High Power 2m Micro USB Cable for in car charging ?

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Marzipanogram

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Can anyone recommend a 2m Micro USB cable to charge a Galaxy S4 whist in car ?

The supplied Samsung cable chargers at 1900 mA according to "Galaxy Charging Current Lite".
But, my current 2m cable only charges at 660 (which doesn't do much if I use a Sat/Nav).


Thank you.
 
The cable has little bearing in charging rates iirc, it's the 12v USB adaptor which would control the current. Then just use a decent USB cable

Google high power usb car charger for lots of options
 
Just becuase the plug can output so and so, it doesn't mean the device will actually draw that ampage. It will only draw what it can handle. Wire will do nothing.

As for why the S4 is only drawing that much... maybe it doesn't like the car adapter that much?
 
seem to remember reading somewhere there is a difference between charging cables and normal usb leads something to do with the data lines iirc
 
Yes, I have a 2amp usb ciggie plug charger and will only charge at USB rate which isn't all that good if you're streaming music and sat nav on the go. This would be no matter what usb lead I used. I read that it's possible to mod the middle two connections (of 4) by shorting them with some solder. The middle two are data and supposed to be not required for charging. So opened up the plug and soldered the two pins. Reassembled and plugged in and phone now charges 'AC' and of course charges phone a lot faster. If you google usb car charger mod or similar you'll find some how toos.
 
There is also a Motorola car charger shaped like a spoon (sort of) and the transparant end glows blue when plugged in. Has a coiled lead maybe not 2m though and does charge any phone I've plugged into it at A/C rate. Sticks out of power socket by about 3" though. Is micro usb of course.
 
Richy888 said:
Yes, I have a 2amp usb ciggie plug charger and will only charge at USB rate which isn't all that good if you're streaming music and sat nav on the go. This would be no matter what usb lead I used. I read that it's possible to mod the middle two connections (of 4) by shorting them with some solder. The middle two are data and supposed to be not required for charging. So opened up the plug and soldered the two pins. Reassembled and plugged in and phone now charges 'AC' and of course charges phone a lot faster. If you google usb car charger mod or similar you'll find some how toos.
Click to expand...
There no need to mod any cables..

My S4 was showing 1520mA by "Galaxy Charging Current" yesterday with my plugin USB car charger using just an old standard HTC micro USB cable..;)


OP: why do you need such a long 2m cable in a car ?? :confused:
 
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chaparral said:
OP: why do you need such a long 2m cable in a car ?? :confused:
Click to expand...

1936cadillacstretchlimo.jpg
 
Thank you for the replies and info :)

I timed mains charging (0% to 100%) using the Samsung cable a few days ago, it took around 120 mins.
I've just timed it again from 0% to 100% using the 2m cable and it took 150 mins, a 25% increase in time.

Why do I need a long cable ?
I plug it in on the centre console, feed the cable underneath the floor mat and up the side of the door to the side window.
 
I never realised until recently that chargers would charge at different rates... my Blackberry playbook charger is miles quicker than anything else, but you can certainly feel the heat it puts into the battery!
 
faze2 said:
seem to remember reading somewhere there is a difference between charging cables and normal usb leads something to do with the data lines iirc
Click to expand...

Yes you are correct.
If the DATA lines are not pulled low/shorted then android detects this and assumes it's plugged into a PC and will only draw the 500mA limit of USB/USB2.

Most charging cables/USB Mains chargers have the DATA lines shorted so the phone will draw whatever the adapter can supply or the phone charge circuit maximum.
 
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Awesomes, thank you all very much :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Blocking the data pins gives me full charging power on the 2m cable.

To test it, I placed a tiny strip of paper over the 2 centre pins.
This could be held in place by cellotape around the exterior of the USB casing if needed, I guess. If you didn't want to remove the pins.
 
chaparral said:
There no need to mod any cables..

My S4 was showing 1520mA by "Galaxy Charging Current" yesterday with my plugin USB car charger using just an old standard HTC micro USB cable..;)
Click to expand...

Agreed, no need to mod the cable. I modded the charger itself by shorting the two middle data pins on the charger PSB with a small amount of solder. Now charges my Motorola phone at the full AC rate rather than the lower USB mode it used to do. It was the same with my previous HTC phone in that it would only charge at USB rate - which is quite a bit slower.

The charger is one of those that sits flush in the power outlet socket and rated at 2amps. I also had a Motorola charger that would charge at AC rate and thus faster but stuck out by maybe 3 inches and was close to gear lever, occasionally catching it with my hand.
 
C.R.A.Z.Y said:
Yes you are correct.
If the DATA lines are not pulled low/shorted then android detects this and assumes it's plugged into a PC and will only draw the 500mA limit of USB/USB2.

Most charging cables/USB Mains chargers have the DATA lines shorted so the phone will draw whatever the adapter can supply or the phone charge circuit maximum.
Click to expand...

There's no need to do this for phones running Android 4.2 ;)
 
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