Hello, There might be a place somewhere where this is discussed but I can't find it. I have a 1200GSA, when using the AMPS cradle mount is it better to power a Montana directly from a battery or to use the sat nav power outlet close to the oil cooler? If using the power outlet, do I need the adapter? Any instructions on wiring somewhere? Thanks!
Do you mean rugged mount? You will get many opinions on how to power the mount. I prefer mine wired directly to the battery. I remove the GPS when I leave the bike. If I camped and left it installed overnight I would have wired it to a switched circuit to eliminate any chance of killing the bikes battery. GH
I use the GPS connection near the oil cooler. it is switched and will power down about a minute after you turn off the bike. I've had GPSs wire both to the battery and switched. With direct, you just need to know how your gps works with regards to the mount and being turned off. My zumo 550 won't draw power if the gps is off and in the motorcycle mount so it is safe to leave on the bike when direct to the battery. That isn't the case with all gps units. I don't know about the Montana. So with direct, you need to remove the gps when you are leaving the bike parked for a while (like overnight) or make sure it is off if it doesn't draw power when off. So the switch is the safer option since it won't run your bike battery down. The downside is that for quick stops, like opening a gate or getting gas, it will try to shut off the gps. Most will tell you they lost power and give you a chance to tell them to run on internal battery, but if you miss that message then they shut down. They'll restart when you turn on the power again, but it will take a little time before they are running again. So, pick which one sounds more convenient to you and try it out. You can always rewire and try the other way.
As a third option, I power mine through a battery powered relay controlled by a handlebar mounted switch. That gives me the option to turn it on or off whether the ignition is on or off.
First, the Montana is always being charged when it is in the AMPS Rugged Mount if power is applied whether the Montana is on or off. So, if you don't want the unit to potentially draw down your battery you will need to do one of three (3) things: Use the BMW Accessory Plug you mentioned and you will need to get the appropriate harness plug from your BMW Dealer to wire to the Rugged Mount cable. Wire the Rugged mount to another switched source from the battery (as mentioned by FatChance). If your Rugged Mount is powered all of the time, don't leave your Montana in the mount when you turn off the bike for long periods (over night). Cheers,
Dan, what about option #4? Wired directly to the battery with AAs (or no battery at all) in the unit. How can it use power if it isn't charging anything? GH
I have found that with the montana/rugged mount wired directly to the battery you can still completely shut down the gps (no power draw from unit). Hold down the power button for a couple seconds and the GPS shuts down but still shows that it is charging on the screen. Hold down the power button again and the screen goes completely blank. I believe the montana is no longer being powered at this point. Another press of the button and the GPS starts back up.
I like your theory a lot! . Have you put a meter in line with the negative battery terminal and looked at amps being drawn with and without that Montana in the mount?
I was wrong... it does draw even if the screen is completely blank. I didn't even need to use a multimeter to find out. :)
I have a problem with the mount I can't figure out. I have 3 different bikes all with the Rugged mount on them. None of them seem to be powering the unit. I have the red and black wires connected directly to the battery and no other wires used. The unit will not turn on without a battery in it and runs the battery down during a day of riding. What am I doing wrong? Covered in Dust
Almost certainly you're wiring it wrong. Red is Positive, black is Negative. Check the label on the cable for the correct polarity. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
I have all three wired correctly. One of the mounts was on a bike I bought and the user was not having any problems with it. I think for some reason my Montana does not see the power from the mount. It may be a problem with my Montana but Garmin keeps saying I must have it wired wrong. There help center is not very helpful. CiD
Old post but in reference to Montana. Haven't wired mine into the bike yet but playing with it this morning. With meter hooked up there are multiple modes. When the unit is on with screen lit, it draws 360 mA. Push the off button and the charge screen is up and the unit draws 220 mA. Push and hold the off button and the charge screen goes away and the unit draws no power. Neat. Also if it's on and the power is switched off it beeps then gives you 30 seconds to tell it to stay on with battery power. BTW I'm lame with electronics but the readings were 0.36 and 0.22 with my Fluke probe in the 10 Amp. I assume that's 0.36 and 0.22 Amps?
hi... then is confirmed, with battery wired directly to mount... pressing twice power button, not charging and not powering garmin montana (I could stay with gps in mount long time without discharge battery)? thanks
There is an entire Montana thread on here which you have likely discovered by now but on your issue there has been some problems with certain Montanas getting a solid connection in the mount and charging. Cleaning up the connectors in the Montana has helped some. My first mount had this issue, bought a second and it worked fine - so not the Montana unit in that case,