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Car Charger Needed

I have tried using a cheap car-lighter-USB adapter, which has 1000mAh written on it... but it still doesn't do the job. (GPS+Data+Screen on)...
The battery does not charge, but it looses power.
Well, I only payed £2.90 for it (transport included) on e-bay...
I am looking for a more expensive one, but I need to make sure it does the job...
Can anyone recommend one?
Later update:
My cheap charger from e-bay, started smelling of burnt plastic. When I opened it up, I sau that the spring that was pushing the Vcc contact was touching the plastic case, which started to melt...

I had one sent to me by mobiles.co.uk which is labelled as a carphonewarehouse one.
Seems to charge it OK when using copilot.

i bought the original HTC car charger for 20euros, and i think its the best (although a bit expensive), since the charger is really small and neat with white led HTC letters, and you can remove the usb to micro usb cable to use it in a pc (i have never tried that though).
I looked for a standalone cable and usb adapter and the price would be almost identical with the OEM charger, so i think its the best deal.
Cheers,
T.
thats the charger:
htc cc-c200
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Maplins (in the UK) do a very small USB car charger that works well in my Audi A5 and my Mazda MX-5. Good tight fit and the packaging states input of 12-24V DC and output of 5V DC at 1 Amp.
Maplins code A50JK. Currently on special offer at £5.99 each instead of £8.99.

Thanks for that. Have you used it with a Desire?
For now I've ordered a miniUSB-female -> USB female adapater, and will try to use it with the car-charger of my SatNav which has a miniUSB plug... and outputs 1.2A
I don't think the higher current will damage the battery, especially that the phone will be always ON. Anybody knows different?

zonkkk said:
Thanks for that. Have you used it with a Desire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes although not with GPS etc switched on (I have Satnav built in on both cars). I just need Bluetooth on for hands free.

zonkkk said:
Thanks for that. Have you used it with a Desire?
For now I've ordered a miniUSB-female -> USB female adapater, and will try to use it with the car-charger of my SatNav which has a miniUSB plug... and outputs 1.2A
I don't think the higher current will damage the battery, especially that the phone will be always ON. Anybody knows different?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should always buy ones that can supply higher currents. If a charger/power supply can supply higher currents (at the same voltage as required), it is a good thing. Thats why most of the time, more expensive ones can supply higher currents and cheaper ones cant cope when the current demand is high.
It is the voltage difference you should avoid. But if the voltage is same ie 5 volts in this case, then just go for one that can supply higher current.
hope that helps.

The reason I was asking is because I remember reading somewhere that charging a battery with low current is healthier for the battery, so I am not too keen on using something that outputs higher current than the original charger...

REB1 said:
Maplins (in the UK) do a very small USB car charger that works well in my Audi A5 and my Mazda MX-5. Good tight fit and the packaging states input of 12-24V DC and output of 5V DC at 1 Amp.
Maplins code A50JK. Currently on special offer at £5.99 each instead of £8.99.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one of these, but got it from ebay for £3 Just need a right-angled usb to micro usb cable now to make it even more low profile.
Si

Hey was just looking on ebay and came across this
sorry i just found out i cant post links but its ebay number 170450658461.
It says its rated at 5v +/-5% and 1.5A so should be plenty, also worth noting this is a dual charger, so i can charge my phone and perhaps have my proper sat av going if i want or ipod or what have you.
might order it for £2.30 delivered

I bought this one from local Maplin store last night
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=267947
Has a retractable MINIusb lead and a standard usb socket to plug your micro lead into. Can charge 2 devices at once too.
Seems to work fine although not had a chance to test it with the phone under constant drain (satnav) yet. 1A output should be enough though.

zzleezz said:
I bought this one from local Maplin store last night
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=267947
Has a retractable MINIusb lead and a standard usb socket to plug your micro lead into. Can charge 2 devices at once too.
Seems to work fine although not had a chance to test it with the phone under constant drain (satnav) yet. 1A output should be enough though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the retractable miniusb lead able to plug directly ito the desire? if it is, do you think its long enough?

