Yes. You should have it power on only when either running or ignition. You want to use the wire you find as the "signal" wire on a relay and have the relay get power directly from the battery (or a secondary fuse box if you have one). I'm assuming it is a wireless fast charger, if not, you might want to rethink using this charger and getting a fast charger. Without fast charging using GPS will still eat up the battery (just slower with slow charging).

I have an expensive setup, but it is the best... Hondo Garage has the wireless fast charger, and the mount that protects your camera (another thing you want to be careful of). Hard mounting your phone to your bike will eventually destroy a part of your camera (Apple actually has a warning, that this isn't covered under warranty).

My setup, notice the 4 wire mounts, they prevent micro-vibrations from making their way to the phone:

Juiced Squeeze - Wireless Charge Mount (hondogarage.com)
Buzz-Kill Vibration Isolator (hondogarage.com)

 

That’s a nice looking mount. And I had no idea about the vibration killing the phone. Thanks for the post!

 

Yeah, you MAY get by on inline 4's, maybe even boxer engines, but with V-Twins, the vibrations are bad for the optical stabilization. You may find it hard to focus the camera after the damage occurs.

 

A 6-circuit fuseblock off the battery then to your charger would be the safest. I have a handlebar-mount Kuryaykn power point, basically a cigarette lighter socket, that I can plug my satellite XM adapter into, or one of those USB charger stubs.

 

Would that keep the charger powered up all the time?

 

As long as you powered the fuse block from a relay that was only powered by ignition it would.

 

I think what he is asking is if that solution would cause his charger to be powered even with ignition switched off.

Reformed, what you would be doing is setting up a fused line directly from the battery or an added auxiliary fuse block. This line would be constantly powered but you would run it to a 12V relay connected to the normally open contact. The Normally closed contact would then go to power your charger. Then you would connect the relay coil to a ground on the ground contact and the 12V in contact would go to a power source that is switched on when your ignition is turned on.

The point to using the relay is to be able to switch the power to your charger on with the ignition but not draw too much power from the switched source line you use. The relay will not draw much power and so not cause any problems with low voltage on the switched circuit.

 

So, is this the type of relay I need?

 

Hard to tell from pictures alone. What you need will be referred to as a “single-pole, single-throw, normally open, 12 V direct current relay” or “SPST NO 12VDC”. A SPDT will work but leave you with an unused terminal that is the normally-closed (NC) post. The NO vs NC tells you what the relay does without power, so you want an open circuit when the key is off. Beware the 12 VAC relay, they exist but are NOT what you want. There will be a second number that will tell you how much the other side can handle that will almost always be bigger than you need and may even list AC voltage. All you are worried about is the coil voltage.

 

 

I will over explain, in case all the words getting thrown out are foreign. Forgive me if you already knew this.

what should I hook the positive wire to so the charger only has power with the key on.

This is what a relay does. There is a “signal” line that tells you the key is on, but that will not support a charger. You use the signal to “flip a switch” in the relay that connects the charger to the battery. Note that this is not strictly necessary, since parasitic drain by the charger is likely low and I doubt you leave your phone on the bike when it is sitting. I just installed heated hand grips without a relay, so if I am dumb enough to leave them on I have to be strong enough to push start my X. Life choices… Not a bad idea, but not required. Example:Quad Lock Waterproof 12V to USB Smart Adaptor for Motorcycles, Boats, caravans https://a.co/d/7aA02M3

I do NOT want to fry my electronics……

This is what the fuse box is for. Good chance the charger came with an inline blade fuse built into the wire, or a cartridge fuse in the head. Look for this:

If not, you need one to prevent a short from frying your system. Also, as stated above, do not connect the charger directly to the signal line, that may fry some stuff.

 

If you do get a fast charger like I have, I would not wire it to be live all the time. It will kill your battery. A slow charger may not, but again, I still wouldn't do it without a relay that powers off when the ignition is off (or a manual switch).

 

It might sound intimidating to wire in a relay but once you see it and have an understanding of how the relay works it is not bad at all. There are plenty of web articles and videos on wiring a relay for motorcycles so that you can get an understanding of how it all works and I am sure people here can answer questions when you get started.
Take a look at this video.

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Thanks for the help fellas. I’m gonna give it a shot with the quick charger and vibration isolating mount JPT has.

 

You won’t go wrong with this setup.

One thing I learned after using my setup, once the mount is properly adjusted for the width of your phone, you do not need to adjust it to take the phone out, you slide the phone in and out. I was annoyed thinking you had to adjust it each time you put the phone in and take it out. It holds it in place Once adjusted.