Hard wired 12V TO 5V / 3A DC Power Converter Micro USB Charger | PROJECT NOW COMPLETE - Galaxy S 4 Accessories

EDIT: SCROLL DOWN TO POST #12 WHERE I SHOW YOU HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN FULL-1900 mAh CHARGER!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=43663686&postcount=12
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Has anyone used this particular item before? Or can recommend a similar hard-wire unit that operates at 2A to 3A?
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Connectors-Adapter-Recorder/dp/B00D6B6CJI
I'm thinking about getting one for my SUV and Motorcyle to charge the S4 at normal 1900 rates like the OEM wall-charger. Get that FAST charge.
Yes, I know about cig lighter chargers. No, that is not what this thread is for.

hello did you buy it?

CZ Eddie said:
Has anyone used this particular item before? Or can recommend a similar hard-wire unit that operates at 2A to 3A?
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Connectors-Adapter-Recorder/dp/B00D6B6CJI
I'm thinking about getting one for my SUV and Motorcyle to charge the S4 at normal 1900 rates like the OEM wall-charger. Get that FAST charge.
Yes, I know about cig lighter chargers. No, that is not what this thread is for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this hardwired into my WRX:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDL-WaterPr...35?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item1c34627e83
I ran it off the clock circuit (my clock is dead anyways) but any switched 12v source will do. It charges my car integrated Nexus7 without any issues, and at the faster rate.
I have another powering a servo and an aux USB port, but unfortunately I ran so much wire to get it into the center console by the handbrake it charges at USB rates.

paolopaulpaul said:
hello did you buy it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet.
Caferacer said:
I have this hardwired into my WRX:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDL-WaterPr...35?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item1c34627e83
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's a great price! Does it charge at ~1900 rates? Here is an app that will tell you the charging rate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en

Just bought this one for $9 shipped.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-waterpr...34?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item3a7a051922
It's a waterproof box so it'll be better on my Motorcycle. I'll let you guys know how it works out by next week sometime.

There was a thread somewhere that explained why some chargers won't do the 1900mah charge. He figured out where and what size resistors to put across the wires to enable it. I think it was in a car dock thread, I'll try and find it.
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)

CZ Eddie said:
Not yet.
Wow, that's a great price! Does it charge at ~1900 rates? Here is an app that will tell you the charging rate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That app won't show the mA on my N7 but does show it charging near the same % as a fast charger.
MonkeyTime said:
There was a thread somewhere that explained why some chargers won't do the 1900mah charge. He figured out where and what size resistors to put across the wires to enable it. I think it was in a car dock thread, I'll try and find it.
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the shorting/grounding of the data pins that activates 'fast charge' mode on some phones. Nexus 7's and my E4GT (Sprint S2) when I used it didn't require the pins to be shorted to charge faster. Mostly it was the charger (duh) and the quality/length of the cable that affected the charge speed. As well, most of the heavy 1A plus chargers short the data pins in the charger itself so you can use any cable. I believe the S4 doesn't require it as well, but don't have any data to confirm it.
The way I wired mine was to sacrifice a USB female port from a USB extender, and attached the power leads and shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.

Caferacer said:
shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours is the second post I've seen where someone has shorted the data pins on a charging-only setup. Is there a reason for doing that?
Ehh, n/m. I remembered the "Google before you ask" mantra...
This explains it nicely:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/194362-wont-charge-over-usb-car.html
MichaelBR said:
There are some reasons why it won't work, and some ways to solve it. First, let's understand how it works:
The USB cable has four pins. The inner two pins are where the data goes through. THe outer, power.
When the USB cable is plugged in to a computer, the data pins are connected normally and the phone knows it can only draw certain amount of power
When the cable is plugged in to a charger, the two middle pins are shorted, and the phone knows that it's NOT going to be sendind/receiving data, so it can draw as much power as it can. That's why it charges faster with the charger than when plugged in to a computer
Most chargers short the two pins. Some cables have a switch to do that.
There are different cable cauges as well, with different power capacities.
Some USB chargers, notably car chargers and some low-end (i.e. not good brand) chargers that don't draw from the car/don't give the phone as much current as it needs.
So, if any of below, the phone won't charge, or won't charge fast enough. Or, worse: it may appear as charging, but actually losing battery charge!
Cable too long or incorrect gauge
Middle pins not shorted for some reason
Charger doesn't deliver enough current
And the solutions are:
Don't use cable extensions, cables that are too long. Stick with the cable that came with the phone or with the charger
Get a good car charger, that delivers the right amount of current
I imagine you just got the cable from your original wall charger and plugged it in to the car charger. If you did that, then chances are the cable is OK, and the charger is the culprit. If this is the case, then get a better charger. Check how much current that charger can deliver. Check how much current your device actually needs.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

CZ Eddie said:
Yours is the second post I've seen where someone has shorted the data pins on a charging-only setup. Is there a reason for doing that?
Ehh, n/m. I remembered the "Google before you ask" mantra...
This explains it nicely:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/194362-wont-charge-over-usb-car.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be clear, there is no indication it is *required* for the S4. Mine quick charges just fine without shorted data leads. However I did this because my friends have a variety of phones and it only took a few minutes to do.

Caferacer said:
That app won't show the mA on my N7 but does show it charging near the same % as a fast charger.
It's the shorting/grounding of the data pins that activates 'fast charge' mode on some phones. Nexus 7's and my E4GT (Sprint S2) when I used it didn't require the pins to be shorted to charge faster. Mostly it was the charger (duh) and the quality/length of the cable that affected the charge speed. As well, most of the heavy 1A plus chargers short the data pins in the charger itself so you can use any cable. I believe the S4 doesn't require it as well, but don't have any data to confirm it.
The way I wired mine was to sacrifice a USB female port from a USB extender, and attached the power leads and shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Caferacer said:
To be clear, there is no indication it is *required* for the S4. Mine quick charges just fine without shorted data leads. However I did this because my friends have a variety of phones and it only took a few minutes to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree with what you posted in general terms, below is the link to the thread I was talking about. He did some testing and found the pins aren't just shorted, but shorted w/ 82K resistors to get the maximum charging current.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2274321

Will it damage the phone to have a 3A charger plugged into it? Also If it does not damage would it be able to run the camera as a "blackbox" and not die? I currently have a 2a charger and when i use the black box software it dies after about an hour or so.

