Database Info

Fast charging N1

It seems the only way to fast charge a N1 is with the supplied wall charger. Standard Micro USB chargers whould only allow at much as 450mA of charge current regardless of the adapter current capacity.
The bundled charger however, manages to push 900mA into the N1. I made a cut in the charger wires and measured the current draw to make sure.
Now.. I'd like my car charger to be able to do the same. There must be some hack in the plug of the N1 charger since there are only 2 conductors from the case to the plug. You can see that the plug is somewhat longer than similar Micro USB plugs..
So I tried to see if one of the 3 unused pins can tell me anything but.. they seem unconnected as far as I could tell. Diode measurement (to test for any digital part inside) also did not produce any results. The next obvious step is to take the molded plug apart but I'd rather not...
Does anyone have any clue as to what makes that plug so special?
And please - I did my tests with a bench power supply - not the car chargers - so don't go around telling me it has to do with charger current capacity.
Thanks,
Nir

are you sure the micro usb cords you are using are able to handle the amps? most chargers made prior to now, only push about 450mA, the G1, and N1 chargers i have push a full amp though. I just ordered a car charger that pushes an amp too. There is nothing "special" about the plug.

followinginsanity said:
are you sure the micro usb cords you are using are able to handle the amps? most chargers made prior to now, only push about 450mA, the G1, and N1 chargers i have push a full amp though. I just ordered a car charger that pushes an amp too. There is nothing "special" about the plug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I beg to differ. All the cords can easily supply 1 AMP. It is the phone itself that decides how much to draw from the charger based on something IN THE PLUG.
I am an electronics engineer so do understand I know perfectly what I am talking about
And your 1A car charger does not supply anything over 0.45A to the phone.. you will see that if you are using the phone while it charges (say nav or phone call) the phone actually looses some charge albeit it being charged... This will not happen with the stock wall charger.

I have a 900mAh car charger that I use and it does in fact give 900mAh to the phone while charging. I can tell because I used a 450mAh charger at home before and it was slooow and I could drain my phone while charging it. With the car charger I can stream music with spotify, use the GPS, have the screen on full brightness and the battery % will still go up.
I also bought a new wall charger recently, which is 850mAh on the USB port and has a 350mAh charger for a loose battery as well, works quite nice.

Has anyone measured the voltage or put a scope on the output of the stock charger?
maybe stock charger has a slight variance in voltage over USB chargers or some signalling going on and this tells the N1 to take more current from it?
I would like a solution to this too I've seen my phone discharge while on a supposedly 1A car charger using co-pilot.

SBS_ said:
I have a 900mAh car charger that I use and it does in fact give 900mAh to the phone while charging. I can tell because I used a 450mAh charger at home before and it was slooow and I could drain my phone while charging it. With the car charger I can stream music with spotify, use the GPS, have the screen on full brightness and the battery % will still go up.
I also bought a new wall charger recently, which is 850mAh on the USB port and has a 350mAh charger for a loose battery as well, works quite nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forget the numbers on the chargers - what counts is what really goes into the phone and that needs to be measured with a current meter (test equipment). What you may think to be fast might not be that.
Original HTC chargers obviously do the trick of fast charging but this comes at a price compared to the $3-$4 garden variety on Ebay and the likes.

now I cannot help you with the electronics at all, but, my old HTC Touch Pro charger seems to charge the same as the one which came with the phone, is this correct?
(suits me if it is, as then I have a charger for home and work)
my blackberry bold 2 charger only says it outputs 700MAh, but both the google and htc chargers both say 1.0A

dnts said:
Forget the numbers on the chargers - what counts is what really goes into the phone and that needs to be measured with a current meter (test equipment). What you may think to be fast might not be that.
Original HTC chargers obviously do the trick of fast charging but this comes at a price compared to the $3-$4 garden variety on Ebay and the likes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is just anecdotal evidence as I don't have any equipment to measure it. But my phone no longer discharges when I use it while charging, which it used to do with the old charger I used. So while I can say for a fact that the charger I use now is faster, I can't say by how much (this goes for both the car charger and the one I put in the wall socket).

