Galaxy is burning fuse in car power supply - Galaxy S I9000 Accessories

I have three different car power supplies here for the Galaxy. One, that came with the car dock from Samsung, and two similar ones that came from Amazon.
The Amazon ones got a fuse (1.2A) in them, the Samsung one not.
After a certain time (20 Minutes?) of use with my Galaxy the fuses burned. I replaced the fuse in one power supply with a 4A type: it burned too.
I replaced the fuse with solid metal: the spring, which makes the contact to (+) in the cigarette lighter was glowing hot, melted and broke finally so the contact was off!
The original power supply from Samsung didn't say anything, just stopped working, stinking.
Maybe my accu drains too much engery, because it is damaged? But then the thin cable to the SGS would melt....
The line power supply becomes quite warm while charging but charges the phone.
I see no reason for that although I have certain experience in electronics....
I cannot use my SGS in my car

Have you checked the car's electric system? What kind of a fuse is connected to the lighter in the car?

i'm using a cheap 2Amp car charger from DealExtreme and it works perfectly, most after market car chargers have fuses to protect your electrical system.
i'll suggest getting another car charger instead, probably the one you have is not made to the standards and it's causing some sort of short-circuit

As I wrote, I own three devices. Each one is bricked/burnt fuse. Among them there is one Samsung original car power supply that comes with the Samsung car dock.
The other two devices came from Amazon.....
My car is a two year old VW Touran.....I cannot imagine that its electrical system is the cause of my problems....
Even the galaxy works perfectly....no battery drain....everthing is allright...
If the electronics should be damaged somehow, the phone wouldn't work, I think.
I have no idea how to fix this problem...perhaps it needs more investigating by me.

Yust to be shure, that your car has nothing to do with it.....try chgarging in another car. I have no such problem with cheap charger i bought in petrol station.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

From what you say, the only reason for the contact betwen cyg-lighter and charger wold be glowing red is an imperfect contact. Maybe you didn't push the charger all the way, or the lighter was dirty.

Yes this sounds reasonable. I'd tested the device the whole day in my car with and had had no issues....
I opened one device and found nothing that could be responsible for a short circuit. The whole thing must have to do with car's plug connection.
Testing will go further....

Related

Charging on a Motorcycle

Ok, I have a strange problem, and wondering if any of you have basic electronics knowledge.
I am trying to charge my blackstone on my motorcycle, but having some problems.
Setup:
- 12V cigarette lighter (power outlet) hooked directly to my battery.
I also have an inline switch and an inline 10A fuse.
- Standard USB car charger. (this charges my phone in a car just fine.)
Problem:
- It drains my phone battery very fast.
- I installed HomeScreen Plus so I could see the mA drain/charge on my battery. When I have the phone hooked to the bike and 'charging,' it reads +100 mA (charging) but the battery will drop down about 6% in about 5 minutes or less.
I am really confused by this...
Thanks for your time / input!
You should measure the amount of electric charge actually coming out from the outlet using a proper measurer.
is the battery in your bike good? ive seen bad batteries act this way. they seem normal and have the amps to start the bike but under any other load the voltage drops.
12.3V on the Power outlet and 4.9V on the end of the USB cable, which is why I am all the more confused.
I haven't tested the current yet, but that is slightly more difficult, as I have to disassemble it first. Although its not like I have any current limiting hardware in the way, its hooked directly to the battery (through the fuse)
Ill play around with it more tomorrow... :-(
If anyone has any ideas, let me know. Thanks!
Yea, the battery is good. Brand new. Cranks the bike and run all accessories just fine.
ryoojin83 said:
Yea, the battery is good. Brand new. Cranks the bike and run all accessories just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's absolutly impossible that a bike's battery problem discharge your phone through the adapter.
I guess you should try another adapter.
I own a bike and i charge my diamond through a car to usb adapter too. The only problem i sometime ran into is that the phone get so hot that it disable the voltage input to preserve itself. It happen only when the phone is exposed to the sun through the plastic window of my tank bag.
I now own a bike "ram mount" with a native diamond holder, it's really great.
ryoojin83 said:
I haven't tested the current yet, but that is slightly more difficult, as I have to disassemble it first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be a problem with D+ D- pin, if your adapter is specific to a phone model...
try another adapter.
I have tried 3 USB chargers, and all of them do the same thing.
the phone connects with a standard USB cable (mini-a?) I have tried with 2 or 3 actual cables.
I am planning to head out to NAPA, to get a new 12V connector and rewire it. This time I am going to get the 'sealed' one... *sigh* I will let you know if I figure it out or not. Hopefully its not the switch I have wired in... 10A switch, so I doubt it

