USB power wire - dumb question
USB power wire - dumb question
guys - if I hook up one of these USB power wires to a buddy's bike, will it continuously draw power from the battery even when his phone or whatever is not plugged in? Never used one of these before...thanks for the help
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,553
Likes: 13
From: Sussex, South of England
Yes it may. Although it is a minute amount. The battery is 12 volt whilst the USB is 5volt. this means that it contains some form of transformer. Now, it may be an electronic one but conventional ones draw power whether in use or not.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,949
Likes: 150
From: South of Mordor
Sounds about right, however I would think (not an offical answer) that little red flashing light on the dash or the on-board clock/memory would end up causing more battery drain then this connector if the bike were to sit for extended amounts of time.
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Tourer
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 460
Likes: 20
From: Manitoba, Canada
Actually it will be an electronic regulator (solid state chip) but the quiescent current (no load) should be under 0.001 Amp, less than the self-discharge rate of the battery.
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Tourer
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 288
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From: UK
Its always worth fitting it into a switched circuit, as stated above, it is a solid state regulator which is powered all the time if directly connected to the battery. The issue is that if It develops a fault it can self destruct as has been known with cigar lighter versions in cars as they use the same circuitry.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 6,083
Likes: 1,127
From:
1: That device lowers the voltage from 12 volts (motorcycle battery) to 5 volts at all times that it is connected.It is a small amount of power consumed but it is a slight drain.
Some folks have a windshield bag and have used similar cable/usb by obtaining power from headlight. It will power only when headlight is on, device contains a low rated fuseable link and is very close to handle bars so there is very little cable to run.
2: If the bike has a battery tender plug and this is for limited use then maybe something like this might be easier and quicker http://www.batterytender.com/Accesso...arger-QDC.html
Some folks have a windshield bag and have used similar cable/usb by obtaining power from headlight. It will power only when headlight is on, device contains a low rated fuseable link and is very close to handle bars so there is very little cable to run.
2: If the bike has a battery tender plug and this is for limited use then maybe something like this might be easier and quicker http://www.batterytender.com/Accesso...arger-QDC.html
Last edited by im; Dec 3, 2014 at 10:56 AM.