Car charger??? - reading in USB charge mode, not AC

psufan5

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Jan 11, 2011
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Anyone have a car charger for this phone that will read as an AC charge, and thus, actually charge in the car?? If so, which one etc?

Thank you.
 

PetiePal

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Jan 28, 2012
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I always have my phone charging in the car and with the battery life on the SGN not being AMAZING I tend to keep a spare wall charger on me as well. When I realized my 1-port USB cigarette lighter charger in the car was not charging the SGN faster than it drained, (even with the screen off), I started doing some research. I found that my charger was only rated as 500ma out and not the full 1amp needed.

I purchased the Griffin Powerduo Micro combo, which comes with a dual port cigarette lighter AND a 1-port AC wall block with retractable prongs. It was guaranteed to be rated for 1amp out for both devices, and BOTh ports on the car charger would be 1 Amp not 500 per. (I confirmed this with their tech support) When I received it both showed my phone charging as USB power and still way too slow. Apparently the SGN has an issue detecting the voltage from powerblocks sometimes and will default to the lower "safer" voltage.

I ordered some of these shorted data-pin cables, a few weeks back and just received them today. I tested out both Griffin products and they both show as full AC charging now. They can't be used for data transfer with a PC of course but this is a really valuable piece of information for anyone out there that a $4 cable can solve the issue.

I'm really confused though why the data-enabled Samsung cable that came with the phone will charge with THEIR powerblock as full AC but again only half voltage with the Griffin or other blocks.

Here's the thread I started that brought the whole thing up:

The Best Chargers I've Found To Date for My SGN - Android Forums
 
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moelsen

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Mar 11, 2011
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I always have my phone charging in the car and with the battery life on the SGN not being AMAZING I tend to keep a spare wall charger on me as well. When I realized my 1-port USB cigarette lighter charger in the car was not charging the SGN faster than it drained, (even with the screen off), I started doing some research. I found that my charger was only rated as 500ma out and not the full 1amp needed.

I purchased the Griffin Powerduo Micro combo, which comes with a dual port cigarette lighter AND a 1-port AC wall block with retractable prongs. It was guaranteed to be rated for 1amp out for both devices, and BOTh ports on the car charger would be 1 Amp not 500 per. (I confirmed this with their tech support) When I received it both showed my phone charging as USB power and still way too slow. Apparently the SGN has an issue detecting the voltage from powerblocks sometimes and will default to the lower "safer" voltage.

I ordered some of these shorted data-pin cables, a few weeks back and just received them today. I tested out both Griffin products and they both show as full AC charging now. They can't be used for data transfer with a PC of course but this is a really valuable piece of information for anyone out there that a $4 cable can solve the issue.

I'm really confused though why the data-enabled Samsung cable that came with the phone will charge with THEIR powerblock as full AC but again only half voltage with the Griffin or other blocks.

Here's the thread I started that brought the whole thing up:

The Best Chargers I've Found To Date for My SGN - Android Forums
you're a life saver. just wasted a few hours of my life trying to figure out this car charging in usb mode crap. it really sucks not knowing whether one the dual usb chargers i'm looking at will charge my phone in AC mode.. there's really not enough information out there. i just ordered two of those cables.. hope they work! if so, what an easy, quick solution.
 

LabRat

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I'm really confused though why the data-enabled Samsung cable that came with the phone will charge with THEIR powerblock as full AC but again only half voltage with the Griffin or other blocks.


Because the data pins are shorted in the power Samsung block.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
 

NRA_Bear

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Jul 22, 2011
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I bought this one and it works like a champ. The data pins are shorted properly and it shows up as charging in AC. More than enough to run Google Car Home with screen on, Slacker over bluetooth, and still increase the battery's charge. 1000mA Car Cigarette Powered USB Adapter/Charger (DC 12V/24V) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

The only unfortunate part is the couple of weeks it takes for it to show up. Best couple of bucks I've spent recently. If you need micro-USB cables, monoprice.com has them cheap.
 

Spoon

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I'm using the bullet two usb port type in the car. All data usb cable will read as USB charge on my Thunderbolt and Nexus.

My verizon car charger with the attach coiled wire reads as AC.

I took a couple monoprice usb data cable, cut the cord to expose the wiring. 4 wires are present: black, red, green, and white. I reconnected the black and red then took the green and white and connect it to each other on the micro usb side ( since i cut the cord in half ) and left the standard usb side disconnected. Plugged it into the bullet two usb port and reads as AC. Tested it on the VZW car charger on the usb port and reads as AC as well.

So theory is that doenst matter the car charger, if it's a built in wire, it will have the data leads shorted so your phone will read AC. If it's a usb type, you'll need to modify your usb cable or buy a charge only type usb. I find buying regular usb type cable more practical ( easier to find and cheaper ) and modify the cable.