Warning: HTC CC C200 (Genuine car charger)

Hi,
I bought one of this HTC CC C200, HTC genuine car charger for micro usb.
Problem is ... it does not tightly connect to the car power source (the cigarette lighter). It is very loose, you must push it downward to connect. Even then, it does not connect reliably.
I dont think this is an issue with my cars, I tested on my Peugeot 206 and Toyota Yaris. Both has the same problem like this.
Well, this is just fyi.
Wasted 22 euro
Yup. I know this one. Have seen chargers that don't fit the socket properly. The right charger should look more like this. http://i.expansys.com/i/b/b140838.jpg Take note of the collar just in front of the silver pin at the end. The collar holds the charger in place. I had an exact charger like this for my Diamond2 and it fitted perfectly. It's not the cars fault. All the sockets in the cars are the same - normalized.
Yes, that's the one. I have couple of them actually. But they are for mini-USB.
I was thinking to buy the converter from mini to micro. Then, I thought, Ok, new phone ... why not new charger? ... Then read suggestion to buy genuine HTC car charger. It turned out a mistake.
I think, this would be fine:
http://shop.brando.com/bw-car-charger-cable-for-micro-usb_p03082c0022d003.html
Mad Majk said:
Yup. I know this one. Have seen chargers that don't fit the socket properly. The right charger should look more like this. http://i.expansys.com/i/b/b140838.jpg Take note of the collar just in front of the silver pin at the end. The collar holds the charger in place. I had an exact charger like this for my Diamond2 and it fitted perfectly. It's not the cars fault. All the sockets in the cars are the same - normalized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, should work. But You need to be superduper sure about the Amps output of the charger. There are stories on the forums about chargers that are too weak to charge the phone during GPS + GPRS operation. I wonder if they would menage to charge a phone operating just the GPS (non GPRS related turn-by-turn navigation program). Anyway, in case You buy one of these, give us a call if it menages to charge the phone like it should.
Thanks, I read that thread, that's why I bought that HTC CC C200.
From the picture above, it said: Output 5VDC, 1A
Is this what we are looking for?
I know, it could be different in reality.
PS: Is there any tool to really measure this output?
i use this one :
http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=489767
About 12/13 €
I have the original charger and have no problems with it.
I have the HTC C200 unit and it fits perfectly in my cars lighter socket without any issues.
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
I have original HTC C200 charger and it fits without any problem in cars lighter - Ford C-max.
Do you need to really push it down?
Will it "click" to the lighter?
I tried to push it and I saw the "HTC" text turned on ... When I loose my hand, it turned off.
As I said, I was thinking this is an issue with my cars (Peugeot 206 station wagon, Toyota Yaris), but both have this loosen issue.
I purchased the HTC CC C200 also and have exactly the same problem. My car is a Peugeot 206. As you say, the charger needs to be pushed quite firmly in, and with mine, the side connectors need to be aligned also. Its okay when I've found the right position, but the slightest touch against the device can easily stop it from charging. I haven't decided yet whether to request a refund/exchange for something else.
Nope no need to manipulate it to keep charging. As soon as I plug it in the HTC light comes on and I can twist the unit and pull on the usb cable when its connected and it keeps charging.
Tried it in both a Mazda 6 and a Holden Commodore and fits snug in both cars.
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Same issue with my Opel Corsa B.
In car charger
I bought this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380220708739&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
For £1.95 including delivery.
Works a treat in my Skyline. (clang)
Guys,
I see some of you suffer from a loose connections with the cig charger.
The two metal trips on the side of the charger are meant to keep the charger in place. And its a contact point ofcourse. Its a kind of a spring. You can easilly try to use a scewdriver to flex/pull it a little bit more outward. It probably needs a little push like that for it to stick in its place.
I did this once and it worked after 3 minutes of fiddling.
good luck
edterbak said:
Guys,
I see some of you suffer from a loose connections with the cig charger.
The two metal trips on the side of the charger are meant to keep the charger in place. And its a contact point ofcourse. Its a kind of a spring. You can easilly try to use a scewdriver to flex/pull it a little bit more outward. It probably needs a little push like that for it to stick in its place.
I did this once and it worked after 3 minutes of fiddling.
good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I have the OEM charger and have no problem in my MINI
i got two original htc chargers and had the same problem ( wouldn't stay in charger and would pop out very easy ) i bent the metal clips and was ok .but then the charger wouldn't work .there is a problem with the cable at the mini usb end ( charger was for a diamond ). my problem is that i think they are original but really might be FAKE chargers
any feedback on the output of this charger? i've recently purchased the belkin 1amp usb charger however this is not sufficient to power the phone during heavy use (gps, sat nav, music player etc). can anyone confirm that the official one can?
I have the original charger as well. Just take some care when pushin it in and it works fine.
Can people tell which charger gives enough power to charge the Desire during heavy use (3G data+gps) ? My old one (Genuine HTC Pharos) is supposed to give 1A but my Desire keeps discharging (slowly but surely).

