hardwire droid questions....

[asilver]

Long story short I'm hardwiring my droid in the car, so I can have it mounted high up on the windshield and also charge it at the same time.

I basically cut the end off a walmart home charger, pretty simple really....BUT the damn charger has a green wire and a black wire....most would assume that black is ground...NOPE...so I fried my phone to where it won't charge anymore.

I'm getting a replacement phone so not a big deal but here's the question.

When I hook up the new phone (with the wires having been corrected) is there any reason to think that 12 volts straight to the phone would cause any further problems.

So are there any smart folks out there that can confirm 12 volts is the correct voltage to charge a droid..........versus perhaps there's something special inside the car charger / home charger like a resistor to change the voltage?

 

[skilaufen]

I checked around and didn't find anything regarding voltage, but just wanted to remind you that the chargers do have a chip that shuts down the charger when you battery is full preventing the degrading of your battery. I know you said you're hardwiring it so you may be bypassing the battery all together making it meanigless, just thought I would mention it. Good luck.

 

[asilver]

OK I did some searching to....plus like a **** I could have looked directly on the home plug where it specifically says 5v...lol

I purchased a cheap car adapter a while ago made by phillips, performs a similar function as home charger by stepping the voltage down from 12 v to 5 v plus I know the amperage will be save at 1.0 amps.

So I popped the cig lighter adapter apart, I can wire it inline therefore keeping it in use but hiding it up inside the dash then the wiring is hidden inside the a pillar.

problem solved.

well whenever verizon sends me a new phone lol

 

[johnlgalt]

Glad you solved it - otherwise I was gonna smack you upside the head, then remind you that USB specifications is 5V across the board, and since the DROID charges via USB micro....

I opted to not hardwire mine, just used a Cigarette lighter dual USB slot adapter from Griffin so I can run a standard USB cable up to the DROID where it is mounted above my rearview mirror. The other slot runs power to my Motorola MOTOROKR T505 BT to FM adapter.

Glad you got yours all figured out though - pics when you're done would be awesome!

 

[Eugene]

I did the same, just got a cheap USB adapter and cable and hardwired it into my overhead console, keeps the wires nice and hidden

 

[nstallion]

What usb charger is that? I have my Droid in a similar position with the wire running up around the mirror but the usb male component is unnecessarily long (so to speak) and sticks out a lot at the bottom. I want one that is L-shaped like that.

 

[Eugene]

Its a startechright angle USB cable $10 from amazon plugged into a USB car adapter. I'm thinking of mounting the USB port where its accessible so I can unplug and take the cable if needed.

Amazon.com: Startech.com 3FT Right Angle Micro USB Cable Is A Fully Rated USB Cable with The: Electronics

I think I'm going to order one of these http://order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/11009/USB%20POWER%20OUTLET%20/%20CHARGER/ and test it, right now I have a USB car adapter I opened and soldered the wires to.

I then did a right angle 1/8" audio until I get a bluetooth adapter and aux in adapter for my radio.

 

[zim2704]

....BUT the damn charger has a green wire and a black wire....most would assume that black is ground...

Green is Ground the Whole world around......hehe....was told that when I was a little kid screwing with different electronics....

has come in very useful over the years and something to remember

 

[RTAdams89]

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but based on what you wrote so far, I'm not sure DIY electronics are your forte. Perhaps you should check with a more technically inclined friend to help you before you fry your phone (again), your car, or yourself.

PS: If you ever decide to go poking around the wiring in your house, the black wire is definitely not ground, so don't grab it.

 

[Eugene]

Don't trust any color code, sometimes they are not what you think. Years ago I worked for a small company who installed e-911 systems and we would setup these big USP's this size of a washing machine. They were huge and had huge battery banks inside. Went out with another co-worker to replace batteries in one and we took out the old an put in the new batteries then hooked red to + and black to - and the big 200A fuse blew. Tracked the wires to the PCB and red was - and black +. Get a small multimeter, most newer digital ones will show the polarity and if you hook them up backwards just show - voltage. Put that across first to see which is + and which is -.