Question to the group: The R1250RS which I bought last winter (with less than 10K miles) did come with that three-pin BMW connector that is used to connect with the Navigator cradle. My bike did not come with the cradle, or at least it did not have it at time of purchase. In any case I did by a mating connector to fit the one the bike comes with (it is behind the front right hand side fairing. I am pretty sure many of you are familiar with it. See photos.
So here is the short of it: I went ahead and routed a cable from that connector to above the dashboard and there I connected the cable to a Garmin cradle to which I inserted my Zumo XT GPS receiver. Everything seemed to work fine for a few rides until very recently when it stopped charging thru the cradle.
Observation: I saw quite a few videos showing that one could connect the Garmin Zumo, thru its own DC-to-DC converter to that BMW GPS connector. But now that mine is not working properly I am thinking that perhaps by doing so I am actually messing with the CANBUS system. On top of this I learned that Denali is selling a product called "Switched Power Adapter" for BMW bikes. In the description of this product, it says: "...it connects to your BM's GPS power connector on bikes with Nav preparation to provide CANbus safe switched 12V power source for triggering a relay to power electronic accessories..."
In other words, it appears to me Denali Electronics designed a product that interfaces between said BMW GPS plug and other accessories needing 12V source/supply. (In the Zumo XT case the 12v would feed the DC-to-DC converter such that 5 volts be present at the Zumo XT cradle contacts/pins.
Question: Does anyone have experience with connecting a Garmin GPS cradle to that BMW GPS plug? I am thinking that after all, Denali is very experienced with the topic of CANbus and thus they may have a point in that connecting the Zumo 12 Volt-to 5 volt DC-to-DC power converter may indeed screw up the CANbus system and thus it stops charging my Zumo XT GPS receiver. Thus, the need for an isolation relay which can be driven by that specific DEnali product ("Switched Power Adapter").
Any thoughts/advice regarding the proper connection of a non-BMW provided GPS receiver to that specific BMW plug??
Thanks much!
So here is the short of it: I went ahead and routed a cable from that connector to above the dashboard and there I connected the cable to a Garmin cradle to which I inserted my Zumo XT GPS receiver. Everything seemed to work fine for a few rides until very recently when it stopped charging thru the cradle.
Observation: I saw quite a few videos showing that one could connect the Garmin Zumo, thru its own DC-to-DC converter to that BMW GPS connector. But now that mine is not working properly I am thinking that perhaps by doing so I am actually messing with the CANBUS system. On top of this I learned that Denali is selling a product called "Switched Power Adapter" for BMW bikes. In the description of this product, it says: "...it connects to your BM's GPS power connector on bikes with Nav preparation to provide CANbus safe switched 12V power source for triggering a relay to power electronic accessories..."
In other words, it appears to me Denali Electronics designed a product that interfaces between said BMW GPS plug and other accessories needing 12V source/supply. (In the Zumo XT case the 12v would feed the DC-to-DC converter such that 5 volts be present at the Zumo XT cradle contacts/pins.
Question: Does anyone have experience with connecting a Garmin GPS cradle to that BMW GPS plug? I am thinking that after all, Denali is very experienced with the topic of CANbus and thus they may have a point in that connecting the Zumo 12 Volt-to 5 volt DC-to-DC power converter may indeed screw up the CANbus system and thus it stops charging my Zumo XT GPS receiver. Thus, the need for an isolation relay which can be driven by that specific DEnali product ("Switched Power Adapter").
Any thoughts/advice regarding the proper connection of a non-BMW provided GPS receiver to that specific BMW plug??
Thanks much!