Car dock charger

Does anyone have pictures of the internals of the charger for the official Nexus One car dock?
The reason I ask is because I'm thinking of buying the car dock and hiding the charger out of view. The problem is that where I'm wanting to put it, there is not enough room to install a 12v outlet alone, much less the outlet and the charger, so I'm wanting to hard wire it all, but need to know how much room the internals of the charger are going to take up to see if it will fit where I want to put it.
i ran into a similar problem to you. I ended up not bothering to pull apart the 5v regulator as it appeared to be glued together. unless someone was very determined to get it apart you you not find anybody who has. I ended up buying a cigarette lighter socket and sticking it and the regulator in my fusebox out of the way.
if this isn't an option you can you any standard microusb charger cable as long as it is rated for 1 amp. I'm pretty sure all 1 amp chargers have the signal pin shorted to the power pin to indicate to the device they can pull 1 amp as opposed to 500ma. If you get one that can be taken apart that would work for your project.
Best of luck with your install! I've hardwired 4 different gadgets into my car and love how clean and tidy everything is. just one cable dangling in my car is too much. please post pics if you get it tucked away as you want, i'd love to see how it works out!
Sounds like space is at a premium. Another option is to hard wire in a Belkin USB charger which is heaps smaller. Then just run a USB charge cable from it to the car dock. Check out the harness I made up in the center bottom pic to get an appreciation of how small it is. Downside is the Belkin Micro USB only puts out 1A as compared to 2A from the genuine charger. So the car dock may struggle a bit.
logger said:
Sounds like space is at a premium. Another option is to hard wire in a Belkin USB charger which is heaps smaller. Then just run a USB charge cable from it to the car dock. Check out the harness I made up in the center bottom pic to get an appreciation of how small it is. Downside is the Belkin Micro USB only puts out 1A as compared to 2A from the genuine charger. So the car dock may struggle a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like your setup, I may do something like that myself, but not for the project at hand, but rather just to have a 1amp USB charger for whatever.
Now as for the original project itself, what I'm wanting to do is mount the car dock in my 98 Chevy Blazer right below the review mirror. My Blazer happens to have the Temp. and millage computer readout right above the review mirror mounted to the headliner. There's plenty of places to hook into a switched 12v line in the housing for the millage readout, but as I stated before, it's not enough to house the entire car charger and/or and 12v socket.
I'd prefer to use the original charger that comes with the dock so as to not starve it of power. I'm hoping it's just a small circuit board with wires running to the various connectors. I guess I'll just have to buy it and check it out myself. I don't want anyone to ruin theirs just to satisfy my curiosity, not that I would expect anyone to do that to begin with.

