Charging: USB and AC differences

iynCognito · May 12, 2010

jimdriver2 said:
Sorry that's not correct. I used a tried my really basic car charger (bought for

mecanician · May 12, 2010

Hi Everyone
I have been following this thread with interest because I bought a car charger off ebay for

mecanician · May 12, 2010

Sorry that link won`t work this is the sellers ID gadget-solutions

mecanician · May 12, 2010

New Link
Car Charger for HTC Desire on eBay (end time 14-May-10 00:57:47 BST)

Newth · May 12, 2010

iynCognito said:
I do believe its actually the data lines on the CHARGER that need to be shorted. THe USB cable can be the same whether for a true AC wall charger or a USB car charger.

Just as sandozer is asking, does anyone have a car usb charger that reads as "AC charging" on the phone / battery when plugged in?

I don't think that's quite right.

The phone needs to see the pins shorted out, it doesn't matter if it's the lead or the charger or both.

As long as the pins are shorted, the phone presumes it's connected to a power supply that can do more than 500mA. If it sees the pins shorted, it will say AC charge, no matter what it is plugged into.

Newth · May 12, 2010

sandozer said:
This is so SIMPLE......

To get the HI charge rate in the car,

AC, 1AMP, whatever you want to call it then the DATA LINES MUST BE SHORTED AT THE USB CHARGER SOCKET !!!!! The AC charging will be indicated on the phone.

I get the feeling I am repeating this post somewhat.

I think you have this right, but I'm going to slightly edit that......

To get the HI charge rate in the car,

AC, 1AMP, whatever you want to call it then the DATA LINES MUST BE SHORTED SOMEWHERE!!!!! The AC charging will be indicated on the phone.

hainman · May 13, 2010

iynCognito said:
Very interesting! I just want to check. When you say a "standard in-car charger for a Nokia", what kind of end does it have? A mini-USB (like those on a digital camera), or a round Nokia small like this

Nokia DC-4 - In car charger: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

or a round Nokia large like this

Nokia LCH-12 Car Charger: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

and then use an adaptor like this

U-Bop Nokia 3.5mm Large Pin to Nokia Micro USB Charging: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

If that is the case, then the adaptor / Nokia charger combo must look like a "shorted" micro USB to the phone and voila! I may hunt one down then!

(Sorry sandozer, it would likely be a disaster if I try to open up and short my usb car charger!)

thats correct.i use the large pin nokia charger(its a few years old think its for a nokia 3330 or that era) and the 3.5mm large pin to micro usb charger only the one i have is the original nokia product(it has both large and small pin connectors)its def worth a try if it means you get a proper charge and it lets you use the in-phone sat-nav!good luck on your search mate,hail hail

shmicky · May 13, 2010

IS it true that when the phone says its Charging (AC) its drawing 1A hence charging faster, but when it says Charging (USB) its drawing less than 1A?

jabtas · May 13, 2010

Just checked my car charger, as supplied in the car kit I posted above

It also registers as AC charging, it has a sticker on side saying 'for 6800', so I'm assuming also a Nokia charger

hainman · May 13, 2010

this is what im using,

marshalex · May 13, 2010

the cheap generic car charger i got with my desire screen mount also registers as charging ac! i've made belkin aware of this thread and the issues which have been raised and they're investigating with the product manager if the data pins are shorted on the device or not. should have an update soon!

me too · May 13, 2010

Hi guys, I've been lurking around this forum for a week or so since getting my HTC Desire, and thought I'd like to add my two-penn'orth.
I would caution against putting a short in the USB cable as these wires are used for data transmission eg synch'ing the phone to PC.
Any charger designed & intended to deliver more than 500mA will (OK - should) already have the output terminals shorted to signal to the phone that it is not connected to a standard USB port (thus limited to 500mA O/P) and can safely draw more current to charge more quickly.
This shortcircuit in the charger is easy enough to check with a meter, but adding a short will not magically convert a low power charger into a high power one.
PS anyone without a meter - they're available form Maplins less than a tenner, so much cheaper than a new phone.

robnoble · May 13, 2010

brunop said:
Hi Rob

I've got the same USB car charger from Maplin's, is it the two centre points I've highlighted in red that you need to solder together? (Image attached)

And can you confirm that when using this and the HTC supllied lead it charges the battery whilst using navigation?

