Accessories Dedicated car charger vs microUSB cable? (Battery heat)

[Hikarius]

When I got my Incredible I bought this charger after reading its reviews from Amazon, but have never really used it much as I haven't gone on any long outings with my phone yet.

Amazon.com: Motorola P513 Vehicle Power Adapter MicroUSB Rapid…

It charges the phone much slower than the wall charger, but it does charge and it works. Lately I've been working on putting together a car mount for my phone (Soundgate M2 plus TETRAX, excellent combo) and decided today to see if my phone would get enough juice from the car charger while it was running navigation, as I'd heard about people having that problem.

Again, my battery charged slowly, but got very hot, nearly 140F (60C) which is very close to beyond what the back of the battery suggests not going over, which is 60C. My phone is on the OEM USB wall charger right now running navigation as a test and happily charging at 37C.

Anyway, after reading all the topics on batteries overheating before this too, I'm wondering if charging via USB cable heats the battery less than a one-piece dedicated charger? After I get my phone mounted I can position it infront of a vent to cool it off (especially since its summer and the car will naturally heat the battery) but if I can prevent heating farther I think that would be a good idea.

For those charing in the car with a mini-usb cable plugged into a charger, how is your battery heat doing?

 

[sabrewings]

Depends on the voltage being applied. All of those chargers should be applying 5v. The reason the OEM charger that comes with it charges faster than most others or hooking it to your computer is that it can put out a full Amp of current. Most are limited to 500-600mA of current, so they can take almost twice as long.

If that rapid charger is trying to apply more voltage to charge faster, that can damage your battery.

 

[Hikarius]

I figured as much, especially since the charger I have doesn't quite say what it's real output is.

Are usb cables rated for output? If I charge my phone with a USB charger, will it automatically adjust itself for the right output, or does it depend on the charger?

 

[Bug Splat]

I tested three car chargers for my Dinc because I too was worried about not supplying enough juice while in use. I can spend many hours in my car at a time and need to run things like GPS and music the whole time. I needed at phone and charger that could handle these tasks and still stay fully charged when I got to my destination. My Omnia would heat up hotter than an oven and lose all of its charge if I tried running anything while charging. I bought these three....

Amazon.com: Micro USB Auto Quick Charge 5V; 1A: Electronics

For only $1.00 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Car Charger (Cigarette Lighter) to USB Female Converter - Black | Car Charger Accessories

HitechCloseout, Cell Phone Accessories, PDA, IPhone, Ipod and Blackberry Accessories - CHARGER :: Car Chargers :: OTHERS :: Verizon Micro USB V8/V9 Car Charger for LG Dare VX9700
(Had this verizon charger left over from my old Dare)

The first belkin charger did not do very well. Slow charging while not in use and could not keep up with Dinc while using GPS. On the plus side it looked really good flush on my dash.

Second cheap charger worked very well. Kept up with the phone while using GPS and listening to MP3's. No issues

The verizon charger proved to be the best. Very fast charging while not in use and still was able to charge while I was running GPS, Pandora, and bluetooth. While using all three services I was still charging at about 1% every 2-3 minutes. Not super fast but still better than the rest. So I could use my phone for hours in my car and when I unplugged I was at 100% battery ready to go mobile.

With every charger I tried there were heat issue (as expected) but only while the screen was left on. When left on the heat was climbing above 110F. If I turned the screen off the temp went down and hung around 100F while using GPS, Pandora, and bluetooth. Very acceptable temp for using that many services and charging at the same time.

 

[Hikarius]

Thanks guys, you've been a huge help.

 

[Hikarius]

I want to bump this to the top and recommend the LG Dare car charger that Bug Splat posted.

I ordered it a few days ago and received it very quickly; tested it today in the car.

35~ min ride.
Starting battery %: 79
Starting batt. temp: 30.2c

Ending battery %: 93
Ending batt. temp: 41c

I was only running navigator, but the phone was not placed near a vent, it was sitting on the seat in sunlight. 41c is very reasonable and not close to overheating, and it charged very quickly. For under $7 shipped, I'd recommend this to anyone, as long as you can stand coil cables

 

[Bug Splat]

Glad to hear it helped. I ran across that old charger while cleaning out an old desk I was throwing away. Figured I give it a try and it worked better than the rest. Out of curiosity did you have the screen on the whole time too? My phone runs a bit hotter if I leave the screen on but I normally am running Nav plus MP3's or pandora. My Inc is mounted on a generic cell phone holder to the dash not near any vents (doesn't matter anyway because my AC broken ). It also has a Seidio case over it.

