[DIY] High Current Micro USB Charging Cable From Cheap China Cable

[zuberio]

WHY
I use Waze on my N5 every day during my commute to and from work. I find that the only micro USB cable I have that can still charge my N5 while running Waze is the OEM LG cable that came with it. I don't like the current state of affairs - where I'm reliant on just one cable with no backups.

WHAT
I've tried the regular 'Genuine' micro USB cables from China via Ebay that purport to handle Galaxy Note level charging, as well as 24/28 AWG cables that are supposed to handle increased currents. No joy.

NEED
- Pocket Knife
- Soldering iron + associated materials
- Electrical tape

HOW
I used a cheap, China, Ebay, micro USB cable that has a hard plastic casing around the connectors on either end of the cable; this makes it easier to pop the casing off, fiddle with the wires, and close everything up again.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/381034218782

(1) You begin by using a pocket knife to pop open the casings around both the USB A male and micro USB male connectors. Do this by firmly putting pressure via the blade edge on the seam between the casing halves. Once the blade has sunk about .5mm into the seam you then wiggle it to widen the gap. It may help to increase pressure on the seam by hinging the metal connector against the plastic (as if it was plugged in and someone decided to sit on the plastic). You'll see this when successful.

(2) Next, you take your soldering iron and move the green wire over to join the black wire, and the white wire over to join the red wire; on both connectors.
(3) Add a bit of a jumper between the D+ and D- connections on the micro USB connector (where the White and Green wires used to be) You'll see this when done.

(4) Finally, put the plastic connector covers back on and cleanly wrap them with some electrical tape.

 

[jimmyjohnIII]

Seems easier to just buy a reputable cable at a modest price. Amazon basics has fine offerings. I'm able to run waze and Pandora while driving and still get a charge. Its mostly going to be contingent on the car charger, not the cable.

 

[zuberio]

I tried just getting a proper cable - ended up with a bunch of cables that couldn't cut the mustard. Thus, I took the lemons I had and made lemonade. The cable I made is also independent of whether the charger shorts the D+ & D- pins together; which lets your phone know if it can pull full amps or not.

 

[GR0S]

You can also make your cable with 25AWG

 

[Axel85]

You can try to buy a pisen cable, you can read my review here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/goo...ro-usb-cable-improving-charging-time-t3068562
It s cheap and made of good materials... I sold 20 of them to my customers and everyone confirmed a great improvement over the original cables ( I m a computer technician) and the difference with the original one from nexus 5 is great

 

[Gorgtech]

I made a similar cable once, out of 2 thick wires ( can´t remember the AWG size though but this wire was used for 230V connection so it had at least a diameter of 1+ mm ) and had similar results.

The lower resistance on this cable can actually help a lot but you need a power supply which can deliver a higher current too in order to benefit from it.

I see one benefit though, in comparison to a really cheap cable with thin wires and crimped contacts, the DIY one is more reliable ( though it looks horrible )

 

[zuberio]

Just got my Charger Doctor USB volt/current meter today. Attached are pictures of the current going into my N5 via the OEM cable (1.16A), unmodified China cable (0.36A), and modified China cable (0.68A).

The mod is a definite improvement - but still not even close to what the stock cable can do. Looks like the wires in the China cable are seriously undersized.

My next step will have to be using two proper gauge wires as mentioned above by Gorgtech to finally achieve OEM cable throughput.

 

[Gorgtech]

Here are some pictures of my DIY cable



Not very pretty but functional :angel:

 

[zuberio]

Looks good to me! I think I'm going to source some speaker wire for my next one.

Here are some pictures of my DIY cable

Not very pretty but functional :angel:

 

[Tallika_Fan]

WHY
I use Waze on my N5 every day during my commute to and from work. I find that the only micro USB cable I have that can still charge my N5 while running Waze is the OEM LG cable that came with it. I don't like the current state of affairs - where I'm reliant on just one cable with no backups.

(3) Add a bit of a jumper between the D+ and D- connections on the micro USB connector (where the White and Green wires used to be) You'll see this when done.

I'm happy that I found this thread and the other ideas in the replies though in just wondering, where you have the jumper how would this apply to the micro USB pinout with 1+2 on the top and 3+4+5 on the bottom, rather than all on the same plane.

As it turns out when I'd completed the USB A end and started on the other this was the case. Typical.

Thanks if any insight.

I'm currently using my power bank cable in the car which allows charging at a faster rate than discharge.

Thanks.

 

[zuberio]

I'm happy that I found this thread and the other ideas in the replies though in just wondering, where you have the jumper how would this apply to the micro USB pinout with 1+2 on the top and 3+4+5 on the bottom, rather than all on the same plane.

Excellent and very valid question! Reference the attached picture.
1 - connect to red & white wires
2 - jumper to 3
4 - not connected
5 - connect to black & green wires

 

[peachpuff]

Looks good to me! I think I'm going to source some speaker wire for my next one.

Use 12 gauge...

 

[Gorgtech]

Just for the fun of it, I measured the spare cable I have

The diameter is about 1.3 mm which corresponds AWG 16 if I´m right :angel:

Ofc you can use a even stronger cable if you want but keep in mind that the limiting factor will be the pins of the USB connectors itself, also from a physical side of view ( you cannot fit the strongest cable inside the case of the connectors, not even if you modify them. )

I used hot glue to keep the pins in place after I soldered my cable and used shrinking hose after :good:

Basically every strong wire should work ( eg. speaker cable ), just use whatever piece of junk you have laying around :laugh:

 

[Tallika_Fan]

Excellent and very valid question! Reference the attached picture.
1 - connect to red & white wires
2 - jumper to 3
4 - not connected
5 - connect to black & green wires

Thanks very much for that, I shall give that a go over the weekend and report my findings.
Cheers.

 

[chamjisky]

I did it but my Nexus 5 is still not getting above 500 ma from a 1 amp charger.

I have another cable from old Nokia phone that gives me solid 1000ma.

That cable is hardly 8 inches. And is a usb cable not charging only cable.

I have notes that the wire strands in my usb cable are of aluminum.

What were yours?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[N00TN00T]

Use 12 gauge...

I built mine using 20 gauge power supply cables

 

[billy662]

Will it cost damage to the battery?

 

[ephestione]

I recovered one soldering microusb connector pins 1 and 5 to 220V cables, and shorting 2 and 3 on the opposite side, with great effort considering the small tabs.
Well, I still couldn't get higher than 650mA, to my surprised disappointment.

 

[coolguy71261]

would 12 gauge be to big to work with ?