SUCCESS!
I got the little black box in from eBay.
Gave it a quick/test wire setup. This is NOT indicative of the end result which will be soldered & have shrink tubing, etc.
Okay, first I grabbed my stock S3 data/charge cable.
Snipped off the standard USB end.
Cut off the ends of the pin 2 & 3 wires since they were not being used anymore (data pins).
Then attached the red (power) from the S3 cable to the yellow (power) lead from the little black box. And did the same for the black (negative) leads.
Then hard wired the red & black from the little black box to my motorcycle battery terminals.
On the first test, I only got 460mAh.
Then I decided to short the 2 & 3 pin wires (green & white) on the S3 cable together (attach them to each other). This gave me 1120mAh!
Next I took the tin-foil and wire braid from the S3 cable and tied them together with the negative lead on the S3 cable. This gave me 1220mAh!
Still not satisfied, I then cut down the 5' S3 cable and made it a 1.5' cable.
AND THIS RESULTED IN A FULL 1920mAh!!!! Right on.
That is exactly the same mAh as the stock S4 wall charger & cable combo give me. Very stoked about this. So now I'll do a nice clean install on the bike and then duplicate it for my car dock sometime soon. FULL CHARGE AHEAD!
Crxdc said:
Will it damage the phone to have a 3A charger plugged into it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it will be fine. The phone only draws 1900mAh. If the phone were drawing 3000mAh then there might be a problem.

All done and installed now. And working great!
Negative battery connection (I forgot to shrink tube it but will do that later).
Braided negative wire (~16 to 18awg?) running under gas tank to front of bike.
I wish I would have waited till I got black zip ties in. I hate white zip ties.
The braided wire at the right side of pic that goes up above the gas tank is the pos/neg wire lead that plus right into the phone.
2A inline fuse connecting via blade connector (sorry MC) to a previously used power-on-ignition wire.
This goes to (+) on the little black box.
Note the shrink tube over the braid over the crimp connector (wire goes to top-right of screen).
Phone sitting next to the phone dock I made out of a holster that came with my phone case.
You can see the braided/shrink tubed MicroUSB connector already plugged into the phone.
It's not showing a charge though, because the ignition key is not turned on.
Phone is inserted into stable dock (it will never fall out unless I crash hard).
Ignition is turned on and battery is charging!
And proof that it's charging at the full 1900mAh. Success!

CZ Eddie said:
All done and installed now. And working great!
Negative battery connection (I forgot to shrink tube it but will do that later).
Braided negative wire (~16 to 18awg?) running under gas tank to front of bike.
I wish I would have waited till I got black zip ties in. I hate white zip ties.
The braided wire at the right side of pic that goes up above the gas tank is the pos/neg wire lead that plus right into the phone.
2A inline fuse connecting via blade connector (sorry MC) to a previously used power-on-ignition wire.
This goes to (+) on the little black box.
Note the shrink tube over the braid over the crimp connector (wire goes to top-right of screen).
Phone sitting next to the phone dock I made out of a holster that came with my phone case.
You can see the braided/shrink tubed MicroUSB connector already plugged into the phone.
It's not showing a charge though, because the ignition key is not turned on.
Phone is inserted into stable dock (it will never fall out unless I crash hard).
Ignition is turned on and battery is charging!
And proof that it's charging at the full 1900mAh. Success!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome.

Hard wire phone charger and Bluetooth Receiver to car battery plan...
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!

ebrowni said:
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks good to me. :good:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-USB-Ca...064?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51af639938

ebrowni said:
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead. I personally wouldn't wire anything directly to the battery, especially since you didn't mention an inline fuse. Find a switched 12v lead inside the car. Not only does this protect your phone, charger, and car, but it also means you don't have to run anything through the firewall, which is a pain.
You can either tie into the cig lighter wiring, or find something else (I used my clock circuit since it runs to a 10A fuse and is switched).

Caferacer said:
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead. I personally wouldn't wire anything directly to the battery, especially since you didn't mention an inline fuse. Find a switched 12v lead inside the car. Not only does this protect your phone, charger, and car, but it also means you don't have to run anything through the firewall, which is a pain.
You can either tie into the cig lighter wiring, or find something else (I used my clock circuit since it runs to a 10A fuse and is switched).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your clock circuit is switched?
I agree with the firewall being a pita, but I'm not a huge fan of tapping on to other circuits either. With nothing charging, what would be drawing any current? If there's anything, it would have to be minimal. It also allows you to charge a phone/device with the car not running, sometimes very handy (and a modification I've made before for just that reason). An inline fuse is also a must, good point!
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)

MonkeyTime said:
Your clock circuit is switched?
I agree with the firewall being a pita, but I'm not a huge fan of tapping on to other circuits either. With nothing charging, what would be drawing any current? If there's anything, it would have to be minimal. It also allows you to charge a phone/device with the car not running, sometimes very handy (and a modification I've made before for just that reason). An inline fuse is also a must, good point!
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, my clock circuit has a switched lead to wake up the clock as well as a hard wired lead to retain the time. Both run to the same 10A fuse.
There is a small transformer in the converter and the receiver bluetooth will stay on. They have a small energy draw which is not negligible over a long period of time. At the very least I would include a dash mounted switch to completely shut the charger and receiver off. For instance I have a bluetooth OBD adapter (Not too much unlike your bluetooth receiver) that drained a 2 year old car battery over a week I left the car sitting while I was on vacation. For day to day driving it's not a problem but my OBD adapter isn't hardwired and I can just remove it when I know the car will be sitting.

Thanks
Caferacer said:
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oooh, good point! Makes sense to me. I have never done a mod to my car's audio system so I'll be paying a professional installer. I'm so glad to have this information before I shop around at the good places here and get some offers!
Thank you!