Afc, the retractable lead is miniusb not micro so no it won't. I've heard there are mini to micro converters so that would let you use it that way, not searched for them yet so no idea where from.
The retractable lead is 75cm long. I suppose it depends where your accessory socket is and where you mount your phone in your car. For me that would be fine, socket is just at bottom of dash and phone mounted on a vent holder (cheapo Tesco one for now) in my ferrari enzo (its the one that looks a lot like a Ford focus )

I am using my original Satnav car charger (rated 1.2 A).
This has a miniUSB connector, so I bought a miniUsb female -> USB female adaptor, and shorted the data lines together. And I am using a USB to micro USB cable to connect to the phone.
Now it works like a charm. Charges about 5% of battery for every 20 minutes of use with GPS + NAVIGATION + DATA + SCREEN FULL BRIGHTNESS on.
I don't know why I didn't think about it before buying the cheap car-charger with a USB port from ebay (the one that started melting, and wasn't even charging properly with everything on even if it was rated 1000mA).
Maybe this may be of use to someone...

Update on the maplin charger I mentioned earlier. 40 min journey the battery lost 5% charge going to buy a converter for my tomtom charger I think. Another 10 quid down the drain.

zzleezz said:
Update on the maplin charger I mentioned earlier. 40 min journey the battery lost 5% charge going to buy a converter for my tomtom charger I think. Another 10 quid down the drain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, can confirm this charger does NOT supply enough to even keep the Desire running while using Sat Nav :-(
Kev

hi i've got this usb car charger, is this strong enough to charge the phone with the screen and gps on
USB Car Charger

kevwright said:
Yep, can confirm this charger does NOT supply enough to even keep the Desire running while using Sat Nav :-(
Kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you short the data pins on the Maplin charger then it provides enough charge to keep everything going.
It's actually the phone that's the culprit. It will only take 500ma when on charge via usb, but will take about 900ma when on ac. By shorting the data pins on the charger you fool the phone in to believing it is on AC charge, so it takes more from the charger. If you're going to short the data pins on a charger you must make sure its rated at least 1A.
I have the Maplin charger (the one that Reb1 posted an image of on page 1) and can confirm that shorting the data pins works.

Aaahhh, interesting post!
Have soldered the centre pins on my maplin charger (the dual one with the retractable lead) will test it as soon as I need to drive some distance.
Assuming it works thanks very much
*update*
Soldered the 2 centre connections together on the back of the usb socket in my car charger. Took it for a 30 minute triip this evening, had navigation software running, music playing, gps, WiFi, 3g - the lot. Gained 10% charge when I arrived! Stunned and very gratefully for the advice, thanks mate

zzleezz said:
Aaahhh, interesting post!
Have soldered the centre pins on my maplin charger (the dual one with the retractable lead) will test it as soon as I need to drive some distance.
Assuming it works thanks very much
*update*
Soldered the 2 centre connections together on the back of the usb socket in my car charger. Took it for a 30 minute triip this evening, had navigation software running, music playing, gps, WiFi, 3g - the lot. Gained 10% charge when I arrived! Stunned and very gratefully for the advice, thanks mate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hhhm didn't realise that editing my last post would not mark it as unread. Important info above that I'm sure people would like to read so bumping with this post.

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.

Nexus 5 Car charger problem

Hi everyone,
So I bought a Belkin 2.1A car charger from ebay for my Nexus 5 like this one:
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But during my various car trips using Google Maps sat nav I've noticed that the battery percentage was going down rather than up. I was very suprised as I thought that 2.1A would be enough to handle the battery consumption while also charging the device. After checking the stock AC charger I have noticed it's only rated for 1.2A, so the car charger charging problem surely must be another I thought.
By looking on the internet I've read that people were having charging issues because the device was recognizing the charger as an USB port so charging was limited to only 0.5A.
After a bit of further searching I found that the stock AC charger uses a shorted circuit on the data pins to make the phone recognize it as an AC charger. I went back to the car and tried the stock cable on the Belkin charger and in Settings->Battery it showed Charging (USB). Ok I said, then this must be the problem, I ended up building my own "Fast charge" cable by shorting the data wires on the Micro USB side. Trying again this time the phone showed as Charging (AC). I since tried the charger but without any success, the percentage was still going down while in use.
Today, I went into the Electronic lab of my University, and I've tried to check the Amps that were going through the phone (I have seen some videos on youtube of apps that show charging amps, but they all looked very wrong, like 8Amps or more). I believe I have finally found the reason of the slow charging or not charging:
The charging current is only 0.2A, far less than an USB port, and far far less of what is required to charge the phone wile the sat nav is going. I have tried both fast charge and stock usb cables but it still displayed the same exact current.
I don't know what to do next? Have any of you had any success in charging while using the sat nav (and 3g, bluetooth, nfc, ecc)?

