Garmin 390

Tam

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I have a Garmin390 and want to connect it up to my 2010 GS .I spoke to BMW when the bike was serviced and they warned me not to connect to battery but to put a din plug on wires and plug it in to the socket under the seat unplugging when not in use.They said the canbus system wouldn't shut down correctly when the ignition was was turned off because of different amps used which would flatten the battery if it was connected directly to the battery.The wiring loom of the 390 has a box in the middle of it.Can this unit be connected to the outlet at the front of the bike or battery or is BMW correct.Thanks for any help
 
I've connected things directly to the battery on several different can bus BMW bikes without a problem. The only issue I could imagine with connecting a sat Nav directly to the battery is if you were to leave the sat Nav unit on the holder for long periods when the bike's not being used. This could cause a slight drain on the battery and therefore flatten it. I prefer sat nav's to be connected permanently rather than through an ignition supply because I find it irritating when you switch off the ignition i.e. when filling up with petrol etc and the sat Nav also shuts down.

If it were mine, I'd definitely connect it direct to the battery with an inline fuse.
 
Thanks Steve,that's what I was thinking about when stopping for petrol.When the unit is removed from the sat mount there shouldn't be any draw from the battery.
 
Tam said:
I have a Garmin390 and want to connect it up to my 2010 GS .I spoke to BMW when the bike was serviced and they warned me not to connect to battery but to put a din plug on wires and plug it in to the socket under the seat unplugging when not in use.They said the canbus system wouldn't shut down correctly when the ignition was was turned off because of different amps used which would flatten the battery if it was connected directly to the battery.The wiring loom of the 390 has a box in the middle of it.Can this unit be connected to the outlet at the front of the bike or battery or is BMW correct.Thanks for any help
Click to expand...
The box is a voltage dropper so you can't remove it from the wiring.
I had a 390 and connected it to the wiring for the socket ( never used the socket and disconnected and removed it).The reason I used that wire instead of the under beak accessory connector plug is because on the 390 you have to accommodate the length of power supply lead to include the voltage dropper box and the distance to the mid point of the bike works out about right (tip, remove the tank to incorporate the cable route properly).
The socket wire does time out when the ignition is turned off just as the under beak connector does.
Alan R
 
My Garmin is connected by the OEM lead so it goes off with the canbus. I don't find the switching off an issue. (1) it gives warning that external power is lost. (2) the route in progress can be picked up where it left off.
The cradle has a USB circuit whiling will drain the battery if it's left permanently connected.


Sent somehow.
 
My Zumo 350 is powered from the headstock connector (2010 R1200GS). There's a bit of work needed to coil up the cables in and out of the voltage regulator box but it can be done reasonably tidily. Don't power it direct from the battery as the voltage regulator will draw power even if the Zumo isn't fitted in its mount. Powering it from the accessory socket is possible if you don't mind running cables around the bike.
 
I'm not convinced by the dealer's comments but I agree with others. Connect the Garmin to a switched power supply. On my R1200RS I have fitted a cockpit accessory socket as there isn't one. BMW feel you need one by your arse, which I do as it is great for my Keis jacket.
I then run my Zumo 390 from the accessory socket. As I want to be able to swap the Zumo from bike to bike I pop the voltage converter into the front pocket of my tankbag where it is out of sight. If I only had one bike, I would tuck the wiring and black box behind the side panels for the tank.

I think the R1200GS is the same as the RS, there are 2 real fuses under the rider's seat. One is always live, the other is ignition switched. I tapped into the latter using a piggy back fuse to add my accessory socket. This has a big enough fuse to allow me to run my tyre pump from the added accessory socket. The factory accessory socket switches off with the tyre pump. So, there are other good reasons to fit an additional accessory socket.
 
SteveC10 said:
I've connected things directly to the battery on several different can bus BMW bikes without a problem. The only issue I could imagine with connecting a sat Nav directly to the battery is if you were to leave the sat Nav unit on the holder for long periods when the bike's not being used. This could cause a slight drain on the battery and therefore flatten it. I prefer sat nav's to be connected permanently rather than through an ignition supply because I find it irritating when you switch off the ignition i.e. when filling up with petrol etc and the sat Nav also shuts down.

If it were mine, I'd definitely connect it direct to the battery with an inline fuse.
Click to expand...

i agree
 
Ive had a 550 and a 590 mount wired directly to the battery with an inline fuse (no switch) its been like that since 2011 never had a flat battery.

My Zumo is only used if I am away UK or Europe so the mount is permanently wired but does not draw any current from the battery if the Zumo is not mounted.
 
There is a continuous current draw if you connect the cradle direct to the battery. Might not be much, but it may result in a flat battery on occasion

Al
 
Cheers Bear.
This is what BMW said.That the sat nav wouldn't allow the Can bus to go to sleep even after switched of at ignition.Did you connect the sat nav wires to a connector to fit the beak socket or fit a new port like nippy Norman sells to the beak conector
 
Cheers this seems to be what BMW say think I'll be adding a new port from the front
 
I've a 390 connected via the plug under the beak on my 2012 GSA. Works as it should with the canbus cutting the power to the cradle a minute or so after the ignition is turned off. (Verified by a message on the the 390 advising external power has been switched off).
 