Problems with Galaxy S and 3rd party ac adapters!

Yesterday night I was playing with the phone before sleeping. It was charging not with the provided ac adapter, but with the usb-miniusb cable + an aiino usb-ac adapter. Well, the weird thing is that using google maps, the touch/multitouch control was completely f****d up. I mean, it was impossible to pinch-to-zoom, using the zoom buttons worked, but when I used only one finger to move around the map, instead of moving it was zooming randomly in&out without a reason. So I unplugged the cable and it was working perfectly...
It seems your 3rd party ac adaptor is not appropriately grounded so there is a small current on the touchscreen. Capacitive touchscreens recognize minimal changes in currents on the surface. That's why fingers, oranges, organic material work with it, but no stylus or other pens.
Hmm that's an interesting point, I didn't think about that. Do you think I should stop using that charger? Could it damage my device in some way?
I got it with my iPhone 3GS on a car charger too. But it didn't hurt the device at all.
I cannot guarantee this though...
I always used it with my iphone 3g too, and also used my iphone while it was charging...but I never had such an experience on iphone's multitouch...that's really strange!
I had the same issue with a generic ac micro usb charger I bought on ebay.
Since the phone was just newly released, there seemed to be a premium on the chargers described as being for the galaxy s so I went and bought a much cheaper micro usb charger compatible with motorola devices. I figured the contacts would all be the same and all micro usb chargers the same.
Wrong.
As soon as I plugged in that charger, the touch screen was borked. The display was fine but the touch response was shot. If I tap the application drawer in the home screen, it would register a click on some other random spot on the display. The phone was utterly useless while plugged into this charger.
To troubleshoot, I tried mixing it up between the original samsung charger and the generic, resetting etc, and it always came down to the charger. Crap with generic, prefect with original.
TL;DR - not all chargers compatible with samsung galaxy s, borked touch response from generic charger.
Perhaps it would be useful to change the title off this post and move to the accessories forum? Useful for people to add their feedback on generic chargers they've used.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Btw, the charger did charge the phone but I guessed having extra current run through the screen would damage the capacitive sensors.
Compared to the original samsung which has 4 contacts, the micro usb plug on the generic had an extra contact. I tried to open up the plug to see if I could do something about the extra contact but it broke and I the it out.
Shame I didn't think to make a video to share.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
changaz said:
I had the same issue with a generic ac micro usb charger I bought on ebay.
Since the phone was just newly released, there seemed to be a premium on the chargers described as being for the galaxy s so I went and bought a much cheaper micro usb charger compatible with motorola devices. I figured the contacts would all be the same and all micro usb chargers the same.
Wrong.
As soon as I plugged in that charger, the touch screen was borked. The display was fine but the touch response was shot. If I tap the application drawer in the home screen, it would register a click on some other random spot on the display. The phone was utterly useless while plugged into this charger.
To troubleshoot, I tried mixing it up between the original samsung charger and the generic, resetting etc, and it always came down to the charger. Crap with generic, prefect with original.
TL;DR - not all chargers compatible with samsung galaxy s, borked touch response from generic charger.
Perhaps it would be useful to change the title off this post and move to the accessories forum? Useful for people to add their feedback on generic chargers they've used.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I changed the title, now I think to move it the help of a moderator is required...
i have the same problem with my crap charger. but mine won't even charge, it charges up like 1% / 30 minutes and I can't use it while the phone is turned off because it just turns on by itself. crap.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I use my nokia n97 charger to charge galaxy since I bought it no problem at all
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
i bought my SGS on ebay and it didn't come with a charger.
the 3rd party charger i bought on ebay doesn't charge the phone and makes it do all sorts of things by itself.
just a warning to others, you may want to spend the extra money on a charger that specifically says it's compatible.
