[mazda-mine]

Anyone else have this issue? I notice when I plug it in using the usb cable I used in my old car (which charged fine) seems to barely charge in the mz3. I guess it could be the cable and will try to find another one to try, but it's sort of strange since my iPod nano is plugged into the other port and always is fully charged. Maybe it's having something plugged into both at the same time won't charge both? The phone also gets pretty warm to the touch.

 

[seanc81]

Yup, super slow, think its normal.

 

[actuator]

Yup, super slow, think its normal.

+1. It's annoyingly normal.

 

[rvoll]

Anyone else have this issue? I notice when I plug it in using the usb cable I used in my old car (which charged fine) seems to barely charge in the mz3. I guess it could be the cable and will try to find another one to try, but it's sort of strange since my iPod nano is plugged into the other port and always is fully charged. Maybe it's having something plugged into both at the same time won't charge both? The phone also gets pretty warm to the touch.

Different gadgets have different charging amp requirements. Your phone needs more amps than your iPod. I installed a separate group of 12v power receptacles in the driver footwell and have my phone plugged into that. It charges very fast and I have one that requires a lot of juice. All of the wires are hidden and only show when they come out next to my Kuda phone holder.

 

[g-hood]

yea the data port current is really low, usually less than 0.5amp. I got a 12v USB charger right away when I got my car that's 1.5 amp and it charges 3 times as fast.

 

[Zylog]

Regular USB port (like we have in Mazda) supplies less than 500mA. This is too low value for modern devices.

If phone/tablet recognize interconnected D+/D- pins in a charger (original or special 12V) then 500 mA limit does not apply and device charging much faster.

 

[Pacificwing]

Regular USB port (like we have in Mazda) supplies less than 500mA. This is too low value for modern devices.

If phone/tablet recognize interconnected D+/D- pins in a charger (original or special 12V) then 500 mA limit does not apply and device charging much faster.

This is technically true. You can short the data pins, but it is a jury rig and isn't advisable in many cases. Depending on how powerful your phone is, combined with the gauge of wire supplying the usb port, or the durability of the print, you could end up burning out the slot. I've witnessed this happen several time, an in one case one of my co-workers nearly started a fire.

The resistor between the D+ and D- terminals is there so that the phone can differentiate between a wall charger that is rated for 2amps and a computer USB port which is typically rated for 0.5amps.

Those of you who bought tablets or phones with 2amps or greater USB chargers will notice the charger getting very warm when it charges. This is due to something called resistive loss. As electrons move through a conductor, there is friction created from the resistance in the line, and some of that energy is lost in the form off heat. This is actually how electric radiant heaters work.

The difference is that a 2amp wall charger is designed to handle the heat. It has larger conductors and higher quality connections and thicker circuit printing to reduce resistance and accommodate the extra heat. A USB slot rated for 0.5amps may not have these features and could easily burn out if too much load is placed on it.

You're better off getting 12VDC ciggarette lighter to 5VDC USB 2A converter. You can get them shallow enough that they can be placed inside the arm console and still close the lid.

 

[Just_Stig]

Anyone else have this issue? I notice when I plug it in using the usb cable I used in my old car (which charged fine) seems to barely charge in the mz3. I guess it could be the cable and will try to find another one to try, but it's sort of strange since my iPod nano is plugged into the other port and always is fully charged. Maybe it's having something plugged into both at the same time won't charge both? The phone also gets pretty warm to the touch.

Yep I have noticed this as well. On a 10 hr road trip with bluetooth streaming and max brightness + constant on, the car can't seem to keep up when using the data usb port.

I keep a spare 1 Amp charger in the car that I can switch over to the accessory socket when needed.

 

[rolanie3]

Yep I have noticed this as well. On a 10 hr road trip with bluetooth streaming and max brightness + constant on, the car can't seem to keep up when using the data usb port.

I keep a spare 1 Amp charger in the car that I can switch over to the accessory socket when needed.