 

[heffe2001]

Lately I've been working on putting together a car mount for my phone (Soundgate M2 plus TETRAX, excellent combo)

Picture? If I'm thinking right, it definitely would be the perfect combo..

 

[drincredible]

Glad to hear it helped. I ran across that old charger while cleaning out an old desk I was throwing away. Figured I give it a try and it worked better than the rest. Out of curiosity did you have the screen on the whole time too? My phone runs a bit hotter if I leave the screen on but I normally am running Nav plus MP3's or pandora. My Inc is mounted on a generic cell phone holder to the dash not near any vents (doesn't matter anyway because my AC broken ). It also has a Seidio case over it.

Nice tip. I think I'll get the LG Dare charger now (been contemplating getting a car charger for a while).

Bug Splat, what generic dashboard holder do you use?

 

[kjarrett]

Bug Splat, question.

The Verizon charger you linked to is $7 shipped. Great deal.

I see that charger is compatible with the Motorola Razr V3 ... and that Monoprice has a Motorola OEM car charger for the V3 for $0.95 (!) plus shipping (for me in NJ, that's $2.68 shipped).

EDIT: THIS CHARGER DOES NOT FIT THE INCREDIBLE. FML

So would the Motorola charger work just as well and therefore be a better deal?

-kj-

 

[captainm27]

I used the car charger from an iPaq 210. Charges at 5V, 1A. Works good! Had no issues. But yeah, I think the heat issue will always be present in this phone.

 

[Hikarius]

Picture? If I'm thinking right, it definitely would be the perfect combo..

I just received the XWAY today so I don't have pictures of my own yet. A user in the "Car Dock Discussion" thread posted pictures of the same modification though.

Basically, take the screw out of the top of the M2, remove the plastic disc that you would normally slide your device onto, and put the screw back in so its just the bar. Use that to clip the XWAY onto.

 

[kjarrett]

I tested three car chargers for my Dinc because I too was worried about not supplying enough juice while in use. I can spend many hours in my car at a time and need to run things like GPS and music the whole time. I needed at phone and charger that could handle these tasks and still stay fully charged when I got to my destination. My Omnia would heat up hotter than an oven and lose all of its charge if I tried running anything while charging. I bought these three....

Amazon.com: Micro USB Auto Quick Charge 5V; 1A: Electronics

For only $1.00 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Car Charger (Cigarette Lighter) to USB Female Converter - Black | Car Charger Accessories

HitechCloseout, Cell Phone Accessories, PDA, IPhone, Ipod and Blackberry Accessories - CHARGER :: Car Chargers :: OTHERS :: Verizon Micro USB V8/V9 Car Charger for LG Dare VX9700
(Had this verizon charger left over from my old Dare)

The first belkin charger did not do very well. Slow charging while not in use and could not keep up with Dinc while using GPS. On the plus side it looked really good flush on my dash.

Second cheap charger worked very well. Kept up with the phone while using GPS and listening to MP3's. No issues

The verizon charger proved to be the best. Very fast charging while not in use and still was able to charge while I was running GPS, Pandora, and bluetooth. While using all three services I was still charging at about 1% every 2-3 minutes. Not super fast but still better than the rest. So I could use my phone for hours in my car and when I unplugged I was at 100% battery ready to go mobile.

With every charger I tried there were heat issue (as expected) but only while the screen was left on. When left on the heat was climbing above 110F. If I turned the screen off the temp went down and hung around 100F while using GPS, Pandora, and bluetooth. Very acceptable temp for using that many services and charging at the same time.

BugSplat, I just got the #3 car charger above. It works great. I just have a couple of questions.

Does your charger get hot? You mentioned a heat issue but I think that was the phone. How do I know there's an IC chip in there. I guess once it gets to 100% charge, it would stop?

My charge rate was very impressive, it jumped 20% in 30 minutes while using bluetooth, navigation/gps, and playing music (via BT). I'm just concerned it is charging TOO much. No?

Thanks!

-kj-

 

[sabrewings]

BugSplat, I just got the #3 car charger above. It works great. I just have a couple of questions.

Does your charger get hot? You mentioned a heat issue but I think that was the phone. How do I know there's an IC chip in there. I guess once it gets to 100% charge, it would stop?

My charge rate was very impressive, it jumped 20% in 30 minutes while using bluetooth, navigation/gps, and playing music (via BT). I'm just concerned it is charging TOO much. No?

Thanks!

-kj-

It doesn't matter if the charger has circuitry to stop charging. All it has to do is provide the power. The phone is still between the charger and the battery and it decides when the battery is done. The charger probably only detects the drop in current when the phone finishes charging and changes then says it is charged.