Help please. Iphone GPS will not work while charging

Lplatebuggier · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 21

Hi,
I have a 32gig 3GS which is Jailbroken. I am running Navigon. I run this through my dedicated ipod Alpine head unit in my car. When I plug the iphone into my head unit it will not charge so I use one of those small in line bridging connectors that bridges the usb to firewire pins to enable charging whilst connected to my Alpine unit. The problem I have is that when I have this connector on I cannot get a GPS signal. If I connect to my Alpine without the in line connector the gps works fine. Obviously this is no use as it drains the battery in no time. Does anyone else have a problem with GPS fix whilst charging in car?
Cheers, Rich

nashmills · Regular Visitor Joined: Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 131

Up until a couple of months ago I had a similar set up using an Alpine head unit. The iPod cable that connected to the Alpine used to charge the iPhone ok and I had no problems with gps. However I subsequently sold the Alpine and replaced it with Sony bluetooth unit which I much prefer.

Darren · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:00 pm Post subject:

That's a very odd issue. Unless there is some very specific local noise being generated by the charge adapter I can think of no other reason why it would/could block the GPS signal Confused

Where does bridging connector fit? Is it at the 30-way connector or the other end (which I assume is USB?) ?
_________________
Darren Griffin

mikealder · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:46 pm Post subject:

Isn't the iPhone rather "picky" over the voltage/ current levels and if the charger doesn't conform to the USB port standards (5V/ 500mA) then it refuses to use it? - I seem to remember having a couple of issues charging mine in the car related to the 5V 500mA but never had a charger lead knock out the GPS - Mike

Darren · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:50 pm Post subject:

It can be fussy but more often it's simply the USB/Firewire pin issue but as you say, hard to imagine even the cheapest Far East charger being able to knock out GPS Confused

_________________
Darren Griffin

Lplatebuggier · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 21

Hi,
Little update. The connector I use is this one http://cablejive.com/charge-converter
It was one of the first one's that came out.
Anyhow I have tried it with my Motion X GPS app as well and that also would not get a gps lock. As soon as I took the charge convertor out and went direct to the head unit it works fine. On the plus side when I have the charge convertor in, it charges the iphone and the Alpine head unit controls the iphone with no issue.
I have now also tried a couple of stand alone chargers and gps works fine. So it must be this charge convertor.
I have just ordered the Griffin one from Apple. http://store.apple.com/uk/product/TW126ZM/A Hopefully the Griffin one will work fine with Griffin being a bit more reputable at this sort of thing. Should be here in a couple of days so i'll report back.
Cheers, Rich

MaFt · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:39 pm Post subject:

i wonder if it's something along the lines of an 'iffy' (or wrong?' connection that is making the iphone think it's connected to a dock like the tomtom one that provides a gps signal - thus telling the iphone to turn off it's own gps chip?

total speculation though...

DennisN · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 11:01 pm Post subject:

mikealder · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 11:42 pm Post subject:

Why can you not detect from a phone call that you are talking to a muppet! - The TomTom car kit has an integral GPS receiver, if the TT employee manning the phone support line doesn't know this they are stupid - I would have pointed this out and asked for someone else to be honest.
One question though - did you have the vehicles ignition switched on, as the car kit doesn't function at all unless it has power applied to it from the car - Mike

DennisN · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:02 am Post subject:

It's alright for you to talk, you know about Muppets. I'm just a gullible old person.