I have the same problem

I got this of another forum and there is not a simple answer if you want to wire the GPS into the accessory socket.

Garmin 350 LM cradle staying live after i have turned off the ignition.

My bike is a R1200RT which uses the BMW canbus system. Unusually this problem only happens when the satnav is not left in the cradle when i turn the ignition on. If the satnav is left in the cradle when i turn the ignition off i get a message advising external power has been lost and the device will switch itself off. Perfect this is what it should do. The canbus system runs for a minute or so after the ignition is turned off and then shuts down the power. The problem is if the satnav is not in its cradle, which is about 99% of the time. Today we discovered that after turning the ignition off the satnav cradle continues to draw about 5.4 volts even after the canbus has supposedly shut down. There does not seem any logic to this! It has drained my battery regularly in a day or so.

In the meantime a local bike mechanic had a play around with an electrical meter. What he found was if the bike was turned off with no sat nav in the cradle then for some strange reason the canbus system is being kept live. He got a steady 12v from each of the auxiliary sockets that just didn't turn off regardless how long you wait for the canbus system to switch off. He then unplugged the satnav cradle from the bikes wiring and hey presto the canbus system works normally again with no power at the auxiliary sockets. Therefore the garmin power cable is not allowing the canbus to turn off, unless of course the ignition s turned off when the sat nav is left in he cradle. It then powers down as normal and the canbus switches off.
 
So if you switch the ignition off with the sat nav in the cradle and it switches everything off does it fire up the cradle if you then remove the sat nav?
 
JohnnyOldBoy said:
I got this of another forum and there is not a simple answer if you want to wire the GPS into the accessory socket.

Garmin 350 LM cradle staying live after i have turned off the ignition.

My bike is a R1200RT which uses the BMW canbus system. Unusually this problem only happens when the satnav is not left in the cradle when i turn the ignition on. If the satnav is left in the cradle when i turn the ignition off i get a message advising external power has been lost and the device will switch itself off. Perfect this is what it should do. The canbus system runs for a minute or so after the ignition is turned off and then shuts down the power. The problem is if the satnav is not in its cradle, which is about 99% of the time. Today we discovered that after turning the ignition off the satnav cradle continues to draw about 5.4 volts even after the canbus has supposedly shut down. There does not seem any logic to this! It has drained my battery regularly in a day or so.

In the meantime a local bike mechanic had a play around with an electrical meter. What he found was if the bike was turned off with no sat nav in the cradle then for some strange reason the canbus system is being kept live. He got a steady 12v from each of the auxiliary sockets that just didn't turn off regardless how long you wait for the canbus system to switch off. He then unplugged the satnav cradle from the bikes wiring and hey presto the canbus system works normally again with no power at the auxiliary sockets. Therefore the garmin power cable is not allowing the canbus to turn off, unless of course the ignition s turned off when the sat nav is left in he cradle. It then powers down as normal and the canbus switches off.
Click to expand...

The Zumo 350 cradle has an inline 12V to 5V converter. This device draws a small current even if the satnav is not in the cradle. DC to DC converters tend to be pretty inefficient losing energy as heat. The canbus is set up so that if it is stimulated in a certain way then it will remain active - this allows the optimate 4 to charge the battery. The Garmin DC converter when without load must stimulate the canbus in the same way as an Optimate 4 i.e. your Zumo is not in the cradle. I'm sure Garmin didn't deliberately design this quirk, just an accident that some sort of signal is sent from the DC converter - probably just some sort of unintended electrical noise generates a few pulses that confuses the canbus controller.
 
wessie said:
The Zumo 350 cradle has an inline 12V to 5V converter. This device draws a small current even if the satnav is not in the cradle. DC to DC converters tend to be pretty inefficient losing energy as heat. The canbus is set up so that if it is stimulated in a certain way then it will remain active - this allows the optimate 4 to charge the battery. The Garmin DC converter when without load must stimulate the canbus in the same way as an Optimate 4 i.e. your Zumo is not in the cradle. I'm sure Garmin didn't deliberately design this quirk, just an accident that some sort of signal is sent from the DC converter - probably just some sort of unintended electrical noise generates a few pulses that confuses the canbus controller.
Click to expand...

Hi, I'm about to connect a zumo 390 to my F800GSA and am imagining I'm going to have the same issue with the voltage converter messing with the canbus....is the only solution therefore to connect the zumo wiring harness direct to the bike's battery? Is there still a risk of the voltage converter draining the battery or is this drain mainly caused by the canbus system keeping the main ECU active when "triggered" by the garmin voltage converter?
 
I have it connected straight to the battery and haven't had any issues at all. I actually love being able to be able to set the GPS before heading off. And if I go off the bike, I take the GPS with me, I never leave it on the bike.

So works just fine for me with the provided inline fuse, etc...
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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