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Locating GPS Power Plug on 2008 RT

ExGMan

Active member
I tried searching on this topic, but can't seem to get the information. I've heard that there's a GPS power plug taped to the frame somewhere near the steering head on my 2008 RT. I found the plug for the horns taped to the frame when I installed the new horns...but I can't seem to find another plug. Can anyone give me some guidance on this?

TIA
 
It's out there somewhere...I searched the Hexhead forum and only found this quote :


"I went looking for the GPS plug on my '05 RT yesterday. Mine was taped to the harness on the right side of the steering head. I found it after reading all the posts about it being on the left side and removing the left side plastics"
 
Thanks to everyone for reading this. I went rooting around in there, and once I knew what I was looking for, I found it without a problem. It was really obvious with three wires into it...brown (ground), white/red (power) and blue (speed pulse).

Thanks for the help.

JG:dance:dance
 
I found the reference to the blue wire going into the back of the plug in another forum. In the application I plan for the plug, I'm going to use a BMW OEM part Accessory Front Power Take Off Connector (e.g for a GPS) - 83 30 0 413 585

This part plugs into the GPS accessory outlet (which I just located on the bike). It also has three wires, but all are yellow. Just reading about others' experiences, it looks like in my case (Garmin 2820) I'll just have to identify the ground wire and the 12v wire, and solder those two onto the appropriate wires matching the outputs (brown and red/white) from the plug.

The OEM part is a $22 item. Some have suggested just clipping the GPS plug on the bike, and soldering directly to the brown and red/white wires. The blue (speed pulse) is used in some GPS applications, but apparently not in the 2820.

Either way, it frees up the accessory plug on my RT for other duties.

I hope this is helpful.
 
OK, thanks.
I used the Garmin pig tail for my 28xx. Costs a bit more but I just wired it to the fuse block for simplicity. :usa
Rubber down!
 
Not to hijack, but speed pluse? Clarification please,
Thanks!

Rubber down!

Rich,

The speed-pulse wire allows the Navigator units to mathematically approximate your location based on the distance-traveled/time-elapsed during a period when a GPS signal is absent. This is most useful in tunnels, under a heavy tree canopy, etc.
 
Thanks Theo, I'll keep that in mind if I ever need that option. But will it work with non-Navigator types?
Rubber down! :usa
 
I simply had my sales person show me. I ordered the ready wired plug from BMW (they do not like to do this) to make the connection. No splicing was needed.

Jack
 
Thanks Theo, I'll keep that in mind if I ever need that option. But will it work with non-Navigator types?
Rubber down! :usa

Very few. In fact, I can't think of one other than BMW's Navigator. I'm sure they must be out there, though.
 
Last edited:
Forgot to add that my GPS is a Zumo 550. BMW also sells them for twice the price. If you order the direct plug you simply plug one end in the GPS and the other end into the (hard to find) plug. No splicing or wiring involved and power is then turned on and off by the ignition key. GPS will shut down then after a few seconds delay.

Jack
 
Jack, What do you mean by...

Forgot to add that my GPS is a Zumo 550. BMW also sells them for twice the price. If you order the direct plug you simply plug one end in the GPS and the other end into the (hard to find) plug. No splicing or wiring involved and power is then turned on and off by the ignition key. GPS will shut down then after a few seconds delay.

Jack

If you order the direct plug you simply plug one end in the GPS and the other end into the (hard to find) plug.

What do you mean by direct plug? And are you suggesting you can buy this from BMW?
 
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