not powerful enough to charge the TP2. Also many hubs will divide the power between the ports.
A standard USB port will give you about 1A and the above mentioned gives you typically less than 1/2A.
Putting TP2 in standby will help if on a weak port, but that makes no sense, cause then you can use the charger.
It's directly in to my PC.. weird.
I got the "not enough power" USB warning when plugged into my laptop...but not right away -- it had been plugged in for 30-60 minutes or so.
I have not received that warning when plugged into the USB port of a full-power-desktop PC, even when plugged in for hours.
I try to remember to bring the ac adapter that came with my TP2 when I'm going to be away from home for a while so I don't have to depend on USB-power from a computer.
I charged off a 0.5A power source (the most you'll get out of a standard USB port), but the device was turned off. Took about 3.5 hours to fully charge it.
Did you have anything like wifi, gps, etc turned on at the time?
how much power is left on the phone? IIRC, if its too low, your phone will not charge through USB & you need the AC adapter.
There are "powered" and "unpowered" USB ports. The "unpowered" ones just basically carry enough current to carry signals, but not actually power a device. The "powered" ones carry enough current to charge a device.
Many laptops are "unpowered" ports, although I think that trend is changing. Most desktops I would assume are "powered".
I personally only power my phone on one of two official chargers I have, although if I'm in the car I'll use a third party adaptor there.
I don't know if the TP2 is any different than the Tilt in regards to charging, but I'd assume very similar.... Perhaps I'll have the TP2 soon, I've finally gotten ATT to let me have an early upgrade but haven't found the actual phone yet.
I have a 5v 1A car charger. When in the car if I am using Pocket Player, and my GPS program at the same time I will get the message that:
"there is not enough current to properly charge the device. Please should shut down unneeded programs." or something like that...
And sure enough, my phone will die if left like this. It won't charge, even though it shows that it is... curious.
Could it be the cable is not allowing enough current? I am using an older cable in the car, as I have my TP2 supplied cable on my computer....I am going to try swapping these 2 cables tomorrow and see what happens.
I've had my Sprint TP2 for 12 days now and experienced this problem once. I was plugged directly to my PC via the USB port. I believe my battery was at about 30% so I disconnected it and used the travel charger for awhile and plugged it back into the PC USB port. So far that's the only time it's happened.
Might be the cable!
cameraddict said:
Could it be the cable is not allowing enough current? I am using an older cable in the car, as I have my TP2 supplied cable on my computer....I am going to try swapping these 2 cables tomorrow and see what happens.
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Hello,
I had exactly the same problem and found out it WAS the USB cable - the one used couldn't offer more than 300mA to the phone, even if connected to orriginal HTC AC adapter. After changing the cable, the 1A car charger gives the same mA as the AC adapter (checked with nuePower - http://www.nuerom.com/BlogEngine/page/nuePowernueBattery.aspx)
Radu
nradu:
Thanks for the info.. I haven't driven anywhere since I posted that! I will be in the next day or so... glad to know the answer is simple.
I too, just downloaded the NuePower program. Will be installing this as well. Did you by chance have the chainfire 1% battery cab installed? If so, did you unistall it first? Wondering if there will be a conflict between the 2.
cameraddict said:
Did you by chance have the chainfire 1% battery cab installed? If so, did you unistall it first? Wondering if there will be a conflict between the 2.
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Click to collapse
Hi,
Yes, I have chainfire's cab, I didn't uninstall it before installing NuePower (btw, I have tried once to uninstall it and after a soft reset, the 1% info was still there). the only bug I saw was when pressing the OK button in NuePower - sometimes phone hungs or runs very very slowly. Best is to use it only to test the cables and uninstall it. and don't press OK button, just minimize it with End Key or do a soft reset if handy.
Mine does the same thing lol
I get the same thing, i think they should make these devices use even more power.
Don't know if will help, but last night I was in my car using Live Search for GPS purposes. The battery was low on the phone, so I plugged it in. The phone told me that the source was not strong enough to charge the phone and to try shutting down some apps. I assumed that it was because the GPS was still active, although I really don't know because I didn't bother testing that theory, as I was just around the corner from my house. (No jokes about using the GPS to get home, please. )
Anyway, when I got home, I plugged into my laptop (which was running on AC power) using the cable that came with my XV6800. Note that the cable is always connected to my laptop via a cheap USB hub. I experienced no problems.

