Hard Wired Micro USB power for the Droid

[tommyz]

I have had a "half baked" install under my console for 4 years or better. Using a female 12 volt plug from radio shake and a 12 volt male to female usb. I also use a small Huston hub to plug up different devices at that same time and have never had a problem I have poured up my phone, an ipod touch,and a tomtom.

Hope this helps

Thank you for the vote of confidence. It would still bother me to do it that way. I'm the type of person that solders and shrink tubes all my work. I don't use the quick-clips to tap into wires. I tie everything up nicely not with tape.

I just don't want to have something come un-done and have to take apart the dash a second time.

I would really like to use the ProClip system. It is a little bit costly. But, The other thing is you can remove it or hide it, when the car is parked. Just for security reasons I would rather not have any holders visible, while the car is park somewhere. My current holder is easily removed and stashed away after I park the car.

 

[tdpolo26]

i know i am going to get flamed for this but bestbuy did mine for like 40 dollars and you need a car charger for the droid. If you have a nice newer car like me and you dont want to get it messed up because taking apart the dash can sometimes have hidden clips then pay to have it done

 

[bionic4.0]

I heat shrink all splices and as stated ^ no problems. I have mine in a lowered show truck that is daily driven. So I have to have wires and mounts removable or hidden.

And since you are so anal about wiring you are probably one of those people that does all the maintenance on your car that is recomended and for that I thank you because you keep me with a job.

 

[tommyz]

I heat shrink all splices and as stated ^ no problems. I have mine in a lowered show truck that is daily driven. So I have to have wires and mounts removable or hidden.

And since you are so anal about wiring you are probably one of those people that does all the maintenance on your car that is recomended and for that I thank you because you keep me with a job.

Aren't you concerned about it unplugging itself from the hidden socket? Then again, you say it's your daily driver, so it must be secure.

 

[mcatdtDroid]

talk about walking 10 miles out of the way to avoid a pothole.

 

[trbasil]

Why not take the garmin unit and a micro cable (monoprice has a 15' for $2.18) and make your own. With 15' to play with you would have plenty to make your splices near the box and keep them hidden inside the dash, and still be able to have the cable ran to wherever you need.

You could do the garmin micro cable conversion part of it in the comfort of your home, giving you the easiest way to make neat and reliable solder connections. It would also keep you from using a bulky mini to micro adapter and with monoprice's prices it would probably be a little cheaper than an adapter.

 

[tommyz]

Why not take the garmin unit and a micro cable (monoprice has a 15' for $2.18) and make your own. With 15' to play with you would have plenty to make your splices near the box and keep them hidden inside the dash, and still be able to have the cable ran to wherever you need.

You could do the garmin micro cable conversion part of it in the comfort of your home, giving you the easiest way to make neat and reliable solder connections. It would also keep you from using a bulky mini to micro adapter and with monoprice's prices it would probably be a little cheaper than an adapter.

There's a question as to whether the Garmin part will work with the Droid. My standard Cig Lighter Garmin adapter with a mini to micro USB cable doesn't work with the Droid. It doesn't charge or power the unit. It has something to do with the data wires not being connected in a standard way for charging.

 

[trbasil]

The stock wall wart just shorts the data leads together, if you done that when splicing the micro cable onto the Garmin unit the phone should see the new charger like it is the stock one.

 

[tommyz]

The stock wall wart just shorts the data leads together, if you done that when splicing the micro cable onto the Garmin unit the phone should see the new charger like it is the stock one.

Thank you,

That is very usefull information.

 

[takeshi]

If you have a nice newer car like me and you dont want to get it messed up because taking apart the dash can sometimes have hidden clips then pay to have it done

That should read "If you don't know what you're doing or don't have the patience".

I have nice newer cars and had no problems performing clean installs on both.

check out proclipusa.com.. they have vehicle specific mounts for the droid that has a hardwired charger. its a bit pricey, but you are not gonna find a cleaner install. you just slide the phone in and it starts charging. you can get it with or without the magnet that puts the droid in car mode

ProClip Mounting System*-*Device Holders and Dashboard Vehicle Mounts

Yeah, $108 +S&H is a little on the pricey side.

As with many things -- you get what you pay for. Unless you change vehicles frequently, vehicle mounts are reusable (though I recommend getting something other than ProClip for the vehicle mounts). I have the non-magnet powered holder in both of my cars and highly recommend them. I'll post a new thread with photos some time.

 

[vmspionage]

SparkFun Electronics - Voltage Regulator - 5V

SparkFun Electronics - USB MicroB Plug Breakout Board

 

[tommyz]

As with many things -- you get what you pay for. Unless you change vehicles frequently, vehicle mounts are reusable (though I recommend getting something other than ProClip for the vehicle mounts). I have the non-magnet powered holder in both of my cars and highly recommend them. I'll post a new thread with photos some time.

If you don't recommend ProClip, which one do you recommend?

 

[jlhdodge]

I feel the same way!

I am looking to install a hard wired micro USB in my car. Does anyone know of a hardwired solution that works with the Droid?

The only reason I ask is because I have had a couple of chargers that don't work with the Droid.

I'm NOT looking to hack apart a existing Cig Adapter. I want to get one that has the bare wires for the 12 volts already.

Thanks,

I know this is old but fyi. I don't have a droid, but my Samsung Infuse 4G also has a micro usb connection and I found this....

Hardwire Barewire Power Micro USB Cable for All Cell Phones and SmartPhones including Droid

I'm gonna try it, best part $18.88

 

[REMilk]

Thanks but, I don't want to do a half baked installation. I want something that is going to last a long time and not fall apart in a few years.

I'm looking for something like this, but for micro-USB (Droid)
Hardwire Cable for Garmin Nuvi (Mini-USB connector) - Charger and Power Solutions

This suggestion is not half-baked and will stand up for years. I did this on my Honda Element. The new power adapter is hidden and secured behind the front middle cowl area. The power end is plugged into the power adapter and secured with the micro USB cable fed to the point I need it for the phone. It is a clean install. I added this hidden power adapter in a previous car for satellite radio and it never failed over 7 years.

Bob
Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums

 

[Rom]

The stock wall wart just shorts the data leads together, if you done that when splicing the micro cable onto the Garmin unit the phone should see the new charger like it is the stock one.

i know this is an old thread, but since i had a heck of a time finding this anywhere else except a random youtube clip.... i'd like to post a correction to this.

--> when splicing the data+ and the data- cables together... insert 200 ohms between. (i found that two 100 ohm resisters in series are the easiest to find in stores)<--

I've tried just shorting them together, and somewhere it said to short them to ground, and somewhere else it said to short them to the negative volt input... none of these solutions worked with my Droid X.
The 200 ohms did the trick. From what I gather, the Chinese put a mandate for a universal USB charger with data shorted together, but Europe set a standard of 200 ohms between the data leads. I believe US followed the EU's standardization. Either way... if you match the US/EU standard, it encompasses the Chinese one too.