custom permanent install of 520

nick200 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 04, 2009 Posts: 3

I'm looking at installing my 520 permanently into a custom moulding within the dash.

Obviously i need to be able to turn the unit on/off with the ignition.

Have a quick search there did seem to be a 'PERMANENT DOCKING KIT' however this seems discontinued when actually looking to buy.

The main function i want to access if the remote on / off, does anyone know how this is done - apart from a 3.5mm style connector on the base of the unit there is only the usb connection, what mechanism is used to communicate with the tom tom ?

thanks

Andy_P · Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 2:04 pm Post subject:

I don't think the permanent docking kit ever actually materialised.

Old software used to allow auto-switch on with the ignition, but you'd have to go back a long way and it won't work with recent maps.

Other than bodging a custom connector across the power switch, I don't know of any other way to control it.

nick200 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 04, 2009 Posts: 3

mikealder · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:05 pm Post subject:

Its not just the on/ off switch you will need access to, don't forget the reset switch on the base of the device othwise when it needs resetting you will be up that creek without a paddle - Mike

MrT · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:07 pm Post subject:

I used to have my unit(s) hardwired into the igntion and soon became fed up with this as when you stopped outside somewhere and turned the ignition off the navigation stopped. You then had to wait for the unit to restart and get a fix (not so much of a problem nowadays). If you use a USB TMC this is still an issue.

I also had a problem in that some cars when starting drop the power to certain electrical items (fans, main beam, heated windscreen etc) to allow the power to go into the starter and other essentials, this dropped the power to my gadgets and they needed to restart. In the end I got fed up and fixed a two way SP switch so I could power my electonic devices from the ignition or a permanent live circuit depending on the switch position.

One of my cars at the moment provides power to a carcomm phone kit but the ignition sense input is controlled by the ECU. The carcomm kit in turn provides power to a mini USB which fits the TT units. However the carcomm does not provide USB power until the ignition is on and continues to provide power when the ignition is off but drops it as soon as the key is removed from the lock. Even with all these things nominally off they still draw up to 200mA which could flatten the battery over a long time. The car supposedly go into a deep sleep mode after some time but whether that controls the power to the gadgets I do not know. I use a 300mA trickle charger with a plug into the car wiring by the grille when I am not using the car for any period.
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Drivelux

nick200 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 04, 2009 Posts: 3

thanks for replies, some good points raised.

MrT , you are right - if you stop somehwere then you may not actually want the satnav to power down, i hadnt thought of this.

So a possible solution to this would be to actually latch the power onto the satnav until the IGNITION power was off AND ALSO the drivers door open, signifying you were leaving the vehicle.

Car starting valid point also, i guess i can only try this and see what happens, it depends on the power regulation within the tom tom and also the voltage drop in each particular car.

Having a manual overide switch is a good idea think i will do this too.

How did you hardwire your on / off switch, did you open up the unit - or do you have earlier software like Andy mentioned ?

Mike, i havnt owned my tomtom that long - what situations have you found that needed a reset ? ( i should add when i say permanent install, then if need be access can be made but just will involve removing panels )

cheers Nick

MrT · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject:

I used to have separate PDA and TT GPS receiver, the PDA could be set to time out on different settings for battery and external power and the TT GPS receiver auto started and stopped with power when it was in the cradle. My Go's do not offer this flexibility.
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Drivelux

mikealder · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:50 pm Post subject:

A reset in use can be down to the device simply locking up but this is quite rare, more frequent is if/ when it crashes during a phone call if used for handsfree, most regulars on this forum if asked will tell you they carry a bent paperclip in their car as a reset tool (work out from that how frequent it can happen) - Its certainly not a daily event for me but some software releases have been better than others in terms of stability - Mike

Calomax · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:02 pm Post subject:

DennisN · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:42 pm Post subject:

bloxy · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 07, 2005 Posts: 23

The permanent docking kit did exist I have one!

My Go500 is fitted into the central dashboard tray on my X3. You can unclip the unit from the dock as normal.

The kit is wired into the car sound system with a custom connection kit and mutes the audio to give instructions, speed camera alerts and the main reason I did it, mutes the audio for the bluetooth hands free functions.

The older software worked great the unit turned on and off with the ignition and automatically changed to night view with the headlights. A software update broke all that though! It now turns on with the ignition but not off. If you use the turn off option in the menu the damn thing turns on and of constantly. And the headlights don't switch the display any more.

It really was a better option than this daft idea of using FM. Shame they didn't continue it.

mikealder · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:51 pm Post subject:

Its over three years since the car connect idea was dropped, this was the dock that gave you the day/ night switch relative to headlights (great fun in an Ovlov with auto lights).
These days I use a device called iO-Play for connection to the car stereo via Bluetooth which works great with the TomTom and the mobile phone at the same time, as its Bluetooth no wires are involved but it can't control the day/ night and doesn't provide auto on/ off, that said the audio is great using this accessory - Mike

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