So why is my battery draining while charging?

I've noticed this happening any time I tether via USB or use GPS navigation while plugged in. Even though I'm connected and charging, I slowly but surely discharge. This weekend I used Google Nav for 2 hours and lost 20% of my battery while charging! On Juice Plotter, I notice the green charging glow at the bottom is a more transparent shade of green (as opposed to solid green when solely charging). Any ideas what causes this or how to avoid it? It seems to be recent.
TheBiles said:
I've noticed this happening any time I tether via USB or use GPS navigation while plugged in. Even though I'm connected and charging, I slowly but surely discharge. This weekend I used Google Nav for 2 hours and lost 20% of my battery while charging! On Juice Plotter, I notice the green charging glow at the bottom is a more transparent shade of green (as opposed to solid green when solely charging). Any ideas what causes this or how to avoid it? It seems to be recent.
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Click to collapse
Let me guess, you're charging off a USB port in your laptop, or using the data cable that came with the phone in your car charger?
Not all USB sources (or cables, for that matter) are created equally. Most PC/laptop ports put out 500mAh, half of what the Evo is designed to take (the factory AC adapter, the wall plug, is 1000mAh, aka 1amp).
Since it's only getting half the draw it can't quite keep up with how much power you're sucking away from the battery. This is usually only present when using the device heavily, such as with the screen on and GPS or WiFi/3G actively running.
The charging indicator (at least on Sense) indicates if it's getting the full "AC" charge (1amp) or if it's getting a reduced current charge. Sounds like that's what you're noticing.
My wife's Samsung Moment charger is 700mAh/0.7amp, and it can keep my Evo steady during use (it's powering it for 3G+WiFi tether right now), but it doesn't really charge fast at all, basically it just keeps it from depleting.
I've been meaning to try one of the USB Y-cables that join 2 standard USB ports to one female port for combined power of 1amp, but I'm not sure it will work as I hope. Anyway, I'll report back if I get around to it.
Otherwise, use an actual 1amp AC adapter whenever possible. Shop on eBay, chargers are stupid cheap. Just look for one that says it can do 1amp/1000mAh. If you're using the phone at work and want to have a convenient charging source, get one of the $20 docking cradles with an AC adapter on eBay. If it's in your car, any 12v USB charger should work, as long as you use a proper pass-through charging micro USB cable and not a "data cable". There's a slight difference in how the pins are wired inside. The Rocket Fish brand of micro USB cables are known to work (that's how I charge mine at full power in my car).
Way to go GT. Are you a student? I'm an ME phd student.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
sprocket87 said:
Let me guess, you're charging off a USB port in your laptop, or using the data cable that came with the phone in your car charger?
Not all USB sources (or cables, for that matter) are created equally. Most PC/laptop ports put out 500mAh, half of what the Evo is designed to take (the factory AC adapter, the wall plug, is 1000mAh, aka 1amp).
Since it's only getting half the draw it can't quite keep up with how much power you're sucking away from the battery. This is usually only present when using the device heavily, such as with the screen on and GPS or WiFi/3G actively running.
The charging indicator (at least on Sense) indicates if it's getting the full "AC" charge (1amp) or if it's getting a reduced current charge. Sounds like that's what you're noticing.
My wife's Samsung Moment charger is 700mAh/0.7amp, and it can keep my Evo steady during use (it's powering it for 3G+WiFi tether right now), but it doesn't really charge fast at all, basically it just keeps it from depleting.
I've been meaning to try one of the USB Y-cables that join 2 standard USB ports to one female port for combined power of 1amp, but I'm not sure it will work as I hope. Anyway, I'll report back if I get around to it.
Otherwise, use an actual 1amp AC adapter whenever possible. Shop on eBay, chargers are stupid cheap. Just look for one that says it can do 1amp/1000mAh. If you're using the phone at work and want to have a convenient charging source, get one of the $20 docking cradles with an AC adapter on eBay. If it's in your car, any 12v USB charger should work, as long as you use a proper pass-through charging micro USB cable and not a "data cable". There's a slight difference in how the pins are wired inside. The Rocket Fish brand of micro USB cables are known to work (that's how I charge mine at full power in my car).
