Wiring in GPS

[Weaselinsuit]

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am a complete noob at wiring/electrics.

I bought a Garmin Zumo 396 GPS. It needs to be wired into the bike and I don't have the first clue where to start. As you can see from the pics below, it comes with a wiring harness (?) that has two leads, one red and one black. I understand the red is the power and the black is the ground. The end of the wires are bare. Do I need to simply attach to the battery terminals or do I need to put some sort of plug on the end and plug into what appears to be a fuse or connection box of some type (pic 2).

Thanks for any assistance in advance.

 

[drbuzzard]

my zumo is wired directly to the battery

 

[Weaselinsuit]

So just red wire to red terminal and black wire to black terminal? Or do I attach the black to the frame somewhere to ground?

 

[ST Gui]

So just red wire to red terminal and black wire to black terminal? Or do I attach the black to the frame somewhere to ground?

You could probably do either. It's just as easy to run both to the battery as it is just the + lead so I'd do both. You'll have to remember to turn it off (if there's no auto-off) every time you stable your bike or possibly for a long lunch or dinner. Or maybe removing it from the cradle would be adequate. The 1300's battery would rather not see a drain for any length of time. Others would want to run it to a relay box or possibly a switched power lead.

 

[bstig60]

I would recommend wiring it to a switched power source, so it shuts off when the ignition switch is turned off.

 

[drbuzzard]

So just red wire to red terminal and black wire to black terminal? Or do I attach the black to the frame somewhere to ground?

mine is wired direct to my battery. it only comes on if i hit the power button on the zumo, i think it will power up if the unit is inserted in the cradle and yes i have to manually turn it off. i'm ok with that

 

[Weaselinsuit]

Thanks very much for all the replies, I really appreciate it.

 

[SMSW]

Thanks very much for all the replies, I really appreciate it.

I saw no fuse in that harness supplied by Garmin. Without one, if your insulation chafes through, you melt the insulation, damage other plastic/wiring harnesses/start a fire. I suggest you go to an auto parts store and buy one of those inline fuse holders. Red wire to the + battery terminal, and that's the fused side. Black to negative or ground.

 

[Weaselinsuit]

Isn't the little black box in the line the fuse?

 

[Ron]

I would say not. Probably converts 12vdc to 5vdc or what ever the GPS runs on. You can ask Garmin but I doubt it.

I would add a fuse holder (auto parts store ~$10). I also would run it off a switched power source. I don't own a 1300 so I can't help with where to tap into.

 

[Roger]

The black box is a transformer and if connected directly to the battery or an 'always on' supply, will flatten the battery in no time. Find a 'hot' wire that's switched on with the ign. key, such as a brake or headlight circuit. I arranged a plug/socket that works that way for me. .....I'm not familiar with a 1300, so that's as far as I'll go.

 

[dduelin]

If you take off the triangular piece of fairing below the seat on the left side you will see the fuse boxes and relays. Look on the boxes and find the one labeled ACC Hazard. It is on when the key is ON or in ACC position. I can look later today in the service manual for the colors on the wire. Tap the red GPS wire into that and it will be fused through the ACC Hazard fuse. Connect the black to a bolt screwed into the frame.

 

[Erdoc48]

InterestIng…I just looked up the Garmin 396 (which is the one I have) and in terms of installation, I came across this:

12 to 24 Vdc system power (red) NOTE: The red system power cable may include an in-line fuse on some device models. Cables without an inline fuse are protected internally.

Not sure how to interpret that (like what mechanism for internal protection). I don’t recall if mine had a fuse in line, but I think it did. I installed mine direct to the battery. I always take it off the mount when parked (mostly to avoid theft) and also when parked in the garage, so it’s only powered when in use (but a fused link is generally a good idea)

 

[Weaselinsuit]

Thanks guys, much appreciated!

 

[Andrew Shadow]

If you will routinely remove your GPS from the cradle, you don't need to be concerned about a constant drain on the battery. In this case, direct to the battery is fine. That is for a simple positive and negative wire set-up. It all depends on what that box that is in the Garmin wiring harness is doing.

Note: When my Zumo is in a powered cradle, it does not shut off when you push the power button normally. It only shuts the screen off so there is still a small power drain on the battery. You have to hold the power button until the power-down option appears. Check yours so you will know so that you can avoid draining your battery.

The best option is to connect it to a switched power source. This way it automatically comes on when the ignition is tuned on and goes off when the ignition is turned off. You also don't need to be concerned about whether or not that box in the harness draws power constantly or not as it will be disconnected when you turn the ignition off.

Below is a link to an article on where to find a switched power tap for the ST1300;
ST1300 - Switched Power Tap

 

[SMSW]

InterestIng…I just looked up the Garmin 396 (which is the one I have) and in terms of installation, I came across this:

12 to 24 Vdc system power (red) NOTE: The red system power cable may include an in-line fuse on some device models. Cables without an inline fuse are protected internally.

Not sure how to interpret that (like what mechanism for internal protection). I don’t recall if mine had a fuse in line, but I think it did. I installed mine direct to the battery. I always take it off the mount when parked (mostly to avoid theft) and also when parked in the garage, so it’s only powered when in use (but a fused link is generally a good idea)

Fuses are designed to protect the wires, and not necessarily the equipment at the end of that circuit. It can take very little to fry electronics, and many computers, phones, gps's etc. run on less than 12 volts. The little black box in the OP's picture changes the voltage from 12 volts (nominal, it can go up to 13.something and down to 11 or so) to the 3 or 5 volts the gps requires. If the wire does not have an inline fuse close to the source of powet (read Battery) it is not protected.

A fuse located at the gps will protect the gps, but not wire between the battery and that fuse. If the positive wire chafes through due to vibration or it is pinched between two pieces of metal, you will have a direct short. Current will now flow from the battery to the broken insulation point and then to the chassis and neg terminal of the battery. The fuse sees no excess draw and does not blow. Meanwhile, that piece of wire is glowing red hot, melting plastic and causing damage. Think of fuses as necessary safety equipment. You can live without them, but if something goes wrong, you will rue the decision not to have them.

 

[jmcarruth]

I do not recommend running anything directly to the battery terminals. Get yourself a fuse box and a relay. Wire a fused 20A lead from the hot side of the solenoid to the #30 terminal on the relay. Run a lead to a switched source on the bike to the #86 terminal, run a lead from any ground on the bike to the # 85 terminal. The power out terminal #87 goes to your fuse box.


From now on, you can add accessories powered from the fuse box, with their own fuse requirements. A Steibel horn pulls 18 amps, heated gear can suck up the amps as well.. That GPS only requires a tiny fuse, can't remember. Each accessory will require its own ground, but can all be run to the same grounding point.

 

[Sadlsor]

I'll just add that it is considered BEST to fuse all accessories, as the rule.
Even if you do decide to go straight to battery, a fuse is still a REALLY good idea, as explained previously.

 

[drtyrrel]

I hooked the same one up yesterday. I have a fuzeblock already mounted on my bike. I used a 5 amp fuse in my fuzeblock and hooked it up to come on when my key is turned on. You might want to consider hooking up one of these. Has a built in relay and you can hook it up switched or hot by just moving the fuse.

Fuzeblocks FZ-1 Distribution Block-FBLK-FZ1

www.fuzeblocks.com

 

[Sadlsor]

Dang.
Always knew there were some sharp cookies 'round here.
Reading the sage advice is the easy part.
Now, get to work!
(Smilies just don't seem to work here, posting from my phone. Please insert your own.)