I ordered this charger a few weeks ago and it charges my phone as fast as the original charger. The label says 5v / 1200mA.
Genuine Nokia Mini AC-10U US Type AC Charger (100~240V)
$7,25 and free shipping. (Takes a while before you get it tho.)
GazzaK said:
now I cannot help you with the electronics at all, but, my old HTC Touch Pro charger seems to charge the same as the one which came with the phone, is this correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC Touch Pro = mini USB
Nexus One = micro USB

Not an engineering here, but I am guessing the phone not always drawing more than 500ma may be is to do with the charger itself.
There is this "fast charge" USB standard where a wall plug has the USB data pins shorted to indicate that it is a wall plug and hence the phone knows when to draw more power. So even if the charger is rated 1A, the phone might not know if it could utilize that if those pins aren't shorted. Try doing a quick Google on this ....
If someone can test if the stock charger that came with the phone in fact does have those pins shorted that would confirm part of this theory.

For all practical purpose - I used two cables/plugs with a bench adjustable power supply. Simple micro USB plug would only let me draw 450mA regardless of power supply voltage in the range 4.5-5.5V. Tried shorting data pins - nothing. Tried shorting spare pin to VCC or GND or any of the other pins - nothing.
Used original cable and plug - draws 900mA at voltages from 4.9-5.5.
So it's in the plug somehow.
Tried (very difficult) to see if the pins on the plug are shorted and all 3 spares (except for 5V and GND) seems unconnected.
Next step is the irreversible hot knife...

I'm bugged by this, too. I tested with my desktop dock connected to my car charger (which states 1000 mA): it loads slowly and my battery widget reports USB- instead of AC-charger.
Might it be that the phone tries to load more than 1000 mA at the beginning to be sure that it doesn't overload the charger? And if that fails, it falls back to 500 mA?

Could N1 use a simple logic of:
- always watch the voltage
- start drawing 500ma (or whichever is the lowest current as per USB spec)
- increment in say 50ma steps
- if voltage drops below 4.x V, back off and stay at that level

I just did a little test of my own. I have a Palm Pre car charger (actual Palm brand one labeled as 1000ma output) and I plunged my N1 into it on my way home from work. In twenty eight minutes, my battery went from 47% to 70%. Much faster than plugging into my computer, which is 500ma max. I don't have any fancy test equipment, and don't claim to know a whole lot about electronics, but seems pretty fast to me.

I have a 4-port 2A 5v USB charger, and connecting it to my Nexus OR Milestone with a MicroUSB cable (the one that shipped with either phone, or the one from my Kindle) yields painfully slow charging - it basically won't charge if you are using the phone.
Connecting the Nexus One charger yields fast charging on either phone - so it is not HTC (or Motorola) proprietary.
The Milestone comes with a 900mA USB plug, and connecting THAT to either phone with either of the MicroUSB cables yields fast charging.
I have another aftermarket 2 port 2A 5V USB wall charger (brand: T'nB) AND I have an iPhone USB plug, and both give fast charging on the Milestone, and I have not yet tried them on the Nexus One.
Breakdown (on things I've tried):
FAST CHARGING on Nexus One AND Milestone:
Nexus charger (either in the US (110v/60hz) or in France (220v/50hz) through an adaptor)
Milestone wall French USB plug (which I think is something odd like 850mA at 5.9v) with ANY microUSB cable (in fact, it seems to charge both of the phones faster than the stock Nexus One plug)
SLOW CHARGING on Nexus One AND Milestone:
USB plug on computer
One aftermarket 4 port 2A 5V USB charger (NOT a hub, only a charger)
FAST CHARGING on Milestone, untested with Nexus One
T'nB 2 port 5v 2A USB wall charger
Apple iPhone 1 port 1A 5v USB wall adaptor