carlocb said:
Yesterday night I was playing with the phone before sleeping. It was charging not with the provided ac adapter, but with the usb-miniusb cable + an aiino usb-ac adapter. Well, the weird thing is that using google maps, the touch/multitouch control was completely f****d up. I mean, it was impossible to pinch-to-zoom, using the zoom buttons worked, but when I used only one finger to move around the map, instead of moving it was zooming randomly in&out without a reason. So I unplugged the cable and it was working perfectly...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same problem with my desire, with a 3rd party microusb charger .... when i use pinch to zoom the screen goes crazy
Note that if I touch the usb cable ground (outer metal part) with one hand, my touch screen then works.
cedricberger said:
Note that if I touch the usb cable ground (outer metal part) with one hand, my touch screen then works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is definitely something to do with Capacitive touchscreens.
Similar thing happeend to my ipod touch 3g when I used a 3rd party wall charger on it
How bad is it to our phones ?....
I would like to know what is really happening.
Is the usb charger "ground" at an important voltage relative to earth ground ?
Is it at a variable voltage, which would even more confuse our phone ?
Could we safely ground it, and how ? (connecting the usb ground to earth, maybe via a grounded 220V plug ?) .
I think anyway I will at least mesure the voltage (and maybe leaking current relative to real ground) level of this usb "ground"...
Any electronician to explain how it is normally done in quality chargers ?
cedricberger said:
How bad is it to our phones ?....
I would like to know what is really happening.
Is the usb charger "ground" at an important voltage relative to earth ground ?
Is it at a variable voltage, which would even more confuse our phone ?
Could we safely ground it, and how ? (connecting the usb ground to earth, maybe via a grounded 220V plug ?) .
I think anyway I will at least mesure the voltage (and maybe leaking current relative to real ground) level of this usb "ground"...
Any electronician to explain how it is normally done in quality chargers ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what ground here is! My e-bay travel charger 4.7v 500mA with a Samsung logo has no ground connection on the charger - normal in Europe. Problem probably is that it is possibly not a Samsung unit at all - well it only cost 1euro - It does charge and the screen does freeze until I disconnect it. Only got it today - but nothing is getting hot and no other problems so far. The voltage rating is of course less than the standard 5v.
Bought a Belkin Dual USB car charger (1.0A + 0.5A) online. Will report back.
Rofa1 said:
I'm not sure what ground here is! My e-bay travel charger 4.7v 500mA with a Samsung logo has no ground connection on the charger - normal in Europe. Problem probably is that it is possibly not a Samsung unit at all - well it only cost 1euro - It does charge and the screen does freeze until I disconnect it. Only got it today - but nothing is getting hot and no other problems so far. The voltage rating is of course less than the standard 5v.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My best shots would be no ground (mass) issues, but:
1. stability of the charger output voltage
2. stability of the charger output current
3. value of the charger output voltage
4. capacity of the filter capacitors in the charger (too little - 50/60 Hz hum is distributed to the output)
5. Is the charger impulse or stabilized?
Capacitive screens must be very sensitive to changes of impedance and if there is no stable voltage or current or if the output is interfered with electrical network hum, the touchscreen may go crazy in my opinion...
edit: format tags corrected
Working fine without any capacitive screen issues.
The good thing is it works as charger mode instead of USB. So I assume the 1.0A socket would actually charge faster than USB mode.
v205 said:
Bought a Belkin Dual USB car charger (1.0A + 0.5A) online. Will report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will be high-frequency noise on the DC output voltage of the charger. Chargers use a high-frequency DC-DC converter method and the cheaper ones don't do a very good job of filtering the high frequency out of the DC at the other end. This noise enters your phone and plays havoc with the sensitive circuits in the capacitive touchscreen.
It is nothing to do with grounding of the input side of the power supply; when you ground the output side (the USB plug) with your hand, your body capacitance filters out some/all of the noise.
You could probably filter this out by adding capacitors or whatever but really, the solution is don't buy $1 chargers for your $x00 phone.

