TAPP USB outlet install
 

I've been wanting to put some external power on the bike for a while but wasn't sure what I wanted yet. But after thinking about what toys I use on my bike (iPhone and Bluetooth headset) a USB outlet seemed to be the best choice. There's not a lot out there, but the one I got by TAPP seems pretty cool. It's a new model with 2.1 amps to charge more power hungry devices like tablets.

Installation was pretty simple. One end is secured to the handle bars and the other end is wired to the battery. There's a rubber cap to cover the USB port when not in use and to keep moisture out. Since the USB port draws a small amount of power even when it's not being used I was concerned about the battery drain. The salesman I spoke to said the power draw was so small it would take about a 1,000 hours to drain a standard bike battery. I'm going to drain the battery on my iPad and then put it on the bike to charge and see how it does. The real question will my bike start in the morning.

Here are some pics of the install and final product.

http://briencook.com/usbharness/photo%201.JPG

http://briencook.com/usbharness/photo%202.JPG

http://briencook.com/usbharness/photo%203.JPG

http://briencook.com/usbharness/photo%204.JPG

http://briencook.com/usbharness/100_5221.JPG

I have a short black iPhone USB cable on order

http://briencook.com/usbharness/100_5223.JPG

Charging the iPad

http://briencook.com/usbharness/photo%205.JPG

hmm..i just installed a regular power socket...and, i have a usb plug that goes in if usb power is needed....

http://www.tenniswood.co.uk/wp-conte...46_highres.jpg

Ya I've seen those. But I don't have any accessories that use a cigarette outlet so why bother.

Versatility. And it probably cost less.

Hmm, how much did the direct USB power kit cost?

I paid $12 for my Cigarette 12v power, and $2 for the USB Adapter to go in it.

It cost a little more but that wasn't my concern, simplicity was. It made no sense to install a bulkier cigarette outlet when I'm only going to power USB devices.

Where on your bike did you install the power socket?

I already had a pigtail on my battery to connect it to my Battery Tender. I recently bought a female lighter outlet that mates right up to the Battery Tender connector. Perfect!!! I am going to get one of the Belkin USB adapters as well, to cover all my bases.

The 12v outlet I bought came with a 5' cord, so I *could* run it up to the handlebars... but for now, I'm planning on leaving it in back. The idea is to use it to power/charge stuff while they're inside my Wolfman Enduro bags. My (older) Garmin Legend uses a 12v male adapter, and I thought the 12v socket would be handy to power a mini tire inflator as well. In the future, if/as my needs change, I'll adapt as necessary.

on the front left...garmin mount is on the right....video camera mount is on the far left (off on this picture)...got the tusk power socket with rubber cap which seals the socket from rain or weather really well..i was worried that it will dangle in the wind, but seems like the shield projects it from wind..no dangling and cap doesn't move at all...
http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums...ictureid=13833

Mind sharing where you got that adapter for $2? That's the one I was looking at buying. They make a dual-port version as well. I've only seen the (single-port) one in the $9-$14 range... not including shipping.

bought mine on ebay for $0.99 and $2 shipping...the package looked like it came from hong kong...been using it for 2 years..no problems...i like it because it goes in flush...bunch of cheap ones on ebay...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-US...item1e6bea97cb

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-USB-Port-C...item27b7317c5d

I like the cig outlet. For several reasons, one you can run a small compressor off of it, and Its a quick plug for my battery maintainers and finally I can jump between all 3 bikes with out having to take off side covers.

Yeah its an awesome mod for the bike. I keep the blackberry charged in the tank bag. I added one on the wifes bike as well. Plus she got the heated hand grips.

Attachment 12312

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Wife's bike

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It's also nice since the bikes can both be reversed charged with the battery maintainer. Just plug and play baby!

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And bonus, I made a plug in jumper that works great. That way if someone leaves thier key on and the battery gets low, all I have to do is plug in and wait 3-5 minutes, and it will fire up the dead bike. Already tested in the garage.

Attachment 12316

Mini Car Cigarette Powered 1000mA USB Adapter/Charger - Black (DC 12V) - Worldwide Free Shipping - DX

Free shipping too.

Best site for anything that isn't needed in high quality... but some stuff is quite nicely made, for instance, my phone screen protector is great for $1.50 I paid or something like that.

that looks like what i have...i got ripped off..i paid $2.99 for mine....

