Tom Tom Rider 1 power connector problem solved?

[Gaz]

As you can see from the pictures, I’ve had the wires on my TomTom Rider 1 re-routed in order to bypass the original charging pins on the back because we all know how rubbish they are, how they get pitted from vibration causing an intermittent contact, and how the Rider eventually fails as a result. The set-up I now have works really well. I got a friend to do it as I don’t have much of a clue when it comes to electronics. It’s a simple male and female DC connector set-up that click into eachother to provide power. They’re easily separated when I want to remove the Rider from my AT. The only concern I have is about waterproofing the connection. The connection might get wet in the rain. I have 2 questions:

1.What would happen if water got into the connection? Would the entire electrics on the bike fry or would the inline fuse for the TomTom just blow?

2.Does anyone have any suggestions about how I could waterproof the connection whilst the Rider is connected to the bike yet still being able to separate the connections quickly and easily whenever I need to remove the Rider from the bike. When the Rider is off the bike, the wire on the bike hangs down from the TomTom clamp towards the handlebars so the connector on the end may also get wet if it rains (as you can see from the photo, I've put some tape on it for now)


Any suggestions?


Regards
Gaz

[Sohoeasy]

Can't help with an answer Gaz,but I must say I'm impressed ! My Tomtom is over two years old and it has never, ever, worked off the charger I have just got used to charging over night at home for day use.( Do you have any pics of the internal rewire ? ....Nick ....................................( I think a frequently used joint is going to be hard to seal from water although if you could get something like one of those 35mm film holders and use the cap on one wire and the base on the other, enclosing the join in the container ??)

As you can see from the pictures, I’ve had the wires on my TomTom Rider 1 re-routed in order to bypass the original charging pins on the back because we all know how rubbish they are, how they get pitted from vibration causing an intermittent contact, and how the Rider eventually fails as a result. The set-up I now have works really well. I got a friend to do it as I don’t have much of a clue when it comes to electronics. It’s a simple male and female DC connector set-up that click into eachother to provide power. They’re easily separated when I want to remove the Rider from my AT. The only concern I have is about waterproofing the connection. The connection might get wet in the rain. I have 2 questions:

1.What would happen if water got into the connection? Would the entire electrics on the bike fry or would the inline fuse for the TomTom just blow?

2.Does anyone have any suggestions about how I could waterproof the connection whilst the Rider is connected to the bike yet still being able to separate the connections quickly and easily whenever I need to remove the Rider from the bike. When the Rider is off the bike, the wire on the bike hangs down from the TomTom clamp towards the handlebars so the connector on the end may also get wet if it rains (as you can see from the photo, I've put some tape on it for now)


Any suggestions?


Regards
Gaz

[StumpyFingers]

Can't help with an answer Gaz,but I must say I'm impressed ! My Tomtom is over two years old and it has never, ever, worked off the charger I have just got used to charging over night at home for day use.( Do you have any pics of the internal rewire ? ....Nick ....................................( I think a frequently used joint is going to be hard to seal from water although if you could get something like one of those 35mm film holders and use the cap on one wire and the base on the other, enclosing the join in the container ??)

How does it charge off the mains?
If it is like my rider2 then get a second mains charger and disguard the plug/transformer, get the iringthe right way rond and fit an inline fuse, then just use that plug for power from the bike.
Not done it to mine yet because it works properly but if I had to that is how I would go about it.

[Hagalaz]

How about the weatherproof connectors from Vehicle Wiring Products, half way down this page :

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.e...connectors.php

SWP2 is a 2 way connector for £3.35p

[Gaz]

Hi Soho, sorry but I don't have any pics of the internal wiring. My mate did it during his lunch break, so it was apart, soldered and put back together within an hour. I suppose it was therefore fairly straigh forward if you are a competent electronics DIYer (which I am not). The 35mm film container sounds like a good idea. I'll give it a go.