Please forgive me if I am not understanding your post.
iltrevi said:
The charging current is only 0.2A...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's defective?
iltrevi said:
I have tried both fast charge and stock usb cables...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about a different charger?
iltrevi said:
Have any of you had any success in charging while using the sat nav (and 3g, bluetooth, nfc, ecc)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used several different chargers without issue.

PhilipTD said:
Please forgive me if I am not understanding your post.
Because it's defective?
What about a different charger?
I have used several different chargers without issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be the charger that is detective, but after all thats what im trying to find out, or is it a compatibility issue with nexus 5? If the charger was defective wouldn't it be not charging at all?
Different charger? I don't have a different charger, that's why I bought this one, why shouldnt this be working if there's stated 2.1amp
OK thanks for advice, but I'd like to get this working, have you had any experience with this charger as well?

Never used that charger.
A defective charger may very well be slow, rather than dead.
I just thought that it might be a good idea to test a friend's charger in your car in order to eliminate the possibility that the socket/feed is malfunctioning. Or, even better, would be to use a current tester on the socket.
Ma, che ne so?

I'm using exactly the same Belkin charger in my Ford and it works properly while navigation is on. However, I don't charge and keep navigating frequently so can't shed more light on this!

I have had quite a few car-chargers (mostly cheap ones) , and the amount of current they provide compared to what they promised varies alot.
Haven't tried the belkin one, as I needed more than 1 usb port.
Currently i'm using
...://dx.com/p/star-go-st-06-aircraft-shaped-5v-4100ma-usb-4-port-car-charger-black-12-24v-290123#.UxSYQ3VdWlg
And it charges my nexus 5 with screen always on and my Samsung tab 3 running sygic.
(even need 10 posts for a link...)

I've been testing chargers extensively. What I have seen is actually scary.
The worst one was sold on ebay and was marked as a 3.1A capable device. When I hooked it up to a 12V source and connected the output to a scope I saw a triangle like DC output varying between 4.7 and 5.7Volts which is out of USB specs, meaning could damage your device.
The 2 other ones that I own are a lot better after modifying capacitors etc. but I gave up on that front.
I also tested a Belkin marked one that was supposed to be able to provide 1A but it only managed 0.8A and after 15min it died. Fake, no doubt about it.
Since I had a cigarette lighter plug in my drawer I made my own charger that is very DC clean and can provide more than enough juice to charge.
I use these modules http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7V-24V-to..._Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item4179d0059e
You can connect the 2 middle pins and my N5 draws 1.4A peak.
To be sure there is a 2A fuse in the cigarette lighter plug and a Transient-voltage-suppression diode connected over the 5V USB output so in case the convertor goes belly up and goes to 12V the 5.8V diode will kill the fuse in an instant.
That convertor is extreemly clean stable and has a very high efficiency so it will not even get close to getting warm when charging high speed.
Some people spend a fortune on cases and screen protectors but want the cheapest possible 12V to USB. I made this for like 6€ or $9 and I guarantee you nothing comes close that is on the market.

lukesan said:
To be sure there is a 2A fuse in the cigarette lighter plug and a Transient-voltage-suppression diode connected over the 5V USB output so in case the convertor goes belly up and goes to 12V the 5.8V diode will kill the fuse in an instant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you put the 2A fuse in the car fusebox? or between the jack and your converter? Had not thought about making one myself

bakxsteen said:
Did you put the 2A fuse in the car fusebox? or between the jack and your converter? Had not thought about making one myself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a 2A fast (snelle ) fuse in that cigarette lighter plugin itself. So the module is capable of delivering 3A constant at 5.1V. Since the N5 nor a Note 3 will go above 2A charging, and the efficiency is >85%, I am secure on that front.
Since I see you are from Delft there should be an action shop in your area. They sell 2 port 2.1A capable car chargers (black and white) for like 3€ which are actually not bad at all. I only insist on those diodes that you can buy on ebay. They cost a couple of € but rather that than smoke out of your device.
I have about 8 of those modules now since they are so universal.
A couple of examples. An old laptop charger 15V 6A, cut the connector and hooked up the modules got all my usb devices charged in Africa.
1 is hooked up to a RC helicopter batt that is mounted on my bike and delivers around 11.1V and then goes to that module so I can charge and use GPS on the bike for hours.

