Garmin Zumo XT Mount power connection - Resolved

[Snoking1127]

So the internet is full of issues with the power connection between the mount and the head unit. Mine had been working well, except once it would not power on. My riding buddy's new unit would not get power from the Trike. Both are powered via the GPS 2 cable behind the fuel tank on the right side.

Research on the internet exposed the issue as the bottom end of the power cable end not being supported well, with only a very small screw at the top.

Solution is to loosen the four screws that hold the latch part to the RAM ball part and slide a piece of closed cell foam (as pictured below) between the cable end and the RAM ball part; and then tighten the four screws. The piece I used is around 3/32 thick x 1" x 3/8".

My friend's unit powers right up now when the key is turned on.

I just took a look at mine and could see that the low end of the power cable end was not sticking out of the mount as much as the top end where the screw is. Note the bottom pin is ground and the middle pin is +5V. So I cut another piece of the foam and installed it on mine. I surmise that my one-time issue was that it lost the ground connection and ran the internal battery down and turned off. Playing around with it, I think it made contact again and that is why it came back on.

 

[pauly1]

We have two XT units. The first had issues as you described. I removed and reseated the power connector in the cradle. I did note that the bottom pogo pin, the electrical contact, did not protrude from the host connector as far as the top one. That would make the effect of any deflection or loose connector position worse. When I assembled the second unit, I noticed that both pogo pin contacts were even in their host connector block. Good solution to reinforce the lower part of the block.

I suspect that any pull on the power cord would make the situation worse. Best to have some slack in the cable near the cradle. I'm going to check mine again. Thanks!

 

[Snoking1127]

I had mine apart today to reroute the power cable to come out the steer well area, so I took another picture.