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I'm using the included charging cable. Doesn't that have full capacity? I also use a standard USB adapter in the car. It seems like that would be able to output the correct amount of volts.
gtkansan said:
Way to go GT. Are you a student? I'm an ME phd student.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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3rd year CmpE.
I had the same problem until I noticed how hot my phone was using the nav. 13 hour drive. I purchased a vent cradle for the car and so that it can stay cool while in use and charging. While the other guy may be right theoretically, its not right practically. The evo will shut off its mini usb hub once it starts getting dangerously hot so that it won't damage your phone. Long story short make sure your phone is at safe temps no need to buy another charger for your evo. keep at cool temps so that phone won't cut off power supply will even shut your phone down if its way to hot, happened to me in atlanta not fun.
"Insert Fancy Quote"
TheBiles said:
I'm using the included charging cable. Doesn't that have full capacity? I also use a standard USB adapter in the car. It seems like that would be able to output the correct amount of volts.
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When you say "included charging cable" do you mean the wall plug that came with the Evo or just the cable with a USB connector on one end and a micro USB on the other end? Because THAT cable is pinned as a data transfer cable and designed to relay only half voltage no matter what you plug it into. I know, because it only charged my Evo at slow speed when plugged into my USB car charger. Once I replaced it with the Rocket Fish cable it charged at full speed.
kwilbur3 said:
I had the same problem until I noticed how hot my phone was using the nav. 13 hour drive. I purchased a vent cradle for the car and so that it can stay cool while in use and charging. While the other guy may be right theoretically, its not right practically. The evo will shut off its mini usb hub once it starts getting dangerously hot so that it won't damage your phone. Long story short make sure your phone is at safe temps no need to buy another charger for your evo. keep at cool temps so that phone won't cut off power supply will even shut your phone down if its way to hot, happened to me in atlanta not fun.
"Insert Fancy Quote"
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See above. While I agree that heat will kill the battery and possibly trigger a shutoff, I don't think that's his problem. If you use the wrong cable or charger you will only get half charging current.
sprocket87 said:
When you say "included charging cable" do you mean the wall plug that came with the Evo or just the cable with a USB connector on one end and a micro USB on the other end? Because THAT cable is pinned as a data transfer cable and designed to relay only half voltage no matter what you plug it into. I know, because it only charged my Evo at slow speed when plugged into my USB car charger. Once I replaced it with the Rocket Fish cable it charged at full speed.
See above. While I agree that heat will kill the battery and possibly trigger a shutoff, I don't think that's his problem. If you use the wrong cable or charger you will only get half charging current.
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I mean the USB cable that comes in the box with the EVO that plugs into the AC adapter. Maybe I will look into a new cable then. Hmm.
Edit: Those Rocketfish cables that you mentioned seem to be ungodly expensive. No way in hell am I going to pay more than $5 for a USB cable. Any alternatives?
TheBiles said:
I mean the USB cable that comes in the box with the EVO that plugs into the AC adapter. Maybe I will look into a new cable then. Hmm.
Edit: Those Rocketfish cables that you mentioned seem to be ungodly expensive. No way in hell am I going to pay more than $5 for a USB cable. Any alternatives?
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This is the one I got: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKETFISH-MOBI...ARGING-CABLE-/350384355972?pt=PDA_Accessories
$3 shipped
And there are 2 USB cables that came with the Evo (mine anyway), a thick one that was bundled with the wall charger and a thin one that's intended just for data sync. The thin one doesn't seem to charge at full speed.
If you're using the other one and it's STILL draining then maybe there is an issue with heat or something, like the other guy said. Is the phone SUPER hot at the base, where the kickstand is, when this happens?
OP - I am having the same problem. I'm 95% sure it's caused by something wrong in CM6 regarding how it handles USB charging. Past few nightlies I have been leaving my phone on the charger doing NOTHING overnight and it goes dead.
This CANNOT be due to lack of charging strength:
#1 the same exact charger worked perfectly in the past, before I flashed a certain nightly - not sure which one exactly it started in
#2 if it was charging, but slowly why in the world would the battery drain when I have it underclocked to 245 mhz and the phone is sleeping with screen off?
