Starting today with something simple. - phone not charging in car
Background
I listen to a fair number of podcasts - they help to fill in the journey to and from work as an alternative to BBC Radio 4's Today and PM programmes. I also use the "Commute" function of the Here Drive app on my Lumia mobile to show me traffic problems on the route.
[Brief digression - the commute function is sort of like the regular SatNav function, except that as you know your route, it doesn't have a voice telling you which turn to take. It just shows you if part of your route is slow moving and the time it expects you to pitch up at work, or your own front door]
Anyhow, running the podcast on my mobile phone and the GPS/data for the Drive app over a period of 45 mins to an hour takes it out of the battery. So I rather rely on an in-car charge to put some electron oomph back into its battery. And on long journeys in-car charging is an absolute must.
Problem
The problem is that the phone stopped charging in the car. I did the obvious tests
- check the USB lead - plugged mobile into computer USB socket with it, charges no problem
- check the charger - I had bought a double pack (reasonable brand) off Amazon so I swopped one for the other. Still no charge.
- check for blown fuse - looked in car fusebox, pulled fuse, examined it for break, A-OK, put it back.
Which left me in the position that I knew the phone could charge and that electricity ought to be getting to the charger but that it wasn't. So I found another charger - with a indicator light on it. This was the one I used to use but as being quite large it got in the way of the heater controls. Didn't have to look far for it, it was still in the car (mental note - need to tidy car up)
Back to the point. Put the old charger in socket. The light came on. Then went out. So I wiggled it. And the light came on again. Then went out again. So the problem is somewhere in the socket.
The Solution
I took the ashtray/accessory socket out of the car. Two screws, a bit of wiggling and it came free of the console trim.
Took it inside and cleaned up exterior. Then looked to the socket itself. I'll add a couple of photos in a bit but it looks like the centre contact is dirty and preventing a good electrical connection.
Update: pic of the socket
Cleaning materials will be a cotton bud on a long stalk (sold for cleaning computers not ears) and some alcohol based cleaning solution (because it's to hand in the office - white board cleaner). This cleaner has a fair bit of Isoprapanol (Propan-2-ol is the proper name) which is what you used to get for cleaning tape heads on cassette recorders. It's as good or a bit better than ethanol as a solvent but will irritate the lungs, so like most things be careful you don't breathe it in.
I'm now off to clean the socket and test it in the car. At which point I'll continue this post. Or whatever.
[update]
Well here's the tip of the bud after running it over the centre contact. There was some rubbish on there. Though it remains to be seen if this was the cause.
One thing I know, it isn't the contacts to the wiring loom. Here they are - as bright and shiny as the day the socket was installed in the factory.
Now I really have to sort out rotation when I take the next pics.
[Update 24th March 2017]
I put the bit back in the car. Took me a little one longer than I expected. Because I made a schoolboy error and forgot the rule "replacement is the reverse order of removal". IE I put the console frame back first and expected to just push the ashtray down into it (you can see the hooking lugs in the pic above). But the edge of the ashtray goes under the heater controls of the vertical panel. So I had to undo the two screws again, pull the console back a bit, press the ashtray down, slide the console forward and refit the screws.
Then I just had to put the charger in, connect phone and turn ignition on.
It worked. Phone charging. A success.
Summary
- Time spent - less than an hour including time for cleaned bits to dry and a bit of extra cleaning of fluff from the console.
- Resources used - 1 Torx screwdriver, 5 ml of alcoholic cleaner, one cotton bud.
- Satisfaction level - 4, no expenditure, working as good as new
- Distraction level - made a good change from browsing internet during lunchtime in the office.
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