Cheers for the info, coincidentally I have been looking for a way to power my raspberry pi in my 12-volt speaker set. This will make that a lot easier as well.

lukesan said:
I've been testing chargers extensively. What I have seen is actually scary.
The worst one was sold on ebay and was marked as a 3.1A capable device. When I hooked it up to a 12V source and connected the output to a scope I saw a triangle like DC output varying between 4.7 and 5.7Volts which is out of USB specs, meaning could damage your device.
The 2 other ones that I own are a lot better after modifying capacitors etc. but I gave up on that front.
I also tested a Belkin marked one that was supposed to be able to provide 1A but it only managed 0.8A and after 15min it died. Fake, no doubt about it.
Since I had a cigarette lighter plug in my drawer I made my own charger that is very DC clean and can provide more than enough juice to charge.
I use these modules http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7V-24V-to..._Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item4179d0059e
You can connect the 2 middle pins and my N5 draws 1.4A peak.
To be sure there is a 2A fuse in the cigarette lighter plug and a Transient-voltage-suppression diode connected over the 5V USB output so in case the convertor goes belly up and goes to 12V the 5.8V diode will kill the fuse in an instant.
That convertor is extreemly clean stable and has a very high efficiency so it will not even get close to getting warm when charging high speed.
Some people spend a fortune on cases and screen protectors but want the cheapest possible 12V to USB. I made this for like 6€ or $9 and I guarantee you nothing comes close that is on the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very interesting! Can you post some picture of the actual charger you made? How did you add the transient voltage suppression diode?
Btw I will try to short the data pins also on the USB side and see if it makes any difference, apparently things like this one short both sides: http://www.amazon.co.uk/PortaPow-Fa...8&qid=1393861403&sr=8-12&keywords=fast+charge

iltrevi said:
Very interesting! Can you post some picture of the actual charger you made? How did you add the transient voltage suppression diode?
Btw I will try to short the data pins also on the USB side and see if it makes any difference, apparently things like this one short both sides:
HTML:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PortaPow-Fast-Charger-iPhone-Blackberry/dp/B00GC4AJOU/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1393861403&sr=8-12&keywords=fast+charge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Difficult to show since it is sort of build in the car.
The module is plug and play. Hook up + and - (screwdriver thing so no soldering required) and the USB connector is already on the pcb board. Extreemly easy. Plug and play.
The diode is not big at all and is soldered on the back of the pcb. There are soldering points.
After that mod, diode and shorten data leads, I use that yellowish heat resistant tape around the pcb so it does not touch any metal parts or shorten anything. I've been using it in Arizona summer weather conditions and it is perfect.

lukesan said:
Difficult to show since it is sort of build in the car.
The module is plug and play. Hook up + and - (screwdriver thing so no soldering required) and the USB connector is already on the pcb board. Extreemly easy. Plug and play.
The diode is not big at all and is soldered on the back of the pcb. There are soldering points.
After that mod, diode and shorten data leads, I use that yellowish heat resistant tape around the pcb so it does not touch any metal parts or shorten anything. I've been using it in Arizona summer weather conditions and it is perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks. I think if I can't get another car socket charger to work this will be the path I will take.
Anyway I just tried shorting the USB side to see if this made any difference to the Belkin charger but it looks like nothing changed. I also tried shorting both data sides all together but that didn't change things either. I'm guessing the charger could be actually defective, I will try to get a replacement and see if that works better.
Why doesn't Google makes it own car charger and avoids all this messing about to find one that works.

iltrevi said:
Why doesn't Google makes it own car charger and avoids all this messing about to find one that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would think it would be in their interest as well, I imaging a lot of people will blame the phone.