On my standard charger that came with the phone it is working fine even though it's a USB that plugs into an adapter - not sure why this doesn't work with my other one that I had from another phone since it worked perfectly before. Something is definitely odd with CM6 and USB charging.
sprocket87 said:
This is the one I got: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKETFISH-MOBI...ARGING-CABLE-/350384355972?pt=PDA_Accessories
$3 shipped
And there are 2 USB cables that came with the Evo (mine anyway), a thick one that was bundled with the wall charger and a thin one that's intended just for data sync. The thin one doesn't seem to charge at full speed.
If you're using the other one and it's STILL draining then maybe there is an issue with heat or something, like the other guy said. Is the phone SUPER hot at the base, where the kickstand is, when this happens?
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That's odd, because my EVO only came with the one cable for the adapter. Phone stays cool.
berardi said:
OP - I am having the same problem. I'm 95% sure it's caused by something wrong in CM6 regarding how it handles USB charging. Past few nightlies I have been leaving my phone on the charger doing NOTHING overnight and it goes dead.
This CANNOT be due to lack of charging strength:
#1 the same exact charger worked perfectly in the past, before I flashed a certain nightly - not sure which one exactly it started in
#2 if it was charging, but slowly why in the world would the battery drain when I have it underclocked to 245 mhz and the phone is sleeping with screen off?
On my standard charger that came with the phone it is working fine even though it's a USB that plugs into an adapter - not sure why this doesn't work with my other one that I had from another phone since it worked perfectly before. Something is definitely odd with CM6 and USB charging.
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I've also noticed lately that my phone will charge insanely fast. Like from 30% to 90% in half an hour.
Sprocket - stupid question here... do these Rocket Fish charging cables also handle data transfer just as well as the stock micro-usb cable that came with the phone or would someone want to have one JUST for charging and keep their stock cable for data transfer purposes?
TheBiles said:
That's odd, because my EVO only came with the one cable for the adapter. Phone stays cool.
I've also noticed lately that my phone will charge insanely fast. Like from 30% to 90% in half an hour.
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Sorry I was unclear - the other cable I have that is the problem is one from another phone but the same type, and up until recently it worked perfectly.

Brodit active car holder won't charge the S2

Hey guys,
I got my brodit active car holder now for a few days and it seems it doesn't supply enough juice to the S2 while in use :-(
While navigating with navigon, it even loses charge, though it's connected .... that's really disapointing, since brodit normally supplies quality products.
Anyone else got the brodit active holder with the same problems?
boba
Not got the Brodit, but I have the same problem when using CoPilot and charging via the USB cable attached to a car charger. It can keep the charge at current level with CoPilot on, but will only charge with CoPilot off.
Also noticed if SII has less than 50% charge, it won't charge at all with CoPilot on.
Taking a punt on one of these to see if it makes a difference:
http://www.buyincoins.com/details/d...-for-ipad-iphone-4g-ipod-2a-product-2748.html
Which holder do you have exactly? Can you make a photo?
Does it toggle car dock in the S2? You can see a steering wheel in notification bar.
ALexander
I was thinking exactly the same thing this lunchtime. I have the cigarete lighter active Brodit mount and - if i makes any difference - a 2004 Vauxhall Astra H. I as wondering if I would have to turn off the nice things [like satellite view, etc] on the phone for it to survive the journey. Not happy.
boba23 said:
Well I don't know the exact reason yet, but it seems the S2 doesn't accept enough juice from the charger,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the S2 in USB AC Mode?
Take a look here: Einstellungen - Telefoninfo - Status
Yesterday I modified a Brodit active car holder from the good old htc HD2 to fit the S2. Now I have fast charging (AC) and Car-Mode.
I currently own some chargers. Not the original one, well the UK Version with no use in Austria.
A 1A HTC Charger with USB socket, a 450mA noname charger with USB socket and a no name car charger with micro usb.
The car charger and the HTC charger show charging(AC) whilst the noname 450mA charger shows charging(USB)...
It would be interesting to measure the exact mA taken by the phone...
ALexander
CurrentWidget doesn't work...
ALexander
Hi all,
Okay, I've now tried four different chargers, and I've also had the phone replaced. Today, in a last attempt, I bought an official Samsung charger.
NONE of them work - even though the phone says "charging on AC" for all of them.
The only thing I haven't tried is a different car (which I'm going to do, once my neighbour gets home).
The one sensible suggestion I've read is that Samsung have screwed up somewhere in software and the phone can't draw enough juice.
Electronics is beyond my little brain, so I don't get why the GS2 charges from my netbook (even when it's only on battery) but won't charge in the car.
