Hello all. This is my first post so I wanted to say thanks to everyone on this form it has always been such a good resource for all my gs related questions.
I am about to head off on a big trip from Torino, Italy to Lisbon, Portugal and am getting a few things prepared.

I ordered a 12v connection for my battery and a cigarette lighter usb adapter.
These are the items.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/390527031605?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/110905587610?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
The problem I have ran into is my usb adapters keep blowing up.
First time I tired I thought it was just my dodgy setup so I ordered new parts and tried again. 
Both times as soon as I connect the usb power outlet I get a pop then some smoke.
Any ideas what my issue could be?
Battery pumping out too much juice?
Do I need a specific sort of usb adapter?
Should I not be hooking this thing direct to the battery terminals?
Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Its AC cross over and over voltage - nothing you can do about it ... well there is - you can set up a variac with a 8v ac out set via internal electronic sensor and rectify it and cap it and regulate it and really make yourself 30,000 bucks and 40 lb worth of switching power supply ... trust me, I have the technology ...

Or you can be a man, and not have a USB port.

Cool.
Buddha.

Your device is designed to connect straight to the battery terminals, so I don't think that's an issue.  Is it possible that you "reversed" the connections to the battery?  I'm not sure what that would do, but it probably wouldn't be good. 

Step #9 on [this page] shows what I did to get the connections right for my "homemade" Accessory Power Outlet.  (Note that I didn't disclose which points on my adapter were positive and negative.  I left that as an exercise for the reader, just in case things are done differently in other countries, etc.)

As long as u have the polarity correct & it's connected to the battery i can't see how u could go wrong.
Connect something else to the socket & see if it works ok....if it does then the Nano must be the culprit(confirm Nano polarity)

Thanks for the responses! So most likely its gremlins?  Not sure if I understand the whole Nano polarity thing but it doesn't sound like there is a quick fix for that.
Im pretty keen to get this working as we are doing a 4000km (2485 miles) across Europe and plan to make a vlog of it on the way. (will upload here if anyone is interested http://www.youtube.com/user/regulardan/videos)
I think I will buy a few more cheap usb adapters and just do a bit of trial and error with wiring combinations. I will let you know how I go.
Thanks again for the help

Quote from: regulardan on June 27, 2013, 12:34:33 AM
Thanks for the responses! So most likely its gremlins?  Not sure if I understand the whole Nano polarity thing but it doesn't sound like there is a quick fix for that.
Im pretty keen to get this working as we are doing a 4000km (2485 miles) across Europe and plan to make a vlog of it on the way. (will upload here if anyone is interested http://www.youtube.com/user/regulardan/videos)
I think I will buy a few more cheap usb adapters and just do a bit of trial and error with wiring combinations. I will let you know how I go.
Thanks again for the help

I mean the centre button of the Nano is probably spring loaded & it is probably(probably) the active(+) part of the adapter.....the metal strip on the outside body would be negative.
Make sure your Cigarette Power Socket is wired the same & if u can't determine the Nano's polarity contact the seller.

You guys are such enablers ...
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: The Buddha on June 26, 2013, 12:30:00 PM
Its AC cross over and over voltage - nothing you can do about it ... well there is - you can set up a variac with a 8v ac out set via internal electronic sensor and rectify it and cap it and regulate it and really make yourself 30,000 bucks and 40 lb worth of switching power supply ... trust me, I have the technology ...

Or you can be a man, and not have a USB port.

Cool.
Buddha.

I thought I had been here long enough to understand Buddha-speak, and to know when you are joking.  But I'm just not sure here. 

Yes, the problem very well may be AC or overvoltage.  But this is not a case of "nothing you can do about it".  There is something wrong with the rectifier/regulator if he is getting AC or overvoltage.  If you are talking about DC ripple and "dirty" power, yes, there isn't much you can do.  But the battery is a fairly stiff capacitor and the USB power adapter should be designed to operate on a range of voltage between 11 and 15 volts, even somewhat "ripply".

Regulardan:  Check your voltage!  I suspect a bad rectifier/regulator, or poorly made USB adapter.

Cool thanks. I will pick up some gear on Sunday and see what I can work out. Fingers crossed I have just had some bad luck with usb adapters or wiring confguration.

the center part is positive, the outside is negative.  use a voltmeter to check continuity to make sure that you have it hooked up right.  before you put another adapter in the cigarette lighter, use the voltmeter to confirm that the voltage is in an acceptable range.

I can confirm that your set up 'should' work... as I had the same connections.  I used a battery tender quick connect hooked up to the battery (which had an inline fuse)... The SAE quick connect on the tender hooked into an SAE to 12V cigarette adaptor.  Then, the USB to cigarette adaptor plugged into that, to give me power to charge my phone... All worked without a hitch.

Now, I just got rid of the extra connections of cigarette adaptor and USB adaptor, and replaced them with an SAE to USB adaptor... like the one shown below.


- Bboy

I wasn't joking. I measure AC and DC and whatever the ripple is on most bike systems.
If you ever had a battery boil itself dry ... that is due to AC.
Anyway I had a nighthawk that was awful ... but GS is not that bad ...

Cool.
Buddha.

Success!
So I purchased a new USB adapter and before I connected it I went over all the wiring and  disconnected then reconnected to make sure everything was the correct way around and had a good connection. 
All seems to work just fine now which is great timing because I leave for my trip tomorrow.
I'm still not 100% sure what caused the issues but am just happy it works now.
I will be sure to keep an eye on things though.
Thanks again for all the help guys!
Also BockinBboy that connection does look like a better option. I'm all for eliminating the unnecessary adapters.