Seems found the answer for Fast Charging N1
I had just do some test for Charging N1 With Original AC Charger , Other band USB Charger and PC USB charger.
1. Orginal Charger give N1 from 0% to 100% at about 2 hour and something.
2. The other band AC charger and PC USB Charger can only finish the same job over 5 to 6 hours.
The Fast Charging is Due to 5.1V (Measured at N1) and 5.2V(Measured inside AC charger). 0.1V Drop is due to resistance of USB cable.
The Slow charged is due to 4.8V (measured at N1) and 5.0V (measured on PC USB and Other AC Charger)
i.e. Original Charger mod from 5.0 V to 5.2V (about 10% increase in Voltage)

Looks my theory is correct then ? N1 watches the voltage and if it droops too much, it backs off the current.
So the key would be: get a charger than can maintain at least 1A @ 5.2V, use
a decent gauge, short wire from the brick to N1.

Has anyone tried a Blackberry charger on the N1? Will they work to full capacity as well? (They're on Amazon for a fiver)

Because the nokia charger is working
http://pinoutsguide.com/CellularPhones-Nokia/micro_usb_connector_pinout.shtml
see info under table.
I tested also HP charger + standard USB cable delivered with Nexus, and it is charching cca 1A.
Then I tested one noname Carcharger + standard USB cable delivered with Nexus, and also charging cca 1A.
I dismantle the noname carcharger and here is a result:
data line (pin2+3) is shorted and connected do + (pin1 ,Vcc) thrue resistor cca 630kOhm.
1 - 4 = 5.1V
2,3 - 4 = 3.2V
rashid11 said:
Looks my theory is correct then ? N1 watches the voltage and if it droops too much, it backs off the current.
So the key would be: get a charger than can maintain at least 1A @ 5.2V, use
a decent gauge, short wire from the brick to N1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I try to use power supply 5.2V 2A with cable without dataline (pin 2and3 not connected) and it is charging 480mA only.

I have now tested with an HTC car charger for the HD2. It's fast charging (tested with Waze running, two bluetooth connections and playing mp3 - and it's still loading the battery, whereas before it would be stuck at the current percentage) and even shows AC power instead of USB.

Nexus 4 car charger??

Hi
Im searching for a car charger for the nexus 4 that will charge the device even on navigation running...I now that the Motorola Rapid car charger was good with the galaxy nexus.I dont know if itS ok with the nexus 4 because on the LG charger it sayS 1.2A?I read that the Bracketron Universal Dual USB Car Adapte 2.1A will just work as AC charger if plugged in with a USB charging only cable...but i cant find those cable to order online here i Canada...and i dont wanna do it myself and modify a regular usb cable ...Soo if someone can help me it would be much appreciated.

aldenh said:
Hi
Im searching for a car charger for the nexus 4 that will charge the device even on navigation running...I now that the Motorola Rapid car charger was good with the galaxy nexus.I dont know if itS ok with the nexus 4 because on the LG charger it sayS 1.2A?I read that the Bracketron Universal Dual USB Car Adapte 2.1A will just work as AC charger if plugged in with a USB charging only cable...but i cant find those cable to order online here i Canada...and i dont wanna do it myself and modify a regular usb cable ...Soo if someone can help me it would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You dont have to have a modded cable if your car charger already has the data pins shorted. Im using the motorola rapid charger too and it works fine, it will charge your phone as AC and give enough power to recharge the battery with navigation on. if you want something a bit better you can try this one , they ship to canada. My rapid charger broke so i bought it a few days ago. Reviews says the trident will give around 8-900mA, the moto charger outputs around 6-700mA.