Related

Charging on a Motorcycle

Ok, I have a strange problem, and wondering if any of you have basic electronics knowledge.
I am trying to charge my blackstone on my motorcycle, but having some problems.
Setup:
- 12V cigarette lighter (power outlet) hooked directly to my battery.
I also have an inline switch and an inline 10A fuse.
- Standard USB car charger. (this charges my phone in a car just fine.)
Problem:
- It drains my phone battery very fast.
- I installed HomeScreen Plus so I could see the mA drain/charge on my battery. When I have the phone hooked to the bike and 'charging,' it reads +100 mA (charging) but the battery will drop down about 6% in about 5 minutes or less.
I am really confused by this...
Thanks for your time / input!
You should measure the amount of electric charge actually coming out from the outlet using a proper measurer.
is the battery in your bike good? ive seen bad batteries act this way. they seem normal and have the amps to start the bike but under any other load the voltage drops.
12.3V on the Power outlet and 4.9V on the end of the USB cable, which is why I am all the more confused.
I haven't tested the current yet, but that is slightly more difficult, as I have to disassemble it first. Although its not like I have any current limiting hardware in the way, its hooked directly to the battery (through the fuse)
Ill play around with it more tomorrow... :-(
If anyone has any ideas, let me know. Thanks!
Yea, the battery is good. Brand new. Cranks the bike and run all accessories just fine.
ryoojin83 said:
Yea, the battery is good. Brand new. Cranks the bike and run all accessories just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's absolutly impossible that a bike's battery problem discharge your phone through the adapter.
I guess you should try another adapter.
I own a bike and i charge my diamond through a car to usb adapter too. The only problem i sometime ran into is that the phone get so hot that it disable the voltage input to preserve itself. It happen only when the phone is exposed to the sun through the plastic window of my tank bag.
I now own a bike "ram mount" with a native diamond holder, it's really great.
ryoojin83 said:
I haven't tested the current yet, but that is slightly more difficult, as I have to disassemble it first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be a problem with D+ D- pin, if your adapter is specific to a phone model...
try another adapter.
I have tried 3 USB chargers, and all of them do the same thing.
the phone connects with a standard USB cable (mini-a?) I have tried with 2 or 3 actual cables.
I am planning to head out to NAPA, to get a new 12V connector and rewire it. This time I am going to get the 'sealed' one... *sigh* I will let you know if I figure it out or not. Hopefully its not the switch I have wired in... 10A switch, so I doubt it

