Thread: Garmin Nuvi GPS U.S.B Power Connector pinout

I cut open a Garmin TA10 power cord. This cigarette lighter cord will charge and power the Garmin in navigation mode. This cord is not a traffic reciever or a traffic antenna but is a traffic activator that has the ability to turn on the traffic receiver in Garmin models that have a built in traffic receiver. I own Garmin Drivesmart models 50 LMTHD and 51LMTHD and can only speak to those specific models.

1. Removing the Cigarette lighter end of the TA10 power cord and connecting a USB type A plug in its place works perfectly (including traffic receiver activation) with all USB charging sources I tried.

2. Cutting open the Garmin USB Mini B plug I discovered a small circuit board with a single surface mount resistor marked "24C" (17.4K) that connects ID pin 4 to the shell of the connector (not to GND). The VCC and GND pins of the Mini B plug are isolated from the shell and all other pins. Data Pins 2 and 3 are connected together on this small board. There are no Data wires going to the USB A connector.

3. I cut a standard USB A cable to about 9 inches and soldered the Red and Black leads to VCC and GND of the Garmin Mini B plug respectively. Again this works perfectly for charging, traffic and navigation.

4. Why a 9" cord? I Modified an old rechargeable battery pack by adding 4 stick-on silicone rubber feet and several coats of clear lacquer on the solar panel so the Garmin suction mount would hold. I now have a portable GPS with active traffic that sits firmly on the dashboard and navigates for over 8 hours.

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