Just FYI I installed a mini usb connector for my garmin gps and hooked directly to battery via a fuse. Worked fine to power my gps but after a few days of sitting in garage the battery went dead. The circuit to step down 12v to 5v was draining the klx battery. It seems the stock battery is not that strong. Fixed the problem by connecting to a switched power source. Spliced into the tail light circuit. Just wanted to let you know ... a dead battery sucks !!!

hmm...i wonder if this only applies to the type of usb connector you purchased...the tusk socket outlet (also fused) does not seem to affect my battery...it's directly wired to my battery to work without having the key on....had it parked for 5 days without any battery drainage...

This what I purchased from MountGuys.com
http://www.mountguys.com/product_p/gusb5v-b.htm

That's definitely something I'm going to need to be mindful of. I decided to not charge my iPad last night and just see how it started this morning. I noticed the USB port was slightly warm which obviously means power is running through it even when not used. I would think it was a lot considering it warmed the plastic housing.

Anyone know if I can safely check the voltage of the USB port? If so, what would I be looking for as fas as a safe low voltage drain.

I'm going to charge the iPad tonight with the bike off and see how it does. I might call the manufacturer tomorrow to ask about the outlet heating up too.

FOLLOW-UP...
I charged a dead iPad over-night and the bike started just fine this morning. So that's a good sign.

Voltage isn't the issue... you want to know the CURRENT drain!

If you have a multi-meter, just pull one of the USB port wires going to the battery, and insert your meter in the gap. Set the meter on a current (Amps) setting. Assume the voltage regulator circuit will draw a little in standby... but, it shouldn't be drawing more than a few milli-amps (i.e. 100 or less) at rest. For reference, a typical LED draws around 10-20 mA. If it's drawing much more than that, I'd be a little concerned.

While you have it hooked up like that, you can connect your devices to see what each one of them draws. Make sure you set the meter to its highest current (Amps) setting, and work your way down from there.

Here's the response I got from the manufacturer...

In answer to your question, yes, the TAPP generates a bit of heat. As with any electronic device there is always some heat generated. No electronic device is 100% efficient, which is why they all generate heat when in use. This was one of our biggest design issues: how to generate the high-current USB power without overheating the unit or making it so big as to be unfit for use on a motorcycle. Our design has minimized the heat loss to be able to fit all the electronics in the small unit size without overheating. In addition, the unit is actually thermally protected, so if it does get too hot, the TAPP goes into "limp" mode, with much lower power production, until it cools down. As part of our testing, we intentionally overload the unit to be sure the fail-safe protections work.... and we have not been able to roast marshmallows on a unit yet! :) So there is no worry about an overheated TAPP burning anything that should not be burnt.

TAPP does use some power even when not in use. This is a by-product of the voltage conversion process (12V to 5V USB) and is similar to what your home phone charger does when plugged into the wall but not the phone. The amount of current drawn when the TAPP is not in use is about 8mA. A typical motorcycle battery is rated at about 10Ah (amp-hours), or 10000 mAh. That means it would take about 1000 hours for the TAPP to drain your motorcycle battery or about a month. We suggest, if storing the bike for long periods, that you remove the fuse from the harness to prevent battery drain; or you can keep your bike on a battery maintainer such as a Battery Tender.

When in use, such as when you charged your iPad 2 overnight, the TAPP can pull up to 2.1A of USB power. However, because USB power is only 5V and not 12V, the actual draw on the battery is slightly less than 1A even at full draw. And, as the device charges, it pulls less and less current. For an overnight charge, I would estimate the total draw-down on the battery at around 6Ah, leaving plenty left over to start the bike in the morning. Of course, this is based on the assumption that the iPad was completely dead. If the iPad had some charge left, the overall draw-down would be even lower.

If you are concerned about battery drain overnight, we would suggest not charging devices without the bike running. Otherwise, it should not be a problem. Of course, you could always wire a switch into the harness to turn the unit off completely when not in use. Just be sure the switch is downstream from the fuse holder, and on the red (+) lead. We do not suggest wiring the unit to a light or other circuit as some bikes can have electrical problems when specific circuits are drawing current outside of normal ranges. This is particularly true of bikes with "CANBUS" systems such as BMWs. I do not know if your KLX has a CANBUS or not, but we prefer "safe" over "sorry". This is the reason we build the unit to power directly from the battery, effectively giving it its own circuit that won't interfere with any electrical systems already on the bike.

the klx battery is 12 volts and 6ah...not sure how a usb works, but seems to draw power....even with just a usb socket plugged in (nothing plugged to the usb)...it seems to be drawing lot more power from the battery...i can see the battery tender immediately switch on to charge the battery...i would do what rgoers suggested to get a true answer if you are going to keep the usb charger on your moto...or, install a on/off switch...