Findings on Galaxy S4 charging current

With the advent of the S4, and its higher capacity battery, one could understand a higher charging current. However, I seem to have uncovered some findings that the charging system on the S4 is a bit more complex than first thought!
This is a bit techy, and assumes you have a basic amount of electrical knowledge, ie voltages, currents, resistance etc., but I'll try and keep it as simple as possible for anyone who may not!
To explain: The mains charger supplied with the S4 is a model number ETA-U90UWE, rated 5V @ 2A. However, the phone will ONLY charge at full current (which as I have measured so far, depending on what the phone regulates it to, typically sits in the region of 1.2 - 1.5A), when using the supplied charger (or possibly one of equal or higher current rating, depending on how it's configured internally), AND the supplied usb cable, OR any other usb cable, provided its shielding (the metal outer surface of the connectors) is connected at BOTH ends of the cable. Use a cable that doesn't have this shielding, and the charge current drops, regardless of whether there is plenty of current available or not. Use a different charger with an unshielded cable and the current drops even more, again regardless of whether it can supply plenty more current.
My assumption on this, is possibly an effort by Samsung to avoid the scenario of sticking 1.5 amps down a flimsy cheapo cable, the wires of which will likely be too thin to carry it.
After doing some probing around with a meter, I have managed to find a slight difference with the charger itself, compared to a generic one. In a generic one, the two data pins are usually just shorted together, which tells most phones that it's a mains charger rather than a USB port. On the Samsung one on the other hand, the pins appear to be shorted together, and also connected via resistors across the supply line (known as a potential divider), which holds these shorted data pins at a certain voltage. This is what tells the phone what sort of charger it's connected to.
Attached are a couple of diagrams to show the difference between the two chargers. There are in fact various setups of resistors that different manufacturers use to set the charging current, so it's quite easy to run into compatibility issues!
To make this a little less confusing I have done some preliminary experimenting, and I set out my results here.
For the test, I used combinations of 4 different usb style mains chargers: an apple iPhone one rated at 1A, an iPad one rated 2.4A, an HTC 1A one, and the genuine S4 one. With these I used two cables - the supplied Samsung S4 one (which is shielded), and a cheap generic one (which isn't). I started by measured the charging current directly with a meter, by using a very short usb breakout lead I've made, enabling me to interrupt the 5V line. However, I soon noticed that the use of any extension cables, even shielded, can lessen the chance of maintaining a good shielding connection, so I continued the exercise relying on the "galaxy charging current" app to get a reading.
Charger.................... Cable................ Current (A)
=====================================
HTC 1A.................Generic..................... 0.5
HTC 1A.................Samsung S4..............1.0
Apple 1A...............Generic......................0.5
Apple 1A...............Samsung S4..............1.0
Apple 2.4A............Generic......................0.6
Apple 2.4A............Samsung S4..............1.3
Samsung S4.........Generic...................... 0.8
Samsung S4.........Samsung S4...............1.3
So as you can see from these results, the original charger makes a difference, and the supplied cable (or a good quality shielded one) makes a further difference. If you have any further findings please feel free to add them here.
I can see that this is going to confuse some people, as it has me, as I'm sure some will inevitably try charging up their phone on generic chargers/leads at some point, with potentially long charging times resulting!
.
Very nice findings! Thanks for sharing them.
Not only what you say about longer charging time, but also discharging may occur (it has with me) while connected to the USB. I left my phone with USB tethering and it shut itself down after a couple of hours (it was low on battery already). I wanted to keep all the accessories in "new condition" in case I sell the phone in a few months, but I guess this justifies using the official charger and usb lead.
I hope someone can shed some light on the detection mechanism or the particular characteristics of the official cable so it can be replicated in generic ones.
From your findings, also Appe 2,4A charger has some control on the cable used, thanks.
Yes, but you won't be able to get more than about 0.75A out of it even with the samsung s4 cable.
You could try to add an extension cable to check if the charging system needs exclusively an original samsung cable from the charger to the phone.
Original samsung charger => extension cable male/female => original samsung cable => phone
PS: is there an app to check the charging current?
My experiments used an extension cable, that's the one I made into a breakout cable. So no it doesn't change by adding a cable.
There is an app, called galaxy charging current, which I tried also. In the 0.75A results above it showed a max permissible current of 1000mA, with the fully samsung setup it showed 1900mA. In the lower scenarios is showed up as 460mA. Other than that it doesn't tell you anything, it literally just shows you a max possible current, not the actual current it's drawing.
I've found out what the issue was, my generic cable was obviously a cheap one and wasn't shielded! I have edited my original post to re-explain.
Also I did a further test on a PC usb port - the Samsung cable allowed for 500mA, but the unshielded cheap one only allowed about 350mA, so (as pintycar found out), the phone actually carries on discharging in this case!
Interesting post.
I've been trying to mod a car charger so that the s4 draws more than 300mA so far unsucessful. I'm going to add in the 82K resistance and see what happens.
demusss said:
Interesting post.
I've been trying to mod a car charger so that the s4 draws more than 300mA so far unsucessful. I'm going to add in the 82K resistance and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Using a 5a digital bench power supply, I took a normal micro USB cable, cut it in two, added in the 82k resistors and tested.
Before: 450ma, after 1.73a
Then using a clamp meter I tested it with a 2amp Asus tablet charger - it varied between 1.48 and 1.61 amp.
I have since built a few more cables - one to use in my car (again 2 amp charger).
All in all, it works very effectively. Thanks for the initial research (saved me having to open my charger.)
BTW I suspect it is the charger where the resistors are, not the cable, otherwise the phone would try to pull 1.5a + from a laptop if you connected it.
Left my samsung cable at work so will test it tomorrow (if I remember)!
W.
Interesting. So basically for us laymen, you are telling us to use the original charger and cables to the extent possible ... right?
Can you clarify to me what an unshielded cable is? Maybe with a picture? I've got a blackberry's cable at work connected to my PC.
At home, I also have a cable and charger that I got with my Nexus S (I think this says Output 5.0V ~ 0.7A).
Would this be a problem or can I get by with these?
Thanks
I've been using the Samsung cable+charger+USB extension cable and charging the S4 usually takes about 4 hours, I'm going to try with just the Samsung cable next time and see if it makes any difference since people are saying that theirs can be fully charged within less than 3 hours.
Paparasee said:
Interesting. So basically for us laymen, you are telling us to use the original charger and cables to the extent possible ... right?
Can you clarify to me what an unshielded cable is? Maybe with a picture? I've got a blackberry's cable at work connected to my PC.
At home, I also have a cable and charger that I got with my Nexus S (I think this says Output 5.0V ~ 0.7A).
Would this be a problem or can I get by with these?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I believe (guess work here ) that only the original charger "needs" a shielded cable - could be checked by shorting the ground and shield on one side and see if it works at the higher current - if I am bored I may do it - it probably checks the shield and limits the current if it is not there (note I have not tested this so only going by the first posters findings).
BTW a shielded cable has a wire mesh around the 4 internal cables - this mesh avoids external interference messing with the signals. Can't see it affecting the charging though BUT shielded cables tend to have thicker internal cables so could be related to this.
I have it charging at 1.7a on an unshielded cable (thought he power strands are thicker than average) Shielding should only affect the data transfer speed, not the charging current.
If the Nexus S has only a 700mah charger then this will not be able to provide enough current for high speed charging and could easily burn out - nice smell, dead charger, not much else. therefore only use a normal unmodified usb cable (and it will charge at about 450mah).
W.
all this would eexplian why the charger that camewith my S2 dosen't appear to charge my phone fully over night...
For what it's worth I'm charging with a Note 1 charger...a thick shielded cable via the S3 docking station....and getting 900mah...
will get my original cable tonight and have a go tomorrow...
interesting read, my s4 lead and charger are still in the box and I'm using my nexus 10 ones phone charged from about 30% to full in just over 2. may have to change the old HTC £2 lead I've got connected to my works pc then, maybe why it's struggling to charge when playing music. guess this is one way to get people to buy more expensive cables
Very interesting read, thanks TS.
My original charger and cable set is still in the box; I've been using my Mom's old Galaxy Note charger.
I'll try the original cable + wall mount and see how fast it is compared to my current charger.
wmccann2 said:
Using a 5a digital bench power supply, I took a normal micro USB cable, cut it in two, added in the 82k resistors and tested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you show me your final cable with a pic? Thanks
After this thread I have stopped using my blackberry bold cable to charge s4 and of course the cheap one too.. thanks op!
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app
I'm not sure if shielded vs. unshielded is the difference - probably wire gauge is the difference.
For example, if you shop at Monoprice, you have two options for USB cables: 28 gauge cables, and 24/28 gauge cables.
For wire gauge, lower is larger - the 24/28 gauge cables have thicker wires for the + and GND lines. A pure 28 gauge cable is likely to drop voltage a bit at high currents, and my observations have been that most newer devices, ESPECIALLY Qualcomm-based ones, are VERY finicky when it comes to input voltage drops.
As to the charger itself:
Apple chargers are almost guaranteed not to charge at full current, as they don't conform at all to the USB battery charging standard. Some newer Android devices do have at least partial detection of Apple chargers, so they may charge at 1A if an Apple charger is detected (any Apple charge, even 2.1A ones).
It sounds like the included official charger is a tablet-compatible one. Samsung tablets expect D+ and D- to be held by the charger at 1.2 or 1.8 volts (I forget which). As a result, Samsung tablets will not charge from standard chargers (like an N7 charger), but standard devices (like an N7) will charge from Samsung tablet chargers.
Now, the question is: Does the GS4 *require* a Samsung tablet-style charger, or did Samsung just include a tablet-style charger because it's backwards-compatible with standard devices? (less part numbers to track in inventory).
A useful pair of points would be: Using the same cable, does the Samsung charger behave significantly different from a Nexus 7 charger?
wmccann2 said:
Hi,
Using a 5a digital bench power supply, I took a normal micro USB cable, cut it in two, added in the 82k resistors and tested.
Before: 450ma, after 1.73a
Then using a clamp meter I tested it with a 2amp Asus tablet charger - it varied between 1.48 and 1.61 amp.
I have since built a few more cables - one to use in my car (again 2 amp charger).
All in all, it works very effectively. Thanks for the initial research (saved me having to open my charger.)
BTW I suspect it is the charger where the resistors are, not the cable, otherwise the phone would try to pull 1.5a + from a laptop if you connected it.
Left my samsung cable at work so will test it tomorrow (if I remember)!
W.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I missed this post on my first read-through: What happens if you just short D+ and D- when using the bench supply?