I would only buy a premium brand here. If you see how no name mains adaptors are made... the risk of blowing up something expensive is just too big.
I wnent with the Sony AN-400 / 401, because it is rated at 1.2 amps exactly, is small, and was reported to work fine.
For some regulator disasters:
http://hackaday.com/2012/08/15/buying-cheaper-electronics-and-not-saving-money/ <- a USB car charger without components, putting 12 volts straight on USB.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-b9k-0KfE <- teardown of imitation apple mains adapter, showing no output protection and very little gap between mains voltage and output circuit. Good info, but style of presentation is not my cup of tea.
So that is why I went with a premium brand.

that's one charger from one factory that some guy that didnt know what he was doing and ordered thousands, without testing them. He probably went for the 25 cent super deluxe model...
Well reviewed chargers from xda members here and not to mention the hundreds of people on amazon are a safe bet. Here's a 8+page thread on the charger i linked. Your premium brand name sony charger is made in china too.

aldenh said:
Hi
Im searching for a car charger for the nexus 4 that will charge the device even on navigation running...I now that the Motorola Rapid car charger was good with the galaxy nexus.I dont know if itS ok with the nexus 4 because on the LG charger it sayS 1.2A?I read that the Bracketron Universal Dual USB Car Adapte 2.1A will just work as AC charger if plugged in with a USB charging only cable...but i cant find those cable to order online here i Canada...and i dont wanna do it myself and modify a regular usb cable ...Soo if someone can help me it would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Get a bullet-type 2.1 amp USB charger:
http://www.amazon.com/iFlash-Lighter-Charger-Adapter-Output/dp/B008LM45I2/ref=pd_sbs_misc_7
2. Add a "charge only" USB cable:
http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-U...357979634&sr=1-11&keywords=usb+charging+cable
This combo charges a Nexus 7 (which requires even more current) with navigation on!

neotekz said:
that's one charger from one factory that some guy that didnt know what he was doing and ordered thousands, without testing them. He probably went for the 25 cent super deluxe model...
Well reviewed chargers from xda members here and not to mention the hundreds of people on amazon are a safe bet. Here's a 8+page thread on the charger i linked. Your premium brand name sony charger is made in china too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for the link.So is this Trident limited charger same as the Powergen dual usb??I mean is the quality ok???this charger has the data pins shorted and comes with a regular micro usb cable?

M3Rocket said:
1. Get a bullet-type 2.1 amp USB charger:
http://www.amazon.com/iFlash-Lighter-Charger-Adapter-Output/dp/B008LM45I2/ref=pd_sbs_misc_7
2. Add a "charge only" USB cable:
http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-U...357979634&sr=1-11&keywords=usb+charging+cable
This combo charges a Nexus 7 (which requires even more current) with navigation on!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That looks ok,but I cant find a good quality usb charge only cable that ships to canada :

I have a el cheapo usb charger from ebay and I used my usb cable that came with the phone...and when i pluged it in it switches from AC charge to USB ever couple of seconds back and forth...so I want to try something different.

If you're into rooting and custom kernels, most of them have a fastcharge option where you don't need to have a special usb cable, or, attempt to short the D- and D+ lines.
Monoprice has a 2.1A bullet charger for a bit cheaper:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10826&cs_id=1082603&p_id=8858&seq=1&format=2

aldenh said:
Thanks so much for the link.So is this Trident limited charger same as the Powergen dual usb??I mean is the quality ok???this charger has the data pins shorted and comes with a regular micro usb cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i cant say for sure until i get it sometime next week but i think so. im in canada too and couldnt find the powergen anywhere that would ship here.
There are some other brands that are good too but i like this one cause it's dual usb like my old moto rapid charger. If you dont need that you can get some smaller ones that will work just make sure they are well review and can output around 1A. The one that bfspider spider recommends is a good bet too since monoprice is pretty reputable store and will ship to canada.
aldenh said:
I have a el cheapo usb charger from ebay and I used my usb cable that came with the phone...and when i pluged it in it switches from AC charge to USB ever couple of seconds back and forth...so I want to try something different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try to mod this one in the mean time, just take it apart and attach the two data pins(they are the two middle ones). Solder is best but if you cant you can just use pilers and bend the pins until they touch. i did this with a few of my chargers too and it works to make them AC but it wont increase the output if its low to begin with.

neotekz said:
i cant say for sure until i get it sometime next week but i think so. im in canada too and couldnt find the powergen anywhere that would ship here.
There are some other brands that are good too but i like this one cause it's dual usb like my old moto rapid charger. If you dont need that you can get some smaller ones that will work just make sure they are well review and can output around 1A. The one that bfspider spider recommends is a good bet too since monoprice is pretty reputable store and will ship to canada.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again thank you so much.I found the Trident charger here with free shiping to USA and Canada and good reviews

