Best car charger for Nexus?

[MrLorence]

Was having the same issues with not keeping up while using Nav...bought the Verizon car charger with USB plug in on it...working fine

 

[Rockn]

I got the dual charger from Verizon, micro and regular USB and it seems to work fine on the Nexus with Nav and an Internet radio station on 4G. Kept up with the battery use for a 120 mile trip, stayed at about 75% start to end. Read the reviews on Verizons website, wow - people are all over the place with their satisfaction on this charger! No mention of its specs. It is $10 off right now, so that makes it $19.

I wonder if the electrical system in your car is relevant to how much performance you can expect out of these chargers? My truck came with the accessory charging outlet next to the cigarette lighter but its on a separate circuit with its own fuse. It also has a 225amp alternator and a power converter in the back for 110v. So if your car has some aftermarket sound system that sucks all the juice out of your alternator or you have a cheapy econobox that was spec'd marginally to begin with, maybe the cigarette lighter circuit (which has your radio, dash lights, courtesy lights, etc ) cannot push the juice to charge your phone?

 

[Stinkpickle]

Moto rapid charger all the way! Got one with my DROID X car mount, works well.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[lifespeed757]

I got the dual charger from Verizon, micro and regular USB and it seems to work fine on the Nexus with Nav and an Internet radio station on 4G. Kept up with the battery use for a 120 mile trip, stayed at about 75% start to end.

To me that is an underpowered charger. Should have quickly charged to 100% even with the screen/nav on. We need specs here, people, not just "my charger works". Also check in settings/about phone while plugged in and confirm the car adapter is recognized as "AC charge", as opposed to the weaker USB charge.

My original N1 car adapter is rated at 2A and charges the phone quickly. Shows as AC charge. But I don't yet have a car dock so haven't tried to charge with nav.

 

[Rockn]

To me that is an underpowered charger. Should have quickly charged to 100% even with the screen/nav on. We need specs here, people, not just "my charger works". Also check in settings/about phone while plugged in and confirm the car adapter is recognized as "AC charge", as opposed to the weaker USB charge.

My original N1 car adapter is rated at 2A and charges the phone quickly. Shows as AC charge. But I don't yet have a car dock so haven't tried to charge with nav.

Maybe, forgot to mention I had Bluetooth on driving the internet radio to the car stereo - seems like a lot of juicy apps running at once to me, and I was satisfied with breaking even. Should I expect more? Agreed, we need specs.

 

[lifespeed757]

Should I expect more?

Probably. Unless their is some odd internal electrical limitation where the phone cannot charge the battery at the same time it supplies full power to it's own circuitry (and this would be an odd limitation, but anything is possible) not adding charge while on a charger could mean a couple things:

1) The charger can't supply enough current. Some chargers this is clearly the case, others it would seem it shouldn't be. I think 2 amps should be plenty, and 3 amps more than enough. If your phone was drawing 2 amps from an 1850mAh battery it would be dead in less than one hour. Seeing that this doesn't happen, a 2 amp charger is probably enough. Although 3 is probably good for charging margin.

2) The resistor from D+ to D- in the USB port is somehow telling the phone it can't supply enough curent. Thought all this did was tell it AC or USB, with AC being "unlimited". Unless the phone is somehow imposing an arbitrary current draw limit.

This does raise the question of phone-charger interaction. We already know about the D+/- resistor. Does the phone also look for voltage drop at the USB power pins as an indication of insufficient capacity and limit the current draw? Does it arbitrarily limit it to a fixed value "just in case"? Things like this would limit charging effectiveness outside of a decent charger.

 

[MrLorence]

Moto rapid charger all the way! Got one with my DROID X car mount, works well.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Had this one and it wasn't working on my nexus

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[DLCPhototography]

I have a new Verizon Galaxy Nexus, and need a car charger. I've been reading this and other threads, and have a few data points:

The official Verizon car charger, when connected directly to my SGN is shown charging as "AC" as it should. Things get complicated when the accessory USB plug is used:

With the USB cable from my wife's previous LV Env Touch, my phone does not show any charging connection whatsoever.

With a cable I just bought from Monoprice (this one), for $.96, my Nexus does show a charger present, but as "USB" and not "AC".

When I use this same Monoprice cable with the Verizon AC Wall Plug that came with it, My Nexus again shows "AC" so the cable is fine, and capable of delivering the proper connections and power.


Bottom line - you do need the right cable, and the right charger. Verizon's definitely delivers what is needed on the primary connection, but the secondary one apparently functions differently.

I'd get the Verizon one, but I don't like the 'curled' cord - I have to route it across the dash area to where my vent mount is placed, and need a regular cord. Guess I'll just have to buy and try, and see which ones function properly.

Hope this of help to others trying to resolve all of this.

 

[Rockn]

Probably. Unless their is some odd internal electrical limitation where the phone cannot charge the battery at the same time it supplies full power to it's own circuitry (and this would be an odd limitation, but anything is possible) not adding charge while on a charger could mean a couple things:

1) The charger can't supply enough current. Some chargers this is clearly the case, others it would seem it shouldn't be. I think 2 amps should be plenty, and 3 amps more than enough. If your phone was drawing 2 amps from an 1850mAh battery it would be dead in less than one hour. Seeing that this doesn't happen, a 2 amp charger is probably enough. Although 3 is probably good for charging margin.