Hard wired 12V TO 5V / 3A DC Power Converter Micro USB Charger | PROJECT NOW COMPLETE

EDIT: SCROLL DOWN TO POST #12 WHERE I SHOW YOU HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN FULL-1900 mAh CHARGER!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=43663686&postcount=12
-=========================================
Has anyone used this particular item before? Or can recommend a similar hard-wire unit that operates at 2A to 3A?
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Connectors-Adapter-Recorder/dp/B00D6B6CJI
I'm thinking about getting one for my SUV and Motorcyle to charge the S4 at normal 1900 rates like the OEM wall-charger. Get that FAST charge.
Yes, I know about cig lighter chargers. No, that is not what this thread is for.
hello did you buy it?
CZ Eddie said:
Has anyone used this particular item before? Or can recommend a similar hard-wire unit that operates at 2A to 3A?
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Connectors-Adapter-Recorder/dp/B00D6B6CJI
I'm thinking about getting one for my SUV and Motorcyle to charge the S4 at normal 1900 rates like the OEM wall-charger. Get that FAST charge.
Yes, I know about cig lighter chargers. No, that is not what this thread is for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this hardwired into my WRX:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDL-WaterPr...35?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item1c34627e83
I ran it off the clock circuit (my clock is dead anyways) but any switched 12v source will do. It charges my car integrated Nexus7 without any issues, and at the faster rate.
I have another powering a servo and an aux USB port, but unfortunately I ran so much wire to get it into the center console by the handbrake it charges at USB rates.
paolopaulpaul said:
hello did you buy it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet.
Caferacer said:
I have this hardwired into my WRX:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDL-WaterPr...35?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item1c34627e83
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's a great price! Does it charge at ~1900 rates? Here is an app that will tell you the charging rate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en
Just bought this one for $9 shipped.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-waterpr...34?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item3a7a051922
It's a waterproof box so it'll be better on my Motorcycle. I'll let you guys know how it works out by next week sometime.
There was a thread somewhere that explained why some chargers won't do the 1900mah charge. He figured out where and what size resistors to put across the wires to enable it. I think it was in a car dock thread, I'll try and find it.
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
CZ Eddie said:
Not yet.
Wow, that's a great price! Does it charge at ~1900 rates? Here is an app that will tell you the charging rate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That app won't show the mA on my N7 but does show it charging near the same % as a fast charger.
MonkeyTime said:
There was a thread somewhere that explained why some chargers won't do the 1900mah charge. He figured out where and what size resistors to put across the wires to enable it. I think it was in a car dock thread, I'll try and find it.
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the shorting/grounding of the data pins that activates 'fast charge' mode on some phones. Nexus 7's and my E4GT (Sprint S2) when I used it didn't require the pins to be shorted to charge faster. Mostly it was the charger (duh) and the quality/length of the cable that affected the charge speed. As well, most of the heavy 1A plus chargers short the data pins in the charger itself so you can use any cable. I believe the S4 doesn't require it as well, but don't have any data to confirm it.
The way I wired mine was to sacrifice a USB female port from a USB extender, and attached the power leads and shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Caferacer said:
shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours is the second post I've seen where someone has shorted the data pins on a charging-only setup. Is there a reason for doing that?
Ehh, n/m. I remembered the "Google before you ask" mantra...
This explains it nicely:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/194362-wont-charge-over-usb-car.html
MichaelBR said:
There are some reasons why it won't work, and some ways to solve it. First, let's understand how it works:
The USB cable has four pins. The inner two pins are where the data goes through. THe outer, power.
When the USB cable is plugged in to a computer, the data pins are connected normally and the phone knows it can only draw certain amount of power
When the cable is plugged in to a charger, the two middle pins are shorted, and the phone knows that it's NOT going to be sendind/receiving data, so it can draw as much power as it can. That's why it charges faster with the charger than when plugged in to a computer
Most chargers short the two pins. Some cables have a switch to do that.
There are different cable cauges as well, with different power capacities.