Better than sitting outside in the van, I have a mains powered cigar lighter adapter (came with the car fridge) and last week when I first started on TT, they got rid of me instantly by saying plug it into the car and switch on and reset and re-pair and everything that I couldn't do whilst they were hanging on the phone. I wuz ready for them this time, with it plugged in and powered up - it (the original one which went back for repair/replacement) worked perfectly in this adapter last week, so it had power OK. It's in a UPS box right now though and they've got my details for a refund. I'll send off for another tomorrow. Only problem I've got right now is they've sent me an XLS attachment which I can't read until I can remember my passwords and login ID for Virgin mail on my MACBook which is the only place I have MS Excel.
_________________
Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

Lplatebuggier · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 21

Hi,
Got my Griffin charge convertor today. I have also updated Navigon to 1.5. Plugged in this evening and it got a gps fix. Encouraging I thought. Put a local address in and went for a drive. Almost immediately I kept loosing gps signal and it all kept lagging behind. It is better than before but pretty unusable tbh.
I decided to take the charge convertor out and just use it connected directly to my Alpine head unit. It only worked marginally better if at all. The location on the map is constantly about 10-20 yards behind where I am. And when I stop at a junction then start again the position on screen takes about 10 secs to start up again. Also does this when I slow down for corners then speed back up again. Also when driving along the dual carriage way I was shown in the fields about 20-30 yards to the left of me. Very infuriating. Not happy with Navigon tbh at the moment.
I am thinking of getting a refund on Navigon as I also have the USA version as I am off there in a couple of months. Don't need this unreliability over there.
Or as an alternative is it worth investing in the tomtom gps cradle? Will this boost the gps signal enough to make Navigon run better?
Or my last port of call is to stop my Jailbreak and go to original software. But I have my iphone running so nice through jailbreak I really do not want to do this.
Any thoughts please.
Cheers, Rich

Lplatebuggier · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 21

Hi,
Small update. I ran Navigon this afternoon purely on it's own not plugged into anything. Navigon ran perfectly. As soon as I plug it into my Alpine unit I get flakey gps fix. Couple of other things I have noticed today when plugged into my Alpine head unit. I turned the volume up a little on the head unit and I get that buzzing sound through the speakers. I am sure I never got this on my 3g iphone. Also if I fire up the Motion X gps app I sometimes get an error on screen saying there is interference and the compass feature won't work. Seems like the head unit may have to go. For reference the head unit is an Alpine IDA-X300.
Cheers, Rich

Lplatebuggier · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 21

Hi,
Just thought I'd resurrect this as I am still having no joy with this Navigon.
I stated above that Navigon worked fine when not plugged into my Alpine Head unit. It did on that short test trip but definitely no longer does.
Last night I completely reset and wiped my iphone which was jailbroken and have completely re-instated the iphone to factory settings through Itunes to try to eliminate jailbreak as an issue.
I have also put one of those snap on ferrite cores onto the cable at the end nearest the head unit to try and get rid of the buzzing interference noise you get through speakers from phones. This did not work and I still get that buzzing every now and again. I have pretty much given up on the head unit side of things and just get Navigon working on a standalone iphone.
Today after my fresh install of my iphone os un jailbroken I put the iphone in it's cradle in the windscreen and put in a destination. Within about 3 miles of leaving home my position was showing in the field next to the road I was going along. Then within a minute or 2 more the info bar at the top of the screen went red and was showing the gps accuracy out. I pulled over and out came my faithful Garmin and started using that. I left the iphone in it's cradle and ran my Motion X gps app. Again not plugged in to anything. Just iphone in the cradle in the windscreen. This tracked my route as I drove perfectly. Never any loss of signal.
So what gives. Why on earth won't my Navigon hold a gps fix? I'm lost. What are others finding with this app? Does it stay locked on for you guys 100% of the time? I know my phone is fine due to Motion X working.
Sorry for the long post. Any help greatly appreciated.
Cheers, Rich

mikealder · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:48 pm Post subject:

Rich, what are you plugging in to the Alpine head unit is it the audio out cable from the iPhone?

If it is you sound (excuse the pun) to be suffering from something called Ground Loop Interference (GLI), I would try fitting a Ground Loop Issolator in line between the car deck and the iPhone as the GLI could be causing problems for the iPhone although again I have never experianced GLI knocking out a GPS receiver, Maplins or e-bay are a good source for the issolator - Mike

Lplatebuggier · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 21

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