This is what I find as well and I actually kind of like it. The only difference is lower brightness or screen off. With Data + Bluetooth it acts more like a "charge sustainment" system - i.e. I enter the car with 55% battery and leave with 60% after a 40 minute drive. If I turn on GPS and have the screen on for NAV then it will stay at 55% - or even drop slightly. I don't like keeping my phone at 100% or rapidly charging the battery because it is harder on the battery and will require me to swap out the battery with a replacement yearly.

When it's at 4% and it's time to get out of the car - that's a different matter entirely.

 

[dmkobe]

Yea I've found this as well. Either through my USB or through the cigarette lighter charger. Don't know the amps on either.
How tough is adding the 12-V charger?

 

[rvoll]

Yea I've found this as well. Either through my USB or through the cigarette lighter charger. Don't know the amps on either.
How tough is adding the 12-V charger?

You can either just by a power outlet cord with USB on the other end or plug in an adapter like this one and use your USB cord. If you want to wire in a power outlet, it's fairly easy to use a fuse tap on the bottom left fuse of your fuse box in the driver's footwell. I added a power outlet adapter with 4 outlets under the driver's footwell and ran the cord behind the console to my Kuda phone holder.

GRIFFIN POWERJOLT DUAL USB CAR DC CHARGER VEHICLE POWER ADAPTER FOR IPHONE 5

Dual DC12V Accessory Marine Car Boat Cigarette Power Socket Power Outlet Socket | eBay

 

[Just_Stig]

You can either just by a power outlet cord with USB on the other end or plug in an adapter like this one and use your USB cord. If you want to wire in a power outlet, it's fairly easy to use a fuse tap on the bottom left fuse of your fuse box in the driver's footwell. I added a power outlet adapter with 4 outlets under the driver's footwell and ran the cord behind the console to my Kuda phone holder.

GRIFFIN POWERJOLT DUAL USB CAR DC CHARGER VEHICLE POWER ADAPTER FOR IPHONE 5

Dual DC12V Accessory Marine Car Boat Cigarette Power Socket Power Outlet Socket | eBay

Rvoll,
With the fuse tap, it usually only has the red, where do you ground your stuff to?

Also which fuse is the best use to tap into so that it's only on when your car is on accessory or running.

 

[rvoll]

Rvoll,
With the fuse tap, it usually only has the red, where do you ground your stuff to?

Also which fuse is the best use to tap into so that it's only on when your car is on accessory or running.

Your car's body is the ground. If you take off the whole panel where the fuse box is located you'll see a bolt into the body at the bottom. You can ground it there. It is the bottom left fuse in that panel. Make sure to get an "add a circuit" tap since that will create another circuit and you won't blow fuses. I also used that tap for other accessories like my radar detector and the LOC for my sub. If you are uncomfortable wiring it yourself, just give these instructions to a car audio shop and they will wire it in 15 minutes if they are good and 30 minutes if they are not so good. It took me 5 minutes but I've done this kind of stuff for decades and I know how to take the panels off in this car.

 

[dmkobe]

Hey rvoll,

Do you mind posting a picture of your set up? It sounds straightforward but a pic or two might convince me I can do it myself.
Also, I've tried adapters such as:
Amazon.com: Anker® 24W Dual-Port Rapid USB Car Charger with PowerIQ™ Technology for iPhone 5s 5c 5; iPad Air, mini; Galaxy S5 S4; Note 3 2; the new HTC One (M8) and More (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories
but they're just really slow in this car (as opposed to using the same adapter in other cars).

 

[rvoll]

Hey rvoll,

Do you mind posting a picture of your set up? It sounds straightforward but a pic or two might convince me I can do it myself.
Also, I've tried adapters such as:
Amazon.com: Anker® 24W Dual-Port Rapid USB Car Charger with PowerIQ™ Technology for iPhone 5s 5c 5; iPad Air, mini; Galaxy S5 S4; Note 3 2; the new HTC One (M8) and More (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories
but they're just really slow in this car (as opposed to using the same adapter in other cars).