And I'm not talking when I'm using satnav. It won't charge at all. In fact (weirdly) it actually DISCHARGES much faster than it does if it's just sitting in my pocket.
I've logged this with my provider (Voda UK), because I refuse to get stuck with a useless phone for the next 18 months if this isn't sorted out. It's ludicrous. If I can't charge the phone in the car it's as good as useless to me.
UPDATE:
Okay, I just tried my neighbour's car (Vauxhall Astra) and the GS2 charged perfectly. 3% in four minutes. Pretty much what I get off the mains charger.
I wish I knew about electrics but I don't. Explanations will have to come from the boffins round here.
I tell you what, though. I don't really want to get a new car just to use my phone properly
Do you have any chsrger with a led?
If the led stays dark the cigarette lighgter of your car might need a new fuse.
Which car?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Ive ordered one of these mounts and will report how it behaves in my 2008 Civic
barneypooch said:
UPDATE:
Okay, I just tried my neighbour's car (Vauxhall Astra) and the GS2 charged perfectly. 3% in four minutes. Pretty much what I get off the mains charger.
I wish I knew about electrics but I don't. Explanations will have to come from the boffins round here.
I tell you what, though. I don't really want to get a new car just to use my phone properly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be able to change to a higher amp fuse in your car fusebox.
eddablin said:
You might be able to change to a higher amp fuse in your car fusebox.
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Click to collapse
ROFL!! Genius!
Brodit mount arrived and looks great. Fit and design excellent and seems to charge as I would want.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
So what charger do you guys advice? Which charger does charge the phone, even while navigating with Navigon?
I got the Brodit active charger (BR512...), there isn't a problem with charging at all.
I think the issue you got is really car related. My guess:
a) your cigarette lighter port is poorly wired -> Measure voltage at the port with a voltmeter, it should be at least 12V DC (Edit: Even if it does there is still the possibility that your wiring is bad, showing 12V doesn't mean it can handle the current this charger needs)
b) your cigarette lighter port doesn't make a good contact to the brodit plug. Check for corrosion of the contacts, dust, dirt, etc. Some ports go bad after lots of plug in / out cycles.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about here, I'm pretty sure every car mechanic can fix your problem for a small amount of money
Edit: it's very possible this plug works with other chargers and phones and still fails with the S2 charger. The reason for this is the different ways chargers convert the car's 12V DC into 5V DC. Some might work down to 7V input, some already **** up at 11.8V
I have the same problem with my GSII trying to charge it with my 12V Ipod adapter...
I just arrive from a short travel with my Citroën Xsara and i almost got lost cose the phone discharged all the time while using IGO on the phone...
I don't think this is car related because there are so many people with different cars having this problem... so... Samsung wants me to buy a new car to be able to use their phone in travels?
Hi guys, just thought I'd try to clear up a few of things:
1. All phones can use more power than they can draw. Note that the more apps you use, the more juice you draw depending on their features.
2. Not all CLAs are the same. Most modern devices will need 2amps, but the majority of CLAs on the market are 1 - 1.2amp units.
3. Your device will stop charging if it reaches a certain temperature, without giving you any further indication that it is too hot. This is a common scenario if you've got a phone on the dash giving guidance, with the sun rays beating a back. And yes this does mean dedicated satnav devices have a greater operational temperature range than phones, usually a 15-20 degree difference (celcius).
4. If the CLA is being tripped out due to poor isolation (a lot of cars suffer from this) it will also stop charging.
5. In general terms, the lower the battery level of the device, the more juice it pulls. This is why you may find you ha email no problems getting a small charge when you start with a battery at 85%, but your phone dies if the battery is 50% or less.
Hope that helps.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
OK, I have no idea what the problem is. I have a Brodit active charger (the cig-plug version) for my Galaxy SII. It's not charging my phone AT ALL. There is no sound, nothing displayed on my phone when I connect it. I have the charger led (blue light) on, so I know it's working.
Things I have tried so far:
1. Asked for a replacement from Brodit. Got it, no difference.
2. Tried with a different car (I have a BMW, my wife a brand new Toyota Auris) - doesn't charge it either.
3. Tried a different no-name universal charger - it works perfectly well, the phone is charging as expected. Other things like the GPS device also work fine.