I just bought a "Samsung Car Adapter" with this output: 5V 1A
Is this a good CAR adapter for Nexus 4?
The Nexus 4 "LG travel charger", has this Output: 5V 1.2A
I wan't to use this Samsung Car Adapter while using GPS on the Car or playing games on the Car without lowering the battery.

thesebastian said:
I just bought a "Samsung Car Adapter" with this output: 5V 1A
Is this a good CAR adapter for Nexus 4?
The Nexus 4 "LG travel charger", has this Output: 5V 1.2A
I wan't to use this Samsung Car Adapter while using GPS on the Car or playing games on the Car without lowering the battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same. Works perfect
Sent from my sexy Nexus 4

M3Rocket said:
1. Get a bullet-type 2.1 amp USB charger:
http://www.amazon.com/iFlash-Lighter-Charger-Adapter-Output/dp/B008LM45I2/ref=pd_sbs_misc_7
2. Add a "charge only" USB cable:
http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-U...357979634&sr=1-11&keywords=usb+charging+cable
This combo charges a Nexus 7 (which requires even more current) with navigation on!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, this adapter should allow most existing "iPad" chargers (1.2A or higher) + any USB cable to work well with the Nexus 4.
The problem is that Apple products deviate from USB charging standards. As a result, most chargers try to be compatible with iDevices and also deviate from the standards. So when standard-compliant devices try to follow the standards, the chargers refuse to follow the standards, and the devices get upset with each other. Fortunately, they fall back and settle on a lower-power charging rate.
If you want to buy chargers that are very clear on what they support, check out MediaBridge (also available on Amazon).

Why does a bog standard USB cable work in the car for me? Using a proper off-line sat nav my phone was fully charged

neotekz said:
You dont have to have a modded cable if your car charger already has the data pins shorted. Im using the motorola rapid charger too and it works fine, it will charge your phone as AC and give enough power to recharge the battery with navigation on. if you want something a bit better you can try this one , they ship to canada. My rapid charger broke so i bought it a few days ago. Reviews says the trident will give around 8-900mA, the moto charger outputs around 6-700mA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So i got that Trident charger that you recommended....the quality looks good...but when I tried it in the 1A and 2A port with the usb cable that comes with it,it shows USB charging but when I use the HTC usb cable that came with my HTC one S it shows AC charging....its so confusing and I just dont get it....that HTC cable is a sync and charge cable.

The generic T-Mobile car charger available at T-Mobile stores charges just fine. I believe it is at least 1 amp. Its black, has a purple white small led indicator when charging. The USB end looks like a little block and the cord is an accordion type and it also has a a female USB slot in it to plug something else in at the same time but I believe whatever USB cord you plug in there only charges at .5 amp. With this charger I can run navigation and Bluetooth and Pandora and message at the same time and it will charge.
Sent from my often RMA'd Nexus 4, So that I can use the one I'm using now when I get the 6th and hopefully final one.

I just dont get it why does it with one cable show USB charging and with the other HTC cable AC charging?:S
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

You're awesome.

Vitamin_D said:
You're awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
????

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!

[Q] List of Nexus 5 car chargers that charging in AC mode

Hi,
I would like to create list of car chargers that are able to charge N5 in AC mode.
Till now I have found only one review on Amazon on: "PowerGen Dual USB 3.1A Car charger".
Sorry, but I still can't post links.
I want to buy something that works for sure.
So, please share your real life experience...

armourer1 said:
Hi,
I would like to create list of car chargers that are able to charge N5 in AC mode.
Till now I have found only one review on Amazon on: "PowerGen Dual USB 3.1A Car charger".
Sorry, but I still can't post links.
I want to buy something that works for sure.
So, please share your real life experience...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-Dual-...5839252&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+usb+car+charger is working fine, it has 2 ports one of which says it is for apple but works just fine on any device both ports charge over 2 Amps.

