Wiring up a Tom Tom

[weekendwarrior]

Anyone know if its possible to hook up a Tom Tom to a bike that was bought for a car and came with only a cigerette lighter charger and usb cable?

[Taz]

Just wire a cigarette lighter plug to the battery of your bike. Use a little lecky tape to ensure plug stays in. You can buy them cheap from car accessory supply stores. Done.

[boman]

Just wire a cigarette lighter plug to the battery of your bike. Use a little lecky tape to ensure plug stays in. You can buy them cheap from car accessory supply stores. Done.

Thats what I did to get my Tom Tom working.

[weekendwarrior]

Thanks, yeah I have a spare cigarette lighter double plug, so your saying to cut the plug off and attach the wires to battery? is it that simple?

[Nasty]

Be aware that if you don't have a fuse you will probably drain your battery on a regular basis when you turn the bike off from running and don't turn off the tomtom.

I have my bike wired for a cigerette lighter and also handgrip warmers ... independantly fused etc as the number of times the battery drain due to my not turning things off properly was dumb.

[Winter]

Thanks, yeah I have a spare cigarette lighter double plug, so your saying to cut the plug off and attach the wires to battery? is it that simple?


Nearly. You want to make sure you get a fuse in there right next to the battery. : http://www.tradetech.co.nz/shop/General+Components/Fuse+Holders/FH106.html then connect your lighter plug from that.

[Winter]

Be aware that if you don't have a fuse you will probably drain your battery on a regular basis when you turn the bike off from running and don't turn off the tomtom.

I have my bike wired for a cigerette lighter and also handgrip warmers ... independantly fused etc as the number of times the battery drain due to my not turning things off properly was dumb.

How does a fuse protect you from batterys going flat? Fuses protect your wiring from over-current situations.. They won't help if you leave your lights/tomtom/waffle machine left on.

[Nasty]

Its not the fuse .. that just protects whatever ... its the wiring ... my lights don't stay on when bike is off ... but the waffle machine always did if I forgot to turn off the independant switch thing ... which was often ... they did the fuse thing to make sure i didn't really srew up .. but it is now independantly wired away from the lights etc ... which I think it was operating from that area of the wiring before. (ok I am a girl and I paid to get it done) :)

[weekendwarrior]

Its not the fuse .. that just protects whatever ... its the wiring ... my lights don't stay on when bike is off ... but the waffle machine always did if I forgot to turn off the independant switch thing ... which was often ... they did the fuse thing to make sure i didn't really srew up .. but it is now independantly wired away from the lights etc ... which I think it was operating from that area of the wiring before. (ok I am a girl and I paid to get it done) :)

Its getting more dificult by the minute, i might get the wife to pay and get it done :-)

[CookMySock]

Its getting more dificult by the minute, i might get the wife to pay and get it done :-)Nah its not hard.

You need some ring terminals to fit under bolts on the battery.
<img src="http://www.aerpro.com.au/product_pics/TR64B.jpg">

You need an inline fuse holder like this one. Get it from repco.
<img src="http://visforvoltage.org/files/u1786/NewFuseBox.jpg">

You need some blue crimp joiners like these.
<img src="http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/images/6/69/BlueCrimp.jpg">

Crimp a ring terminal onto one wire of the fuse holder, and a joiner onto the other wire. Crimp the POSITIVE wire from the ciggy lighter plug into the blue joiner on the fuse holder.

Crimp a ring terminal onto the NEGATIVE wire from the ciggy lighter plug.

Pull the fuse out, and then connect the fused ring terminal to the batt Pos terminal.

Connect the negative ring terminal to the batt negative.

Put the fuse in the fuse holder and check you have positive on the CENTER pin of the ciggy lighter plug.

You dont really need a fancy-pants crimper. Just scrunch it hard with a big pair of pliers. For proper bike wiring, get a crimper. ;)

If your appliance goes up in flames, don't call me. ;)


Steve

[weekendwarrior]

Nah its not hard.