4. Tried a different kernel and ROM on my phone, still no success.
Any suggestions are welcome.
LazyPawn said:
OK, I have no idea what the problem is. I have a Brodit active charger (the cig-plug version) for my Galaxy SII. It's not charging my phone AT ALL. There is no sound, nothing displayed on my phone when I connect it. I have the charger led (blue light) on, so I know it's working.
Things I have tried so far:
1. Asked for a replacement from Brodit. Got it, no difference.
2. Tried with a different car (I have a BMW, my wife a brand new Toyota Auris) - doesn't charge it either.
3. Tried a different no-name universal charger - it works perfectly well, the phone is charging as expected. Other things like the GPS device also work fine.
4. Tried a different kernel and ROM on my phone, still no success.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats strange, in the first place i thought a faulty micro-usb or charger. But you got it replaced so can't be the problem.
I have a brodit with charger too, but i use it in a different way, meaning i can remove my holder and unplug it without unplugging my charger. ( near my holder i have a small connector that i can unplug).
What i did is cutting the cable from the charger and i did put a male usb port on it ( regular male usb port) and i have a Belkin charger with a usb port, this charger deliver 1A charging current and charge my phone even when i use my navigation. ( with bluetooth and gps on).
Your phones micro-usb seems to be fine too because it charge with other brands of chargers.
Your BMW delivers enough power i guess at your cigarette lighter plug, because it doesn't charge at the Toyota either and both not delivering enough power would be coincidence.
Anyway mine works perfect the way i did it and if i can remember it worked too with my original plug attached too. ( though the original one doesn't provide enough power sometimes to keep it charged while using navigation).
The only thing i can think of is that there is some stress-pressure on your connection between phone and holder connection and that one pin isn't connected properly, with the universal charger you only plug the micro-usb plug in your phone and the micro-usb plug can adjust freely to your phones micro-usb port.
Try to wiggle a bit with your phone when in the holder and see if the power comes on. Or try to connect a little device on your holders micro-usb port ( if you have something small that charge over micro-usb) and see if that works.

[Q] Google Nav - Draining faster than I can charge.

Getting ready for a cross-US trip next month and just noticed something with my GNex vs my 4S.
On my 4S attached to my 1A cig lighter charger from Belkin, I am able to charge the batter while navigating with GPS and screen on. This is using actual navigation, not the built in stuff for iOS5 and earlier.
I simply assumed the same would be true of my GNex but I noticed today that if I am using Google Nav with the screen on and connected to the same 1A Belkin charger, I lose about 1% every 20 minutes or so from my brief testing.
It doesn't appear to be overheating as the charging lights and symbols on the phone continue to show charging and the phone isn't all that hot. It's also not been using for any really long trips yet so it hasn't had a lot of time to get super hot if it's going to.
Just curious if this is common for the GNex while running only GPS with screen on.
I did some searching but the other complaints I found involved people also streaming music while using GPS nav.
People have reported this, and it makes sense if you're on a 1A charger, especially if you have a Verizon model connected to LTE. This is similar to the complaints that people can't charge on a 500mA USB 2.0 port while tethering LTE.
I personally don't notice it draining when I'm listening to music (stored, not streaming) and Navigating, although it's usually on trips of 45min at most and I have a GSM model. My battery seems to just hold or barely charge. I'm not sure of the exact output of my charger though. It's an AT&T branded accessory with a main cable, and a second full-sized USB port.
theoreticaljerk said:
Just curious if this is common for the GNex while running only GPS with screen on.
I did some searching but the other complaints I found involved people also streaming music while using GPS nav.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, normal for the LTE models. It was actually one of the biggest complaints when it was initially released. Turn off LTE while using navigation.
martonikaj said:
People have reported this, and it makes sense if you're on a 1A charger, especially if you have a Verizon model connected to LTE. This is similar to the complaints that people can't charge on a 500mA USB 2.0 port while tethering LTE.
I personally don't notice it draining when I'm listening to music (stored, not streaming) and Navigating, although it's usually on trips of 45min at most and I have a GSM model. My battery seems to just hold or barely charge. I'm not sure of the exact output of my charger though. It's an AT&T branded accessory with a main cable, and a second full-sized USB port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that charge is 1a shared.
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the next nexus needs an IR blaster. think of all the diabolical fun!