Ady1976
Thanks for replay,
Can you please Goto Settings -> About -> Status -> Battery Status: and verify that you see Charging (AC) ?
I am also able to charge with old Griffin charger, but it only works with "Charging (USB)" - 0.5A.
Thanks...

armourer1 said:
Ady1976
Thanks for replay,
Can you please Goto Settings -> About -> Status -> Battery Status: and verify that you see Charging (AC) ?
I am also able to charge with old Griffin charger, but it only works with "Charging (USB)" - 0.5A.
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, yes it does say charging by (AC)

Ady1976
Thanks a lot !
Now I have one more charger to choose from -

0.5A is USB level so that's why that one doesn't work, anything that charges at 1A or over should be fine.

b1g1an said:
0.5A is USB level so that's why that one doesn't work, anything that charges at 1A or over should be fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My charger is capable of driving more than 0.5A, but the phone don't "understand' it.

Android determines that a charger is a wall charger (as opposed to a computer) by the fact that the data ports are shorted together. Apple chargers don't do this, so most chargers made for Apple products will only charge Android devices at 0.5A. Heck, almost no car chargers do, unless they were made specifically for an Android device. Here's what I did:
I ordered this Griffin car charger, mainly because of the size. It just BARELY sticks out of the car's charging plug. Then, I ordered the Nexus Wireless Charger, and used the cable it came with (minus the wall plug). Presto... Qi wireless charging in my car. The magnets hold the N5 in place nicely so it doesn't slide off the charger in my center console, and the charger I linked easily supplies the 1.8A that the Nexus Charger expects.
The catch is that this charger was designed for an Apple product, so I had to carefully pry it apart and short the center two USB pins with solder using a soldering iron (those are the data pins).
EDIT: I should point out here that the Nexus charger may work fine without shorting the pins. I didn't test it. I wanted the ability to quick charge via cable if necessary, since Qi charging is a bit slower, so I shorted the pins, but if all you're interested in is Qi charging, you may be able to get by without modifying the charger. If someone wants to test this, please let us know.

jt3
Thanks for the info. I have some kind of Griffin charger with 2 USB ports.
So, I will try to do the same - shorten data pins inside the charger.
I will post it works

Just an FYI, I was charging with a charger that listed AC mode last weekend yet it wasn't charging faster than the power was draining.
Not all the AC modes officially charge at a faster pace unfortunately. My Galaxy Nexus car dock charger though did charge it at a proper AC pace.

What took me a little while to figure out is that this issue may not be as related to the charger as it is to the cable. I tried 3 different car chargers and none of them would keep up with GPS battery drain in the car. I figured out that common to all 3 chargers that I was trying was the cable. So I bought this cable and now all 3 of the same chargers work great. I am finding that even at 1.0A you can keep up with the gps battery drain. At 1.5 amps or greater you can charge the battery in the car while using GPS full time.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0088HTYUE/ref=ya_aw_oh_pit

jalanjkcarp said:
What took me a little while to figure out is that this issue may not be as related to the charger as it is to the cable. I tried 3 different car chargers and none of them would keep up with GPS battery drain in the car. I figured out that common to all 3 chargers that I was trying was the cable. So I bought this cable and now all 3 of the same chargers work great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is because some "charge only" cables don't have data pins at all (usually, because they came with a charging dock of some sort, or were designed for devices other than Android). Remember, I said earlier that Android notices that it's on a charger when the data pins are shorted. If they're missing completely, then it will only charge at 0.5A.
My rule of thumb is to stay far - far away from charge-only cables.

I bought a "2.1A Car Charger" with a single USB port (made by PNY....Amazon for about $6 shipped)... opened it up and soldered a bridge between the middle 2 USB pins.
Previously it reported Charging (USB), now I get Charging (AC). Confirmed with a widget that showed charging amps, the number went way way up.
Presumably any of these chargers claiming high-amp output will only work with iDevices, I guess they ignore the USB standard that if the two middle pins are bridged, its a power-only connection and full power can flow.
I did test this on an HTC One X running 4.2 and it reports Charging USB though, so there is a dependency on one of the newer Android kernels (my N5 runs 4.4.2)
Edit: oh yea... with my newly modded charger, I tested turning on Bluetooth streaming audio to my car, GPS on, navigation running, screen on, 100% bright, and wifi tethering enabled, and i STILL had a net charge going.