Crimp a ring terminal onto one wire of the fuse holder, and a joiner onto the other wire. Crimp the POSITIVE wire from the ciggy lighter plug into the blue joiner on the fuse holder.

Crimp a ring terminal onto the NEGATIVE wire from the ciggy lighter plug.

Pull the fuse out, and then connect the fused ring terminal to the batt Pos terminal.

Connect the negative ring terminal to the batt negative.

Put the fuse in the fuse holder and check you have positive on the CENTER pin of the ciggy lighter plug.

You dont really need a fancy-pants crimper. Just scrunch it hard with a big pair of pliers. For proper bike wiring, get a crimper. ;)

If your appliance goes up in flames, don't call me. ;)


Steve


Well you have certainly spelled it out for me, best I give it a go, will visit repco 1st off.
Ps, I love your disclaimer

[weekendwarrior]

So I went to repco, the guy just said to buy the cigerette lighter socket and attach to the battery bolts with o rings, and plug the tom tom cigerette light charger into it.
he recons the tom tom cigerette lighter charger has a fuse in it.
not sure what to do now :wacko:

[FROSTY]

Guys Id suggest looking for this sort of part in a marine shop. You pay a bit more but they are usually more waterproof

[CookMySock]

the guy just said to buy the cigerette lighter socket and attach to the battery bolts with o rings, and plug the tom tom cigerette light charger into it.With O rings? Does he mean ring terminals like the packet of blue things above?


the tom tom cigerette lighter charger has a fuse in it.The fuse is supposed to be mounted as close as possible to the battery. The idea is, if something shorts out, it just blows the fuse at the battery. If the fuse is somewhere further down the cable, and you pinch the wiring under the seat it will short out and go up in flames - not amusing at motorway speed, so thats what I was saying to solidly connect the fuse holder directly to the battery with a terminal, and then go from there. The fat wire on the fuse holder is pretty difficult to short out.

When you crimp the ring terminal to the fuse holder, make sure the stripped section of the wire is not too long, because it will expose bare unfused copper. Strip only just enough so the wire is held firmly in the crimped section, but the wire insulation is well inside the plastic tube part of the terminal.

Yes, you could do it his way, but you will have unfused thin diameter wiring that squishes way easier than you would like. If you were careful you would be fine. I'd do it in a pinch, but not as permanent wiring.


Steve

[weekendwarrior]

Yeah i mean O Ring Terminals.
Thanks Steve.
I went and bought a inline fuse holder and 10amp fuse (probably overkill for the tomtom) wired it all up, and is working sweet as. I am a little worried about waterproofness, but will probably overkill it with "leaky tape"
Cheers

[CookMySock]

I went and bought a inline fuse holder and 10amp fuse (probably overkill for the tomtom) wired it all up, and is working sweet as. I am a little worried about waterproofness, but will probably overkill it with "leaky tape". Cheers.No worries bro.

The 10A fuse is fine. It's only there to go "pop" if something shorts out - it doesn't protect the tomtom. You can test this if you like - disconnect the tomtom and deliberately short the plug out with a screwdriver - the fuse should instantly and cleanly open with a loud "snap". If it hesitates at all before blowing, go for a smaller fuse. Guard your eyes when testing this.

Steve

[CookMySock]

I went and bought a inline fuse holder and 10amp fuse (probably overkill for the tomtom) wired it all up, and is working sweet as. I am a little worried about waterproofness, but will probably overkill it with "leaky tape". Cheers.No worries bro.

The 10A fuse is fine. It's only there to go "pop" if something shorts out - it doesn't protect the tomtom. You can test this if you like - disconnect the tomtom and deliberately short the plug out with a screwdriver - the fuse should instantly and cleanly open with a loud "snap". If it hesitates at all before blowing, go for a smaller fuse. Guard your eyes when testing this.

You are probably better off without the tape. Perhaps tie it down loosely with a few cable ties.

Steve