I haven't tried it on my Galaxy Nexus but his was certainly the same on my older Nexus S.
Verizon Nexus here and I have no problems in this regard.
I usually stream Pandora while using Google Maps Navigation and have a little speaker plugged into the USB port on the charger and it still charges the phone's battery.
LTE is on as well. Never turn it off.
Using the "MicroUSB Dual Vehicle Power Charger w/USB port" charger from Verizon.
Use Battery Monitor Widget and see if it says "AC" or "USB" when it's charging. You want to see AC or it won't be pulling enough juice. If you see USB, try a different cable. You can also force fast charging with the proper kernel. I use Franco, which has an option for it. That alone didn't seem to help, but I bought the Fast Charge app, which seemed to do the trick.
I just went through this myself on a 2 week motorcycle trip. I used a 3rd party GPS app the entire time, screen on, and streaming music. I had LTE on and I believe as long as my screen was set at around 65% or less I never had an issue.
So, yes it can be done. You just need to figure out the right setup. I did some research before my trip and from what I read, not all USB cables are the same. On my bike I had a low-profile dual USB charger.
90% is the USB cable.
It happens on my Galaxy Tab 10.1 with the default Samsung USB charger, when I connect it to my laptop. Then, if I browse on Internet with the tablet, my battery drains faster than charge, even if connected to the laptop with the USB.
The key is to discover if there is the USB or calbe problem with A output.
Kidd_Funkadelic said:
Use Battery Monitor Widget and see if it says "AC" or "USB" when it's charging. You want to see AC or it won't be pulling enough juice. If you see USB, try a different cable. You can also force fast charging with the proper kernel. I use Franco, which has an option for it. That alone didn't seem to help, but I bought the Fast Charge app, which seemed to do the trick.
I just went through this myself on a 2 week motorcycle trip. I used a 3rd party GPS app the entire time, screen on, and streaming music. I had LTE on and I believe as long as my screen was set at around 65% or less I never had an issue.
So, yes it can be done. You just need to figure out the right setup. I did some research before my trip and from what I read, not all USB cables are the same. On my bike I had a low-profile dual USB charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure enough, it was going to USB on the car charger. I unplugged the phone and went in the Franco Kernal Config and enabled USB Fast Charge. Plugged it back in and it recognized as AC and true enough, it charged my phone while using Nav so YAY!
Only problem I'm having is that on any reboot, even though it is still checked in the Franco Config, I have to uncheck USB Fast Charge and recheck it before plugging it into the charger for it to not go back to USB.
theoreticaljerk said:
Sure enough, it was going to USB on the car charger. I unplugged the phone and went in the Franco Kernal Config and enabled USB Fast Charge. Plugged it back in and it recognized as AC and true enough, it charged my phone while using Nav so YAY!
Only problem I'm having is that on any reboot, even though it is still checked in the Franco Config, I have to uncheck USB Fast Charge and recheck it before plugging it into the charger for it to not go back to USB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure why it's needed, but after I bought this:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.incredicontrol.fastchargewidget
I only needed to toggle the widget to fast once, and then my problems went away. Worth a few pennies prior to the trip...
I boggles the mind why this is set up this way in stock form..
why??
BTW to the OP, I just switched from a 4S, also had a 1amp charger that did the same as yours, that same charger on the Nexus won't charge the battery with GSM model. It drains about 3-5 % over around an hour commute, more if the sun is directly on it and it gets hot.
Still, why does it seem to force a .5 amp charge when the capability is there for more??
This is annoying that you have to grab up a custom kernel to do this. With JB I'm quite happy with the way the phone is stock and non-rooted but I guess I'm going to have to root and throw on a custom kernel after all.
If you like to solder cables, you can mod your car charger to register as a AC charger.
Give me a second, I'll find the thread.
/edit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=666482&page=5
Swiftkey'ed on my CM9 Galaxy Nexus

car tablet power options

A few years ago, I installed a Verizon Samsung Tab 2 in the dash of my Cadillac. I have this tied into the sound system and use it mostly for streaming music and google maps. I had it set up so that the power (cigarette adapter) would shut off whenever the car turned off. Then I used the Tasker app to detect when the tablet was not getting power and put the tablet into Airplane mode, turn the screen off, and pause any music. This would cause it to conserve enough power that it could last a long time until I started the car again. (I cannot reach the tablet's power button once it's installed in the dash). This worked fine for years. However, this tablet was so slow due to no OS updates ever that I couldn't stand it any longer.
