Super Cheap (less than $1) +5v (USB) Accessory Mod

Heya, had my xj for about a month and was sick of swapping the AA cells in my Garmin GPS. Ive monkeyed a bit with low voltage electronics in the past so i knew about these LM7805 voltage regulators which are the size of a dime, and nearly the same price. The regulator drops 12v input to 5v 1A output suitable for powering any USB device, such as my garmin 60csx.

LM7805 Voltage Regulator -- $0.68 -- Mouser Part #: 512-LM7805CT

Heat Sink -- $0.24 -- Mouser Part #: 532-577102B00

I tied into the headlight circuit, after the relay but before the high-low switch (the blue/black wire on my xj650j). The LM7805 regulator drops 12v input to 5v 1A output suitable for powering any USB device, such as my garmin handheld.



If a person wanted to get fancy they could skip tapping into the headlight circuit and install a new 1 Amp fused & switched circuit from the battery to the lm7805, but imo thats excessive as the regulator has very little draw and the headlight relay will act as an automatic on/off switch for your usb devices.

Ill post some photos when i get a chance, but for now check this xj650 PDF wiring diagram i drew up too. Item 22 is the headlight relay, and items 65 & 66 are the LM7805 and GPS unit.

XJ650 Wiring Diagram (Modded)

 

Re: super cheap 5v usb accessory mod

If ya like messin' with lectronics I guess that might work, this is the KISS method I used and works great...
Installed a weatherproof lighter inside my fairing...



then I got a USB power adapter...



I can power two usb items at once with this setup. Works great! I even installed one on my 750 ACE behind one of the side covers...You can get this setup in some pretty tight spaces

I have about $20 into the whole setup...not super cheap, but cheap (and easy) enough for me.

 

Re: super cheap 5v usb accessory mod

heres a closeup wiring diagram for adding the LM7805 for +5v (USB) accessories



And here are photos of my install...

here you see the GPS and the on/off toggle switch I installed to bypass the headlight relay (the switch (not pictured in the diagram above) isnt necessary, but i was having trouble with my headlight before swapping for a halogen kit so i put in an inline switch in place of the relay) Worst case if the relay fries I have the inline switch in place to bypass in the future.


view of the main switch bezel, with the LM7805 regulator and heat sink hot glued in place.


Here the white wire (under the left fender (xj650j) & ziptied/solderd to the blue/black wire on he headlight relay plug) is what I fed up to the LM7805, tied into the blue/black headlight circuit... provided your headlight relay is good, this will feed +12v to pin 1 on your lm7805, once the engine fires.


Here it is (slightly blurry) but you can see the gps is operating under USB power, with the backlight ON and the external power indicator (upper left of gps screen) ON.


Let me know if you have questions.. happy to help anyone interested in this super easy / super cheap (<$1) mod