bakxsteen said:
You would think it would be in their interest as well, I imaging a lot of people will blame the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is another nice tool that I use. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Portabl...uter_Power_Supply_Testers&hash=item485a80ba76
You don't see if the output is clean but you get a good view on what is going on and the Voltage and Current readout is pretty accurate.
Just added 2 pics. This one I use when cycling. You can see an added resistor but it has no use since it ups the Voltage to 5.2V (just a test thing). On the back you can see that the data lines are connected and that special diode is soldered over the 5V pins.
The reason why this one isn't fully insulated with tape is that this one is my test one so I leave it open to test.
No need to fully insulate it since it goes in a weatherproof non conductive bag with the battery.

bakxsteen said:
Cheers for the info, coincidentally I have been looking for a way to power my raspberry pi in my 12-volt speaker set. This will make that a lot easier as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, actually I have one of these modules connected to my Harmon Cardon speakers which are connected to my flatscreen.
My Raspberry is on 24/7 for like 10 months now. No stability, heat issues at all.
Just another thing which is extremely important is the USB cable itself. I've seen some really strange things.
For example now I am testing an Anker 40W 5-port USB charger that I bought on Amazon. It features 'smart' technology to see what is connected and then place everything in quick charge.
I found the idea super, but they've already had to refund me after a couple of tests.
The thing is right in front of me now and I have that USB tester thing to measure current and 3 different cables. 1 HTC, 1 from a Jawbone headset and a Sony one. The original cable is at home.
Ok so the phone was at 60% batt which means it should still charge at full speed if possible. The HTC and Jawbone cable on the Anker did not pass 0.8A and the Sony (looking at it now) 0.92A. Voltage seems like 5.08V which is measured at the adapter and not the phone.
So 1 get that USB tool thing for a couple of € $ and actually see what is happening instead of guessing. I am really happy with it.
If you want me to do any tests of have questions feel free to ask. We, and I, can always learn from each other and there is no such thing as a stupid question to me.

lukesan said:
Just another thing which is extremely important is the USB cable itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe USB cables and USB cables impendance as I've read somewhere are important only when charging the device with the data pins "enabled". As for Galaxy SI and SII chargers which used a fixed micro usb charging cable which was very thin, I belive that once data pins are shorted it doesn't matter anymore if you are using a very thick top quality cable or a ebay chinese cable, the phone will always pull as the same current.
Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.

iltrevi said:
I believe USB cables and USB cables impendance as I've read somewhere are important only when charging the device with the data pins "enabled". As for Galaxy SI and SII chargers which used a fixed micro usb charging cable which was very thin, I belive that once data pins are shorted it doesn't matter anymore if you are using a very thick top quality cable or a ebay chinese cable, the phone will always pull as the same current.
Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I also did some tests on that front. Supplying 5V and putting a resistor 5.1 Ohm on the other side so it draws approx 1 Amp. It's very scary to see some cables go flat on their belly.
I had one which measured about 4.3V with that resistor on the other side, so massive loss in the cable and/or connector. If you take into account that the charging circuit efficiency is also not 100% it can have a big effect on the charging speed. Remember these batts at 100% charge are at 4.2V.
The S1 charges at about 0.65A and an S2 at 0.7A max (limited by the charging circuit) so using these devices as GPS in the car is tricky since screen and gps app on .... and you are at approx these values.
I was thinking about buying my own connectors and soldering 2 'thicker' cables to the connectors. You can shortcut the data-lines on the micro usb so no harm done when plugging into a pc. But how far do I go in this I ask myself.

Resurrecting this thread because I'm having a similar issue, I have a Belkin 2.1Amp charger that's capable of charging an iPad at 2.1 amp (and I've tested it in the past and it charges appropriately, and is able to charge an iPhone very rapidly as well) as well as another 1A USB charger and the Nexus 5 barely charges with either-it charges very slowly even when I have GPS shut off-I've charged it for an hour before and it'll maybe get 10% which is absurd. It's pretty clear that whatever high-amp pinning they have is meant more for iPads and the Nexus 5 isn't seeing these chargers as high speed chargers, does anybody know of a charger where they've had good success with the Nexus 5 to rapidly charge it?

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