My phone charges very fast. Perhaps you don't have a good connection with your cable. Look at this thread:

http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/2014-mazda-3-skyactiv-audio-electronics/39066-rewiring-power-outlet-console.html

The Anker plug has worked great for me in the past, and my phone requires even more juice than the iPhone.

 

[SkyactiveTwentyThirteen]

Just charge phone in airplane mode (life hack). Whatever source you use it charges about twice as fast

 

[zombiejunkie]

Here is what I did to charge my nexus 7 which needed a much more powerful charger than the USB in the car.

Full project is here: http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/2014-mazda-3-skyactiv-how-guides/63073-nexus-7-project.html

Install USB charger

What you will need to buy:
Fuse Tap ($5)

15A Fuse ($1)

DC Converter 12V to 5V 3A Car USB Charger ($13)

a. Open fuse panel by your left foot on driver’s side.

b. Remove bottom fuse (15A)

c. Remove the black bolt under fuse box with 12mm socket wrench
i. This will be a tight fit, but it comes off pretty easy. If you are having trouble you might be turning it the wrong way…

d. Take 15A fuse you removed and the extra 15a fuse you purchased and insert them into the fuse tap.

e. Using a wire stripper strip the thick black coating off of about 8 inches of the usb charger exposing the positive (red) and negative (black) wires.

f. Strip the positive wire about an inch exposing the copper.

g. Stip the negative wire about three inches exposing the copper.

h. Insert the positive wire in the blue crimp on the fuse tap and crimp down.

i. Take the negative wire and wrap it around the base of the black bolt you removed.

j. Put the black bolt back in under the fuse box making sure to keep the wire attached.
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.

k. Insert the fuse tap into the bottom fuse port where you removed the 15A fuse.
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.

l. Run the USB charger up the pillar above the fuse box. There is room for the small box to fit through.

m. Cut one of the 3M stickers in half lengthwise (hotdog) and attach it to the USB charger.
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.

n. Remove the film from the other side of the 3M tape and mount it under the dash.
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image.

o. Plug in USB micro cord included with your Nexus and wrap once around steering wheel column, then bring it to the mounted tablet.

p. Use zip ties to secure any loose hanging cables.

 

[rvoll]

Here is what I did to charge my nexus 7 which needed a much more powerful charger than the USB in the car.

@zombiejunkie

Are you sure the tap is in the right way? If I put my tap in the way you did, it wouldn't be going through the fuse. You can always test it by removing the fuse to see if you still have power. Remember the accessory switch needs to be on. Secondly, I do prefer installing power outlets instead of USB outlets. I installed a unit with 4 outlets just in case I added other accessories (which I did). It's easy to convert a power outlet to USB but virtually impossible to go the other way. In terms of power, the Anker adapter puts out 2.1 amps -- more than enough to fast charge most any phone or tablet. That said, your installation looks really clean. Good work...

 

[mazda-mine]

You can either just by a power outlet cord with USB on the other end or plug in an adapter like this one and use your USB cord. If you want to wire in a power outlet, it's fairly easy to use a fuse tap on the bottom left fuse of your fuse box in the driver's footwell. I added a power outlet adapter with 4 outlets under the driver's footwell and ran the cord behind the console to my Kuda phone holder.

GRIFFIN POWERJOLT DUAL USB CAR DC CHARGER VEHICLE POWER ADAPTER FOR IPHONE 5

Dual DC12V Accessory Marine Car Boat Cigarette Power Socket Power Outlet Socket | eBay

I forgot I have that Griffin dual usb charger! However, when I plug that one into the power socket and plug my phone in, it doesn't charge at all! It worked in my old car, so confused. :sad:

 

[rvoll]

I forgot I have that Griffin dual usb charger! However, when I plug that one into the power socket and plug my phone in, it doesn't charge at all! It worked in my old car, so confused. :sad:

If it doesn't charge at all then it is not making contact. It is made to just fit in the outlet. The Anker unit goes all of the way to the bottom and has no stops. I have not used the Griffin in the center console outlet so I don't know about fit, but that has to be your problem unless it went bad.