[Q] List of Nexus 5 car chargers that charging in AC mode

Hi,
I would like to create list of car chargers that are able to charge N5 in AC mode.
Till now I have found only one review on Amazon on: "PowerGen Dual USB 3.1A Car charger".
Sorry, but I still can't post links.
I want to buy something that works for sure.
So, please share your real life experience...
armourer1 said:
Hi,
I would like to create list of car chargers that are able to charge N5 in AC mode.
Till now I have found only one review on Amazon on: "PowerGen Dual USB 3.1A Car charger".
Sorry, but I still can't post links.
I want to buy something that works for sure.
So, please share your real life experience...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-Dual-...5839252&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+usb+car+charger is working fine, it has 2 ports one of which says it is for apple but works just fine on any device both ports charge over 2 Amps.
Ady1976
Thanks for replay,
Can you please Goto Settings -> About -> Status -> Battery Status: and verify that you see Charging (AC) ?
I am also able to charge with old Griffin charger, but it only works with "Charging (USB)" - 0.5A.
Thanks...
armourer1 said:
Ady1976
Thanks for replay,
Can you please Goto Settings -> About -> Status -> Battery Status: and verify that you see Charging (AC) ?
I am also able to charge with old Griffin charger, but it only works with "Charging (USB)" - 0.5A.
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, yes it does say charging by (AC)
Ady1976
Thanks a lot !
Now I have one more charger to choose from -
0.5A is USB level so that's why that one doesn't work, anything that charges at 1A or over should be fine.
b1g1an said:
0.5A is USB level so that's why that one doesn't work, anything that charges at 1A or over should be fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My charger is capable of driving more than 0.5A, but the phone don't "understand' it.
Android determines that a charger is a wall charger (as opposed to a computer) by the fact that the data ports are shorted together. Apple chargers don't do this, so most chargers made for Apple products will only charge Android devices at 0.5A. Heck, almost no car chargers do, unless they were made specifically for an Android device. Here's what I did:
I ordered this Griffin car charger, mainly because of the size. It just BARELY sticks out of the car's charging plug. Then, I ordered the Nexus Wireless Charger, and used the cable it came with (minus the wall plug). Presto... Qi wireless charging in my car. The magnets hold the N5 in place nicely so it doesn't slide off the charger in my center console, and the charger I linked easily supplies the 1.8A that the Nexus Charger expects.
The catch is that this charger was designed for an Apple product, so I had to carefully pry it apart and short the center two USB pins with solder using a soldering iron (those are the data pins).
EDIT: I should point out here that the Nexus charger may work fine without shorting the pins. I didn't test it. I wanted the ability to quick charge via cable if necessary, since Qi charging is a bit slower, so I shorted the pins, but if all you're interested in is Qi charging, you may be able to get by without modifying the charger. If someone wants to test this, please let us know.
jt3
Thanks for the info. I have some kind of Griffin charger with 2 USB ports.
So, I will try to do the same - shorten data pins inside the charger.
I will post it works
Just an FYI, I was charging with a charger that listed AC mode last weekend yet it wasn't charging faster than the power was draining.
Not all the AC modes officially charge at a faster pace unfortunately. My Galaxy Nexus car dock charger though did charge it at a proper AC pace.
What took me a little while to figure out is that this issue may not be as related to the charger as it is to the cable. I tried 3 different car chargers and none of them would keep up with GPS battery drain in the car. I figured out that common to all 3 chargers that I was trying was the cable. So I bought this cable and now all 3 of the same chargers work great. I am finding that even at 1.0A you can keep up with the gps battery drain. At 1.5 amps or greater you can charge the battery in the car while using GPS full time.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0088HTYUE/ref=ya_aw_oh_pit
jalanjkcarp said:
What took me a little while to figure out is that this issue may not be as related to the charger as it is to the cable. I tried 3 different car chargers and none of them would keep up with GPS battery drain in the car. I figured out that common to all 3 chargers that I was trying was the cable. So I bought this cable and now all 3 of the same chargers work great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is because some "charge only" cables don't have data pins at all (usually, because they came with a charging dock of some sort, or were designed for devices other than Android). Remember, I said earlier that Android notices that it's on a charger when the data pins are shorted. If they're missing completely, then it will only charge at 0.5A.
My rule of thumb is to stay far - far away from charge-only cables.
I bought a "2.1A Car Charger" with a single USB port (made by PNY....Amazon for about $6 shipped)... opened it up and soldered a bridge between the middle 2 USB pins.
Previously it reported Charging (USB), now I get Charging (AC). Confirmed with a widget that showed charging amps, the number went way way up.
Presumably any of these chargers claiming high-amp output will only work with iDevices, I guess they ignore the USB standard that if the two middle pins are bridged, its a power-only connection and full power can flow.
I did test this on an HTC One X running 4.2 and it reports Charging USB though, so there is a dependency on one of the newer Android kernels (my N5 runs 4.4.2)
Edit: oh yea... with my newly modded charger, I tested turning on Bluetooth streaming audio to my car, GPS on, navigation running, screen on, 100% bright, and wifi tethering enabled, and i STILL had a net charge going.
I've just bought a Blackberry Premium In-Vehicle Charger and my N5 recognizes it as an AC charger. The phone pulls around 1A from it (it's good for up to 1.8A). This is it, though I purchased mine from a local store.

