hey whats up guys i just picked up a Magellan gps unit. i have no cig lighter in my car to power it with. so i cut off the end and figured i would embark on a hard wire mission. very simple as it only has a ground and power wire. Ive hooked up standalone, piggy backs, gauges hardwired radar detectors, but this gps is something i could not figure out. i hooked it up to several power sources including directly to the battery grounded it in my usual spot and could not get it to charge. i tried several times over the coarse of 2 hours and failed everytime. anyone have some advice?

 

MM&Y of car would help??? 94

 

most gps units are not 12volts direct!!! By cutting off the "cigar outlet plug and "hardwiring" the unit,YOU MAY HAVE DESTROYED THE UNIT UNNECESSARILY!!! Most are 5 volts...the plug is a transformer.

A much better solution would have been to use an inexpensive female cig socket (think lighter plug with power/ground pigtails). I wish you well with this.

 

it was not 12v, it was 5 (not sure why something is designed that way). but the problem has been handled thanks guys

 

I had a customer tell me they did the same thing. He said "I hooked it up and the screen flashed white" I had to turn around to hide my laughter.

 

care to share your solution in case someone else has a problem like this in the future?

 

Use the right tools for the job....Never assume anything.