Some USB chargers, notably car chargers and some low-end (i.e. not good brand) chargers that don't draw from the car/don't give the phone as much current as it needs.
So, if any of below, the phone won't charge, or won't charge fast enough. Or, worse: it may appear as charging, but actually losing battery charge!
Cable too long or incorrect gauge
Middle pins not shorted for some reason
Charger doesn't deliver enough current
And the solutions are:
Don't use cable extensions, cables that are too long. Stick with the cable that came with the phone or with the charger
Get a good car charger, that delivers the right amount of current
I imagine you just got the cable from your original wall charger and plugged it in to the car charger. If you did that, then chances are the cable is OK, and the charger is the culprit. If this is the case, then get a better charger. Check how much current that charger can deliver. Check how much current your device actually needs.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CZ Eddie said:
Yours is the second post I've seen where someone has shorted the data pins on a charging-only setup. Is there a reason for doing that?
Ehh, n/m. I remembered the "Google before you ask" mantra...
This explains it nicely:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/194362-wont-charge-over-usb-car.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be clear, there is no indication it is *required* for the S4. Mine quick charges just fine without shorted data leads. However I did this because my friends have a variety of phones and it only took a few minutes to do.
Caferacer said:
That app won't show the mA on my N7 but does show it charging near the same % as a fast charger.
It's the shorting/grounding of the data pins that activates 'fast charge' mode on some phones. Nexus 7's and my E4GT (Sprint S2) when I used it didn't require the pins to be shorted to charge faster. Mostly it was the charger (duh) and the quality/length of the cable that affected the charge speed. As well, most of the heavy 1A plus chargers short the data pins in the charger itself so you can use any cable. I believe the S4 doesn't require it as well, but don't have any data to confirm it.
The way I wired mine was to sacrifice a USB female port from a USB extender, and attached the power leads and shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Caferacer said:
To be clear, there is no indication it is *required* for the S4. Mine quick charges just fine without shorted data leads. However I did this because my friends have a variety of phones and it only took a few minutes to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree with what you posted in general terms, below is the link to the thread I was talking about. He did some testing and found the pins aren't just shorted, but shorted w/ 82K resistors to get the maximum charging current.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2274321
Will it damage the phone to have a 3A charger plugged into it? Also If it does not damage would it be able to run the camera as a "blackbox" and not die? I currently have a 2a charger and when i use the black box software it dies after about an hour or so.
SUCCESS!
I got the little black box in from eBay.
Gave it a quick/test wire setup. This is NOT indicative of the end result which will be soldered & have shrink tubing, etc.
Okay, first I grabbed my stock S3 data/charge cable.
Snipped off the standard USB end.
Cut off the ends of the pin 2 & 3 wires since they were not being used anymore (data pins).
Then attached the red (power) from the S3 cable to the yellow (power) lead from the little black box. And did the same for the black (negative) leads.
Then hard wired the red & black from the little black box to my motorcycle battery terminals.
On the first test, I only got 460mAh.
Then I decided to short the 2 & 3 pin wires (green & white) on the S3 cable together (attach them to each other). This gave me 1120mAh!
Next I took the tin-foil and wire braid from the S3 cable and tied them together with the negative lead on the S3 cable. This gave me 1220mAh!
Still not satisfied, I then cut down the 5' S3 cable and made it a 1.5' cable.
AND THIS RESULTED IN A FULL 1920mAh!!!! Right on.
That is exactly the same mAh as the stock S4 wall charger & cable combo give me. Very stoked about this. So now I'll do a nice clean install on the bike and then duplicate it for my car dock sometime soon. FULL CHARGE AHEAD!
Crxdc said:
Will it damage the phone to have a 3A charger plugged into it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it will be fine. The phone only draws 1900mAh. If the phone were drawing 3000mAh then there might be a problem.
All done and installed now. And working great!
Negative battery connection (I forgot to shrink tube it but will do that later).
Braided negative wire (~16 to 18awg?) running under gas tank to front of bike.
I wish I would have waited till I got black zip ties in. I hate white zip ties.
The braided wire at the right side of pic that goes up above the gas tank is the pos/neg wire lead that plus right into the phone.
2A inline fuse connecting via blade connector (sorry MC) to a previously used power-on-ignition wire.
This goes to (+) on the little black box.