Stumpy fingers, your suggestion is a good one but won't work on the Rider 1. This is because the DC charging point that you attach to the mains charger to is underneath the Rider 1 and you need to open a little lid and leave it open whilst the charger is connected, exposing the SD card slot as well as the charging connector. The mount for the Rider 1 stop this lid from opening when the rider is in place. Good idea, but unforunatley TomTom didn't think it through when they designed the Rider 1.

Thanks as well to Hagalaz for the link to the weatherproof connectors. For the sake of £4 I think I'll buy one and give it a try.

The other option I was thinking about was to buy a spare female DC connector (89p from Maplin) and plug it into the male DC connector on the end of the wire hanging out of the mount. It'll fill the gap, preventing water getting in whenever the Rider isn't connected to it??

If anyone else has any suggestions, please chip in. I suppose I could always simply ditch the TomTom and just ask someone for directions!

Cheers
Gaz

[StumpyFingers]

Hi Soho, sorry but I don't have any pics of the internal wiring. My mate did it during his lunch break, so it was apart, soldered and put back together within an hour. I suppose it was therefore fairly straigh forward if you are a competent electronics DIYer (which I am not). The 35mm film container sounds like a good idea. I'll give it a go.

Stumpy fingers, your suggestion is a good one but won't work on the Rider 1. This is because the DC charging point that you attach to the mains charger to is underneath the Rider 1 and you need to open a little lid and leave it open whilst the charger is connected, exposing the SD card slot as well as the charging connector. The mount for the Rider 1 stop this lid from opening when the rider is in place. Good idea, but unforunatley TomTom didn't think it through when they designed the Rider 1.
Cheers
Gaz

I thought of drilling or making a hole for the plug, it is less time consuming than opening and desoldering/soldering in new wiring.
Trust me it would work.

[Gaz]

You're right! It would work. Now why didn't I think of that? It'd probably be more waterproof too because the connection would be underneath. Hmmm, I might try it. At this rate the TomTom will be full of holes. I so regret buying it. I should have gone for the Garmin. How would you rate the Rider 2? Is it powered from the bike via a standard DC plug rather than the 4 touch pins that the Rider 1 has? Is the clamp/bracket a decent one?

[StumpyFingers]

The rider 2 has the same type of conector as the rider 1 but I have had no problems so far.
I do not keep the full mount on the bike only the handlebar clamp and power which comes off the side lights.
I only put it on when I go further than work for the fact that I hve speed camera locations on it.

[Greg Whymark]

There is a problem with using the mains charging plug - it is only 5 volts and the bike supply is 12 volts.

Mine is a Rider 1, and I think the number of times it has discharged completely has buggered the battery.

Problem is I can't find a tool to take the back off.

[digitalcaptive]

As you can see from the pictures, I’ve had the wires on my TomTom Rider 1 re-routed in order to bypass the original charging pins on the back because we all know how rubbish they are, how they get pitted from vibration causing an intermittent contact, and how the Rider eventually fails as a result. The set-up I now have works really well. I got a friend to do it as I don’t have much of a clue when it comes to electronics. It’s a simple male and female DC connector set-up that click into eachother to provide power. They’re easily separated when I want to remove the Rider from my AT. The only concern I have is about waterproofing the connection. The connection might get wet in the rain. I have 2 questions:

1.What would happen if water got into the connection? Would the entire electrics on the bike fry or would the inline fuse for the TomTom just blow?

2.Does anyone have any suggestions about how I could waterproof the connection whilst the Rider is connected to the bike yet still being able to separate the connections quickly and easily whenever I need to remove the Rider from the bike. When the Rider is off the bike, the wire on the bike hangs down from the TomTom clamp towards the handlebars so the connector on the end may also get wet if it rains (as you can see from the photo, I've put some tape on it for now)


Any suggestions?


Regards
Gaz

Hi Gaz,
I'm not altogether sure why you have gone down this route rather than just using the charging point inside the flap at the bottom and a standard cigarette lighter plug

Mine is a Rider 1, and I think the number of times it has discharged completely has buggered the battery.

Are you sure about this, when mine showed the same symptoms, Tomtom told me just to leave it on charge for 24hrs...........and it worked Must be a mains charge though (not 12v charge)