Nexus 5 Car charger problem

Hi everyone,
So I bought a Belkin 2.1A car charger from ebay for my Nexus 5 like this one:
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But during my various car trips using Google Maps sat nav I've noticed that the battery percentage was going down rather than up. I was very suprised as I thought that 2.1A would be enough to handle the battery consumption while also charging the device. After checking the stock AC charger I have noticed it's only rated for 1.2A, so the car charger charging problem surely must be another I thought.
By looking on the internet I've read that people were having charging issues because the device was recognizing the charger as an USB port so charging was limited to only 0.5A.
After a bit of further searching I found that the stock AC charger uses a shorted circuit on the data pins to make the phone recognize it as an AC charger. I went back to the car and tried the stock cable on the Belkin charger and in Settings->Battery it showed Charging (USB). Ok I said, then this must be the problem, I ended up building my own "Fast charge" cable by shorting the data wires on the Micro USB side. Trying again this time the phone showed as Charging (AC). I since tried the charger but without any success, the percentage was still going down while in use.
Today, I went into the Electronic lab of my University, and I've tried to check the Amps that were going through the phone (I have seen some videos on youtube of apps that show charging amps, but they all looked very wrong, like 8Amps or more). I believe I have finally found the reason of the slow charging or not charging:
The charging current is only 0.2A, far less than an USB port, and far far less of what is required to charge the phone wile the sat nav is going. I have tried both fast charge and stock usb cables but it still displayed the same exact current.
I don't know what to do next? Have any of you had any success in charging while using the sat nav (and 3g, bluetooth, nfc, ecc)?
Please forgive me if I am not understanding your post.
iltrevi said:
The charging current is only 0.2A...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's defective?
iltrevi said:
I have tried both fast charge and stock usb cables...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about a different charger?
iltrevi said:
Have any of you had any success in charging while using the sat nav (and 3g, bluetooth, nfc, ecc)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used several different chargers without issue.
PhilipTD said:
Please forgive me if I am not understanding your post.
Because it's defective?
What about a different charger?
I have used several different chargers without issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be the charger that is detective, but after all thats what im trying to find out, or is it a compatibility issue with nexus 5? If the charger was defective wouldn't it be not charging at all?
Different charger? I don't have a different charger, that's why I bought this one, why shouldnt this be working if there's stated 2.1amp
OK thanks for advice, but I'd like to get this working, have you had any experience with this charger as well?
Never used that charger.
A defective charger may very well be slow, rather than dead.
I just thought that it might be a good idea to test a friend's charger in your car in order to eliminate the possibility that the socket/feed is malfunctioning. Or, even better, would be to use a current tester on the socket.
Ma, che ne so?
I'm using exactly the same Belkin charger in my Ford and it works properly while navigation is on. However, I don't charge and keep navigating frequently so can't shed more light on this!
I have had quite a few car-chargers (mostly cheap ones) , and the amount of current they provide compared to what they promised varies alot.
Haven't tried the belkin one, as I needed more than 1 usb port.
Currently i'm using
...://dx.com/p/star-go-st-06-aircraft-shaped-5v-4100ma-usb-4-port-car-charger-black-12-24v-290123#.UxSYQ3VdWlg
And it charges my nexus 5 with screen always on and my Samsung tab 3 running sygic.
(even need 10 posts for a link...)
I've been testing chargers extensively. What I have seen is actually scary.
The worst one was sold on ebay and was marked as a 3.1A capable device. When I hooked it up to a 12V source and connected the output to a scope I saw a triangle like DC output varying between 4.7 and 5.7Volts which is out of USB specs, meaning could damage your device.
The 2 other ones that I own are a lot better after modifying capacitors etc. but I gave up on that front.
I also tested a Belkin marked one that was supposed to be able to provide 1A but it only managed 0.8A and after 15min it died. Fake, no doubt about it.
Since I had a cigarette lighter plug in my drawer I made my own charger that is very DC clean and can provide more than enough juice to charge.
I use these modules http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7V-24V-to..._Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item4179d0059e
You can connect the 2 middle pins and my N5 draws 1.4A peak.
To be sure there is a 2A fuse in the cigarette lighter plug and a Transient-voltage-suppression diode connected over the 5V USB output so in case the convertor goes belly up and goes to 12V the 5.8V diode will kill the fuse in an instant.
That convertor is extreemly clean stable and has a very high efficiency so it will not even get close to getting warm when charging high speed.
Some people spend a fortune on cases and screen protectors but want the cheapest possible 12V to USB. I made this for like 6€ or $9 and I guarantee you nothing comes close that is on the market.
lukesan said:
To be sure there is a 2A fuse in the cigarette lighter plug and a Transient-voltage-suppression diode connected over the 5V USB output so in case the convertor goes belly up and goes to 12V the 5.8V diode will kill the fuse in an instant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you put the 2A fuse in the car fusebox? or between the jack and your converter? Had not thought about making one myself
bakxsteen said:
Did you put the 2A fuse in the car fusebox? or between the jack and your converter? Had not thought about making one myself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a 2A fast (snelle ) fuse in that cigarette lighter plugin itself. So the module is capable of delivering 3A constant at 5.1V. Since the N5 nor a Note 3 will go above 2A charging, and the efficiency is >85%, I am secure on that front.
Since I see you are from Delft there should be an action shop in your area. They sell 2 port 2.1A capable car chargers (black and white) for like 3€ which are actually not bad at all. I only insist on those diodes that you can buy on ebay. They cost a couple of € but rather that than smoke out of your device.
I have about 8 of those modules now since they are so universal.
A couple of examples. An old laptop charger 15V 6A, cut the connector and hooked up the modules got all my usb devices charged in Africa.
1 is hooked up to a RC helicopter batt that is mounted on my bike and delivers around 11.1V and then goes to that module so I can charge and use GPS on the bike for hours.
Cheers for the info, coincidentally I have been looking for a way to power my raspberry pi in my 12-volt speaker set. This will make that a lot easier as well.
lukesan said:
I've been testing chargers extensively. What I have seen is actually scary.
The worst one was sold on ebay and was marked as a 3.1A capable device. When I hooked it up to a 12V source and connected the output to a scope I saw a triangle like DC output varying between 4.7 and 5.7Volts which is out of USB specs, meaning could damage your device.
The 2 other ones that I own are a lot better after modifying capacitors etc. but I gave up on that front.
I also tested a Belkin marked one that was supposed to be able to provide 1A but it only managed 0.8A and after 15min it died. Fake, no doubt about it.
Since I had a cigarette lighter plug in my drawer I made my own charger that is very DC clean and can provide more than enough juice to charge.
I use these modules http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7V-24V-to..._Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item4179d0059e
You can connect the 2 middle pins and my N5 draws 1.4A peak.
To be sure there is a 2A fuse in the cigarette lighter plug and a Transient-voltage-suppression diode connected over the 5V USB output so in case the convertor goes belly up and goes to 12V the 5.8V diode will kill the fuse in an instant.