Note the shrink tube over the braid over the crimp connector (wire goes to top-right of screen).
Phone sitting next to the phone dock I made out of a holster that came with my phone case.
You can see the braided/shrink tubed MicroUSB connector already plugged into the phone.
It's not showing a charge though, because the ignition key is not turned on.
Phone is inserted into stable dock (it will never fall out unless I crash hard).
Ignition is turned on and battery is charging!
And proof that it's charging at the full 1900mAh. Success!
CZ Eddie said:
All done and installed now. And working great!
Negative battery connection (I forgot to shrink tube it but will do that later).
Braided negative wire (~16 to 18awg?) running under gas tank to front of bike.
I wish I would have waited till I got black zip ties in. I hate white zip ties.
The braided wire at the right side of pic that goes up above the gas tank is the pos/neg wire lead that plus right into the phone.
2A inline fuse connecting via blade connector (sorry MC) to a previously used power-on-ignition wire.
This goes to (+) on the little black box.
Note the shrink tube over the braid over the crimp connector (wire goes to top-right of screen).
Phone sitting next to the phone dock I made out of a holster that came with my phone case.
You can see the braided/shrink tubed MicroUSB connector already plugged into the phone.
It's not showing a charge though, because the ignition key is not turned on.
Phone is inserted into stable dock (it will never fall out unless I crash hard).
Ignition is turned on and battery is charging!
And proof that it's charging at the full 1900mAh. Success!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome.
Hard wire phone charger and Bluetooth Receiver to car battery plan...
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
ebrowni said:
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks good to me. :good:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-USB-Ca...064?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51af639938
ebrowni said:
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead. I personally wouldn't wire anything directly to the battery, especially since you didn't mention an inline fuse. Find a switched 12v lead inside the car. Not only does this protect your phone, charger, and car, but it also means you don't have to run anything through the firewall, which is a pain.
You can either tie into the cig lighter wiring, or find something else (I used my clock circuit since it runs to a 10A fuse and is switched).
Caferacer said:
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead. I personally wouldn't wire anything directly to the battery, especially since you didn't mention an inline fuse. Find a switched 12v lead inside the car. Not only does this protect your phone, charger, and car, but it also means you don't have to run anything through the firewall, which is a pain.
You can either tie into the cig lighter wiring, or find something else (I used my clock circuit since it runs to a 10A fuse and is switched).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your clock circuit is switched?
I agree with the firewall being a pita, but I'm not a huge fan of tapping on to other circuits either. With nothing charging, what would be drawing any current? If there's anything, it would have to be minimal. It also allows you to charge a phone/device with the car not running, sometimes very handy (and a modification I've made before for just that reason). An inline fuse is also a must, good point!
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
MonkeyTime said:
Your clock circuit is switched?
I agree with the firewall being a pita, but I'm not a huge fan of tapping on to other circuits either. With nothing charging, what would be drawing any current? If there's anything, it would have to be minimal. It also allows you to charge a phone/device with the car not running, sometimes very handy (and a modification I've made before for just that reason). An inline fuse is also a must, good point!
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, my clock circuit has a switched lead to wake up the clock as well as a hard wired lead to retain the time. Both run to the same 10A fuse.
There is a small transformer in the converter and the receiver bluetooth will stay on. They have a small energy draw which is not negligible over a long period of time. At the very least I would include a dash mounted switch to completely shut the charger and receiver off. For instance I have a bluetooth OBD adapter (Not too much unlike your bluetooth receiver) that drained a 2 year old car battery over a week I left the car sitting while I was on vacation. For day to day driving it's not a problem but my OBD adapter isn't hardwired and I can just remove it when I know the car will be sitting.
Thanks
Caferacer said:
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oooh, good point! Makes sense to me. I have never done a mod to my car's audio system so I'll be paying a professional installer. I'm so glad to have this information before I shop around at the good places here and get some offers!
Thank you!

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