I've just bought a Blackberry Premium In-Vehicle Charger and my N5 recognizes it as an AC charger. The phone pulls around 1A from it (it's good for up to 1.8A). This is it, though I purchased mine from a local store.

Seeking Recommendation for Power Delivery Car Charger

Seeking recommendations for a USB Power Delivery car charger (for rapid charging). Ideally I would like something that's low profile so my console door can close over it when not in use

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/173036242115
I have this. Nice to have a QC3.0 & PD3.0 USB options on the same charger. Meagoes car charger model CC003
No wires included tho

feeway730 said:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/173036242115
I have this. Nice to have a QC3.0 & PD3.0 USB options on the same charger. Meagoes car charger model CC003
No wires included tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No wires included is just what I was looking for! I have so dang many - Thank you!!!

I'm curious if anyone has used any of these chargers for the Essential phone. I'm probably gonna grab the second one I link below and will test with my usb-c power meter and report back when I have time but if anyone else has direct experience I'd love to hear it.
This one looks a lot like what we need but it oddly states "not compatible with Essential" though there are reviews stating it does and does not work
https://smile.amazon.com/Nekteck-Ce...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RH73X9QDHJD8QPDN6DHG
This one has a little more power than the previous and does state that it works with essential though it claims that the PH1 negotiates via the 12V rail instead of the 9V meaning it is pulling less than 3Amps and therefore flags on the lockscreen as "charging slowly" even though it does charge fast.
https://smile.amazon.com/Nekteck-Ce...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RH73X9QDHJD8QPDN6DHG
This one is a nice looking wall charger but also oddly states not compatible even though it has the right specifications.
https://smile.amazon.com/Nekteck-Ce...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RH73X9QDHJD8QPDN6DHG
This one is wildly overkill for the PH1 and also states it has the same 12V rail thing as charger 2
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0721KG2Q7/ref=?ie=UTF8&m=A3GMRWNJ2V9TRM
This one has a built in cable but also states the same 12V rail bug
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0719KV9PH/ref=?ie=UTF8&m=A3GMRWNJ2V9TRM

So update...
I bought these two chargers off amazon, buy the car charger and the other charger is 50% off.
Both show charging rapidly when connected to the Essential phone so whatever mistake there used to be with it selecting the wrong rail or it not being reported correctly seems to not be an issue on oreo 8.1. I tested both with my usb-c meter and they seemed to provide something between 5 and 9 volts and anywhere from around 1 to 2.6 amps depending on charge level of the phone at the time.
Over all these seem like solid chargers and they are USB-IF certified so in theory the manufacturer isn't playing fast and loose with the charging specs like some do.
https://smile.amazon.com/Nekteck-Ce...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RH73X9QDHJD8QPDN6DHG
https://smile.amazon.com/Nekteck-Ce...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RH73X9QDHJD8QPDN6DHG

looks like monoprice is in the game now:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/27W-Car-Charger-with-USB-C-and-1A-USB-A-Ports/391954642515
weak usb-a, but usb-c supports [email protected]=27w

I bought this one
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B079MWXSS8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
27W on Power Delivery and ~10W on USB-A
Has 45 day money back and 2 year warranty.
It costs more than the others, but I've never had an Aukey charger go south.

I got a https://www.amazon.com/Trianium-Charge-Charger-Samsung-Nintendo/dp/B01LXY0ECN . It has QC3.0 and PD. Works very well for me. Not the cheapest and it's one of the few which works very reliably after trying out more than 5 such chargers. Some don't supply enough power, some says they are PD but yet charges slowly. Only this one really worked for me. It's almost $20 but worth it for me