That convertor is extreemly clean stable and has a very high efficiency so it will not even get close to getting warm when charging high speed.
Some people spend a fortune on cases and screen protectors but want the cheapest possible 12V to USB. I made this for like 6€ or $9 and I guarantee you nothing comes close that is on the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very interesting! Can you post some picture of the actual charger you made? How did you add the transient voltage suppression diode?
Btw I will try to short the data pins also on the USB side and see if it makes any difference, apparently things like this one short both sides: http://www.amazon.co.uk/PortaPow-Fa...8&qid=1393861403&sr=8-12&keywords=fast+charge
iltrevi said:
Very interesting! Can you post some picture of the actual charger you made? How did you add the transient voltage suppression diode?
Btw I will try to short the data pins also on the USB side and see if it makes any difference, apparently things like this one short both sides:
HTML:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PortaPow-Fast-Charger-iPhone-Blackberry/dp/B00GC4AJOU/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1393861403&sr=8-12&keywords=fast+charge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Difficult to show since it is sort of build in the car.
The module is plug and play. Hook up + and - (screwdriver thing so no soldering required) and the USB connector is already on the pcb board. Extreemly easy. Plug and play.
The diode is not big at all and is soldered on the back of the pcb. There are soldering points.
After that mod, diode and shorten data leads, I use that yellowish heat resistant tape around the pcb so it does not touch any metal parts or shorten anything. I've been using it in Arizona summer weather conditions and it is perfect.
lukesan said:
Difficult to show since it is sort of build in the car.
The module is plug and play. Hook up + and - (screwdriver thing so no soldering required) and the USB connector is already on the pcb board. Extreemly easy. Plug and play.
The diode is not big at all and is soldered on the back of the pcb. There are soldering points.
After that mod, diode and shorten data leads, I use that yellowish heat resistant tape around the pcb so it does not touch any metal parts or shorten anything. I've been using it in Arizona summer weather conditions and it is perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks. I think if I can't get another car socket charger to work this will be the path I will take.
Anyway I just tried shorting the USB side to see if this made any difference to the Belkin charger but it looks like nothing changed. I also tried shorting both data sides all together but that didn't change things either. I'm guessing the charger could be actually defective, I will try to get a replacement and see if that works better.
Why doesn't Google makes it own car charger and avoids all this messing about to find one that works.
iltrevi said:
Why doesn't Google makes it own car charger and avoids all this messing about to find one that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would think it would be in their interest as well, I imaging a lot of people will blame the phone.
bakxsteen said:
You would think it would be in their interest as well, I imaging a lot of people will blame the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is another nice tool that I use. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Portabl...uter_Power_Supply_Testers&hash=item485a80ba76
You don't see if the output is clean but you get a good view on what is going on and the Voltage and Current readout is pretty accurate.
Just added 2 pics. This one I use when cycling. You can see an added resistor but it has no use since it ups the Voltage to 5.2V (just a test thing). On the back you can see that the data lines are connected and that special diode is soldered over the 5V pins.
The reason why this one isn't fully insulated with tape is that this one is my test one so I leave it open to test.
No need to fully insulate it since it goes in a weatherproof non conductive bag with the battery.
bakxsteen said:
Cheers for the info, coincidentally I have been looking for a way to power my raspberry pi in my 12-volt speaker set. This will make that a lot easier as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, actually I have one of these modules connected to my Harmon Cardon speakers which are connected to my flatscreen.
My Raspberry is on 24/7 for like 10 months now. No stability, heat issues at all.
Just another thing which is extremely important is the USB cable itself. I've seen some really strange things.
For example now I am testing an Anker 40W 5-port USB charger that I bought on Amazon. It features 'smart' technology to see what is connected and then place everything in quick charge.
I found the idea super, but they've already had to refund me after a couple of tests.
The thing is right in front of me now and I have that USB tester thing to measure current and 3 different cables. 1 HTC, 1 from a Jawbone headset and a Sony one. The original cable is at home.
Ok so the phone was at 60% batt which means it should still charge at full speed if possible. The HTC and Jawbone cable on the Anker did not pass 0.8A and the Sony (looking at it now) 0.92A. Voltage seems like 5.08V which is measured at the adapter and not the phone.
So 1 get that USB tool thing for a couple of € $ and actually see what is happening instead of guessing. I am really happy with it.
If you want me to do any tests of have questions feel free to ask. We, and I, can always learn from each other and there is no such thing as a stupid question to me.
lukesan said:
Just another thing which is extremely important is the USB cable itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe USB cables and USB cables impendance as I've read somewhere are important only when charging the device with the data pins "enabled". As for Galaxy SI and SII chargers which used a fixed micro usb charging cable which was very thin, I belive that once data pins are shorted it doesn't matter anymore if you are using a very thick top quality cable or a ebay chinese cable, the phone will always pull as the same current.
Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.
iltrevi said:
I believe USB cables and USB cables impendance as I've read somewhere are important only when charging the device with the data pins "enabled". As for Galaxy SI and SII chargers which used a fixed micro usb charging cable which was very thin, I belive that once data pins are shorted it doesn't matter anymore if you are using a very thick top quality cable or a ebay chinese cable, the phone will always pull as the same current.
Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I also did some tests on that front. Supplying 5V and putting a resistor 5.1 Ohm on the other side so it draws approx 1 Amp. It's very scary to see some cables go flat on their belly.
I had one which measured about 4.3V with that resistor on the other side, so massive loss in the cable and/or connector. If you take into account that the charging circuit efficiency is also not 100% it can have a big effect on the charging speed. Remember these batts at 100% charge are at 4.2V.
The S1 charges at about 0.65A and an S2 at 0.7A max (limited by the charging circuit) so using these devices as GPS in the car is tricky since screen and gps app on .... and you are at approx these values.
I was thinking about buying my own connectors and soldering 2 'thicker' cables to the connectors. You can shortcut the data-lines on the micro usb so no harm done when plugging into a pc. But how far do I go in this I ask myself.
Resurrecting this thread because I'm having a similar issue, I have a Belkin 2.1Amp charger that's capable of charging an iPad at 2.1 amp (and I've tested it in the past and it charges appropriately, and is able to charge an iPhone very rapidly as well) as well as another 1A USB charger and the Nexus 5 barely charges with either-it charges very slowly even when I have GPS shut off-I've charged it for an hour before and it'll maybe get 10% which is absurd. It's pretty clear that whatever high-amp pinning they have is meant more for iPads and the Nexus 5 isn't seeing these chargers as high speed chargers, does anybody know of a charger where they've had good success with the Nexus 5 to rapidly charge it?