2) The resistor from D+ to D- in the USB port is somehow telling the phone it can't supply enough curent. Thought all this did was tell it AC or USB, with AC being "unlimited". Unless the phone is somehow imposing an arbitrary current draw limit.

This does raise the question of phone-charger interaction. We already know about the D+/- resistor. Does the phone also look for voltage drop at the USB power pins as an indication of insufficient capacity and limit the current draw? Does it arbitrarily limit it to a fixed value "just in case"? Things like this would limit charging effectiveness outside of a decent charger.

Made the same trip yesterday and watched the charger and phone more closely - frequently the charger was working itself loose in the socket! I did note that the Nexus reported A/C charging and since I watched for the little red LED on the charger to go out, I arrived at my destination fully charged (to 97% which is as good as it ever gets from 10% at start of the trip) while running Nav, Bluetooth and an Internet radio station on 4G for almost two hours.

 

[KoukiFC3S]

So it looks like if the phone shows that it's charging as AC power, then it's getting the full 1A+ of the car charger.

I just checked my tunelink 2A charger, and its charging status is USB. That means it's only getting 500ma of charging power from the 2A. No wonder it doesn't keep up.

I'm gonna try a few more USB cables, and see if I can find a good one that will let me take advantage of the full power.

 

[Nakrohtap]

Absolutely agree. I bought three of these for the three Samsung Fascinates my wife, daughter and I have had up until now and they work great! High output (4.75-5.25V 950mA) and no issues. And, inexpensive!

I have been using these for years. They are cheap, and they work very good and don't destroy your battery like some car chargers will. Also it has a nice blue glow. Give it a shot it's less than 5 bucks.

Amazon.com: Motorola Vehicle Power Adapter micro-USB Rapid Rate Charger: Cell Phones & Accessories

I have been using this one since I bought my OG Droid. It seems to charge pretty good still with the Nexus. However, the only thing I do not like about this charger is the connection. You don't get the nice snug fit you get with the OEM Nexus wall charger. The Moto charger connector seems to wobble a little once it's used often. This tends to not charge the phone if the cable is moved slightly.
Since I haven't really found another car charger in this price range with enough juice to charge the Nexus, I will probably just fork out another $5 for another one.

 

[Small_law]

I just traveled about two hours in the car, streaming audio over bluetooth and going in and out of 4G/3G reception. Incase's usb car charger, the one designed to charge an iPad, got me from 87% to 100% during the trip. It worked just fine with a usb to micro usb cable instead of the 30-pin Apple cable. Now whether it also works with navigation running in purely 4G territory is another thing entirely.

 

[matt91]

I'm gonna try a few more USB cables, and see if I can find a good one that will let me take advantage of the full power.

I just ordered a "charging only" micro usb cable. I have heard of some better reports using those. will see how it goes.

 

[CarryMe]

Does anyone know much about the VZW charger? I think it is 2.1 amps. Does anyone know for sure?

 

[Rockn]

Since it is so hard to find the specs for the VZW charger I have, I am beginning to suspect that they vary from production to production coming out of China. They won't state the specs because they change all the time. Having said that, I think I have one from VZW with the 2 ports that matches the Nexus, or at least close enough that it meets my needs. If it fails someday, I will do a lot more research and buy one that guarantees the specs meet the Nexus with a 2140MhA battery, no matter who makes it.

 

[omniphil]

Its probably also worth noting that some phones will disable charging if the battery gets too hot as a way to keep the battery living a long happy life. Excessive heat will lead to premature battery failure.

If your running Navigation your probably draining the battery pretty good and that will heat the battery up, so depending on the interior car temp, it might be getting too hot while draining and charging and the charging might get disabled until the temps are low enough.

 

[Aguaski]

I use a vent mount universal cradle when I am charging and running GPS. This setup works great in the summer when I have the air conditioning blowing on the phone. I can easily reach a full charge. The setup is a disaster in the winter with heat coming out of the vents making the phone get too hot and drain the battery quicker than it is charging. The internal car temperature, and your ability to locate your phone in a location that keeps it cool, will play a huge role in how easy it is to charge your phone.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[triton.]

Has anyone tried the "AmazonBasics" 2 amp charger?

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU1527459

 

[dmmarck]

I've been using a Rocketfish (I believe ~650mA) that I picked up at Best Buy. Obviously, it can't really keep up under any normal usage. I turn off all networks if I can. Will be looking to get a new one ASAP.

 

[DLCPhototography]

Has anyone tried the "AmazonBasics" 2 amp charger?

Amazon.com: AmazonBasics 2-Port USB Car Charger with 2.1 Amp Output (Black): MP3 Players & Accessories

I haven't, but according to This Review, it won't be any different from the others. In particular, check out a few of the comments on that Review. It also states that without the soldering, any of these stand-alone chargers will be seen as "USB" and not draw the current to be seen as "AC".