Thanks,

Bruno

Apologies for the slow reply - I forgot to subscribe to the thread...

Correct - it's those two centre points that you've marked in red. I shorted them with a blob of solder.

JuicePlotter shows battery charging during Navigation, including when playing music (from the phone's speaker - ugh!) at the same time.

Not the same road route as when I had the original problem though. That could make a difference, due to different signal conditions.

robnoble · May 13, 2010

jabtas said:
Last week I bought a car holder and charger from eBay (item no 170467443547)
The interesting thing is, that the supplied charger say output 600 - 750ma

I also have one of those chargers, which came with a car mount from an Ebay seller (maybe the same one as yours).

The Data lines are shorted together inside the MicroUSB plug. If you look (very!) closely, you can see four (easily breakable) lugs holding the plug casing together...

This is what causes the Desire to switch to AC charging mode, in which it will try to pull > 500ma from the charger.

The output voltage range specified is quite alarming. I didn't want to risk pumping 10V into my Desire so I'm not using this charger.

Casual Pete · May 13, 2010

Just to let you all know the official 1A HTC car charger shows as "charging (ac)"

The model number is CC C200 for anyone that's interested.

mstanbrook · May 13, 2010

Some more information:

The Desire comes with a free car-charger from T-Mobile (UK). This is a complete lead, 12V to micro-usb. Using this charger the phone registers as charging on AC but the rate of recharge is not great. I haven't measured it precisely but roughly with the phone idle it is charging at 15-20% per hour. With GPS on to run Google Maps with voice directions it drains the battery slowly but steadily.

Using the supplied USB lead plugged in to a PC the phone charges at less than 10% per hour.

Using the supplied USB lead plugged into the AC Adaptor in a 220V socket the phone recharges at around 50% per hour.

I purchased one of the Belkin 1A Car Charger converters but, using the same cable as above, the phone only detects it as 'charging USB' and it recharges no faster than a PC connection. I guess I'll send it back.

jimdriver2 · May 13, 2010

iynCognito said:
If you could post a link it would be great to try it too (if that particular one still exists!).

Sorry should have put the link in before. I bought this one:
HTC Bravo Legend HD Mini Desire Nexus One CAR CHARGER on eBay (end time 21-May-10 00:11:02 BST)

Tried it out today on way home with Google Navigate running. It worked perfectly and gained 10% charger turning the 30 min trip! Very pleased.

One small downside is that it was a little loose in my car's electric port, and if I knocked it (changing gears) it popped out a little. That could be due more to the car though, my vodafone ones for my older phones did the same thing.

nx1977 · May 13, 2010

Has anyone tried an ebay cheapo adaptor, or buy a legit Nokia covertor from play?
http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/4-/10082062/Nokia-CA-146C-Charger-Adapter/Product.html

iynCognito · May 13, 2010

mecanician said:
Hi Everyone
I have been following this thread with interest because I bought a car charger off ebay for

hainman · May 14, 2010

nx1977 said:
Has anyone tried an ebay cheapo adaptor, or buy a legit Nokia covertor from play?
Play.com (UK) - Mobile - Free Delivery

thats the very addaptor i have connected to a large pin nokia in-car charger.pinched it of my wifes n97.works a treat.

Newth · May 14, 2010

shmicky said:
IS it true that when the phone says its Charging (AC) its drawing 1A hence charging faster, but when it says Charging (USB) its drawing less than 1A?

Nearly. Providing the charger it's connected to is up to the job, it will try to take more current if in AC mode. In USB mode, it will only take up to 500mA, hence why some car chargers are struggling even if they are rated at 1A.

wisewood · May 15, 2010

I've had to buy a car charger this week in an emergency, had an interview to go to, was stuck in traffic for ages so was running late. Phone dead so couldnt ring ahead and say i was on way etc.

Spotted carphonewarehouse... went in, bought a generic in car micro usb charger. The phone treats it as an AC supply, not USB.

RobDickson · May 15, 2010

Quite expensive for a charger, and I don't like Carphone Warehouse. But, as you say, if it works, then it's money well spent.

Thanks.

Rob

wisewood · May 15, 2010

Yeah ideally i wouldnt have wanted to fork out

garym · May 16, 2010

Any reason I wouldn't be able to use a 2 amp TomTom car charger with a mini to micro adapter?

Charging: USB and AC differences

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