I recently decided to upgrade to the Verizon Asus Zenpad Z8. The issue I am now having is that no matter what I do, the tablet dies when the car is sitting. I cannot keep up with its power demands. Tasker does not have the options available to put it into airplane mode. But I have gone into the developer mode menu and set it so that the screen goes off whenever the tablet is not receiving power and it goes into super saving mode during the night. It still dies. It cannot get enough power from the cigarette adaptor to charge it fast enough to recharge what it has lost when it was parked. I have upgraded to the fastest cigarette charger I could find (3A). The battery life barely moves while the car is on, it charges soooo slowly. But the battery drains very quickly when off. This means that every time I get in the car, the tablet is off and I have to pop the panels off the dash to turn it back on.
I recently tried to use a small power inverter (powered from the cigarette adapter). This caused a massive feedback loop that was unbearable (and not fixed by an inline noise filter). I then tried a true sin wave inverter, same result. Although this did solve the power problem, it charged fast enough that there would be enough battery life that the car could sit overnight and not completely die.
I had to go back to the cig adapter. This tablet is thus far, un-rootable. That limits my options with shuttings things down and limits the features available in Tasker.
If I switch the cig adapter to power the tablet all the time, then I don't have a way to tell the tablet when to shut the screen down (so that people walking by don't see a tablet in my car and break in). I'd like some way for the tablet to know when the car is off so that it can shut things down. The easiest way to do that was by making the cig lighter turn off when the car turns off.
If anyone has any other ideas, I'm open to about anything at this point. This is getting really frustrating. Thanks.
I bought this tablet because my whole family has USB-C devices. No more stupid micro USB what an abortion that connector was. At any rate at first we used USB-A to USB-C adapter cables with USB-A charging devices. I noticed right away that most of my chargers would overheat quickly or simply charge quite slowly...the charger could not keep up with the demand if you were trying to stream video to the phone or whatever. Then I bought Google Pixel phones for me and my wife and noticed that the supplied charger has a USB-C port on it and the supplied charging cable is USB-C to USB-C. These Google supplied chargers would completely charge a dead pixel phone in 20 minutes. After reviewing the USB-C standard on Wikipedia I noticed a much higher ampacity available using USB-C to USB-C devices. So for my car I bought an LM317T integrated circuit and with a resistor and a heat sink I cobbled a little 3.5 amp 5v charging port in my dash. You could also use an LM7805 if you wanted and insert a small value resistor on the ground reference if you really want the extra .5 volts. Make sure and attach the ic to a small heat sink with heatsink compound. You will need to solder your female port to a female USB-C and use a USB-C to USB-C cable as the USB-A connector on the Asus supplied cable cannot pass enough current.
ninasmith said:
I recently decided to upgrade to the Verizon Asus Zenpad Z8. The issue I am now having is that no matter what I do, the tablet dies when the car is sitting. I cannot keep up with its power demands. Tasker does not have the options available to put it into airplane mode. But I have gone into the developer mode menu and set it so that the screen goes off whenever the tablet is not receiving power and it goes into super saving mode during the night. It still dies. It cannot get enough power from the cigarette adaptor to charge it fast enough to recharge what it has lost when it was parked. I have upgraded to the fastest cigarette charger I could find (3A). The battery life barely moves while the car is on, it charges soooo slowly. But the battery drains very quickly when off. This means that every time I get in the car, the tablet is off and I have to pop the panels off the dash to turn it back on.
I had to go back to the cig adapter. This tablet is thus far, un-rootable. That limits my options with shuttings things down and limits the features available in Tasker.
If I switch the cig adapter to power the tablet all the time, then I don't have a way to tell the tablet when to shut the screen down (so that people walking by don't see a tablet in my car and break in). I'd like some way for the tablet to know when the car is off so that it can shut things down. The easiest way to do that was by making the cig lighter turn off when the car turns off.
If anyone has any other ideas, I'm open to about anything at this point. This is getting really frustrating. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's something you can try:
Use a different signal to trigger sleep mode, like WiFI. You could use a cheap 3G router and have the tablet connect to it via WiFi. When you exit the car take the router with you = no WiFi = tablet goes to sleep.

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