****Official Quickcharge 2.0 Car Charger Thread****

I found this one, but I am not sure I want to drop $25 on a charger (call me cheap)
http://smile.amazon.com/Powermod-Charge-Certified--Vehicle-Charger/dp/B00P9UILUM/
Has anyone else found a cheaper one out there?
Edit: I joined the circle jerk with this title. Don't flame me.
Stoodo said:
I found this one, but I am not sure I want to drop $25 on a charger (call me cheap)
http://smile.amazon.com/Powermod-Charge-Certified--Vehicle-Charger/dp/B00P9UILUM/
Has anyone else found a cheaper one out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any 2amp charger should work. you should be able to find some for cheaper then that
xile6 said:
any 2amp charger should work. you should be able to find some for cheaper then that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The QC 2.0 spec can use higher than 5v and as much as 3A.
Several 2a and 3a chargers on ebay and amazon for less than $15. Works fine when I use a generic 3a charger since the phone will scale power on need and availability.
I ended up buying the original charger linked in my first post. Will report back.
Isn't the quick charging a factor of voltage as well as amperage? Simply buying a 2am charger won't get you the built in quick charging if you don't have the voltage to back it up..
ReggieSmith said:
Isn't the quick charging a factor of voltage as well as amperage? Simply buying a 2am charger won't get you the built in quick charging if you don't have the voltage to back it up..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct.
Ok I got the charger. While I have installed it, I haven't had time to test it fully.
When connected, it does display the Adaptive Charger Connected message.
How it differs from the Samsung home charger, it adds 12V to the mix
Charging at 5V is 10W, 9V is 14.4W, and 12V is 14.4W. (As is labeled. I haven't measured)
ReggieSmith said:
Isn't the quick charging a factor of voltage as well as amperage? Simply buying a 2am charger won't get you the built in quick charging if you don't have the voltage to back it up..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on scale. It's more about the supply at the end really. From a car charger your converting 12v (supply limit amp) to 5v 5a or 12v 2a easy. Since its DC to DC stepping is fairly straight forward. The phone will never hit the amp limit in a car. Unless you drive a soap box. Smart chargers are like having mutiple chargers in the same device. It detects what's being asked and delivering accordingly. Much like pressing your thumb on a water hose and watching the water shoot out further.
As a side note just to be sure anyone isn't thinking about upping the voltage on a charger DONT. It doesn't work that way lol. Do a quick Google search on voltage conversion and you will understand how electrical supply can change.
The Powermod charger charges my phone in the car at least as fast as the OEM Samsung charger.... Highly recommended.
not all usb cable are the same !
not all usb cable will shows "adaptive fast charger connected" when connected to phone.
i have bought IXCC microusb cable 5 packs from Amazon,
i tested all 5 microusb cable, it DOES show "adaptive fast charger conncted" when connected.
5 packs = 9.99$
3 packs = 7.99$.
http://www.amazon.com/iXCC-Charger-Samsung-Android-Tablets/dp/B0092HWU7S/ref=cm_cd_ql_qh_dp_t
Got the Powermod permanently installed behind the dash in my car. Charging rate is fantastic.
I'm using this car charger with a rocketfish usb cable before I hard wire a solution...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KGUTB86/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Charges VERY quickly... in line with Quick Charge 2.0 claims...
I am starting to think the Powermod car charger wasn't all that fast.
I have replaced it with this one. The charge percentage goes up VERY quickly on this one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q0WTOXQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
pieces of cake said:
Got the Powermod permanently installed behind the dash in my car. Charging rate is fantastic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When u say permanently, what do u mean? Some kind of customization or you just leave it there?
misterwal10 said:
When u say permanently, what do u mean? Some kind of customization or you just leave it there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's plugged into a 12v hub that I hardwired to the car's electrical system. I hid the hub behind the dash and then ran the charging cable up through the middle of my dash panels. It is perfectly positioned and comes out of the dash directly where my phone mount is located. I had to disassemble my dash to do it. Wasn't a big deal for me, as I already had my dash apart to flush mount my Nexus 7 as a "detachable" head unit for my sound system.
Does this do Fast Charge like the ac outlet ?
Thanks
OEM WolfGuard 2.1A Dual Car Vehicle Adapter + 6 Ft USB Charger Cable for Verizon
I bought this, it says 2.1A but I will see when it comes in.
I got this and is amazing
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OZ5OIFE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That one isn't a QuickCharge 2.0 charger and is likely not as fast.

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