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Testing a USB Port?

Rexedgar

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The missus has a 2015 Honda Crosstour. There is a USB port located in the center console. It has been working fine up until today. When the phone was plugged in, there was no charging indicator lit. We swapped the cables and same result. I have done a little internet research and get differing solutions. Hardware, software......isn’t a USB port basically a 5.0 volt source for the charging of electronics?
 
Most likely a hardware or wiring issue with the car itself.
 
First thing to do would be check the fusebox for a blown fuse. If they're all good, pull out the plug if possible and verify no wires have come loose. If not, you can try following the wires and finding a fault. Beyond that, it's probably cheaper to use a lighter adapter than take it in to get fixed.
 
Ti
The missus has a 2015 Honda Crosstour. There is a USB port located in the center console. It has been working fine up until today. When the phone was plugged in, there was no charging indicator lit. We swapped the cables and same result. I have done a little internet research and get differing solutions. Hardware, software......isn’t a USB port basically a 5.0 volt source for the charging of electronics?

Time for a new car!!!

Joke aside, USB ports can be temporarily disabled by "electrical shock" as in the port got too much voltage for it to handle. Hard to explain, but the solution is to take the power from the port and let any residual electricity drain. Had it been in a computer, the drivers might have to be reinstalled to kick start it, but in a car I dunno about that part.

In very rare instances the USB port can be blown, but that usually requires massive electrical spike to do that.

Good luck.
 
The missus has a 2015 Honda Crosstour. There is a USB port located in the center console. It has been working fine up until today. When the phone was plugged in, there was no charging indicator lit. We swapped the cables and same result. I have done a little internet research and get differing solutions. Hardware, software......isn’t a USB port basically a 5.0 volt source for the charging of electronics?
The USB port in (older) cars and attached to radio etc. are installed there primarily for the sake of data transfer (like playing music from your phone or player into the car sound system). Beyond that, nowadays, they usually also give out a charge to a connected phone, but it's a dreary process seeing how the output is weak/slow. And no, the output here isn't about voltage, it's about low amperes.

Also the infotainment of your car may, over time or even from the beginning, fail to recognize your phone (that's not uncommon, especially with older model cars).

Have you checked whether yours works with the phone to play music into the system? If it does then you're one headache short in that a charging adapter that goes into your cigarette lighter socket, better said 12V power outlet, (USB port at the other side) gives you a better charging performance anyway.

Of course I also recommend following the advice of others here of checking the fuses.

Just FYI my car (model 2020) has a radio with a USB port that also gives out a charge, but I use that port only to pipe in music from a thumbdrive. Seeing how it also has a bluetooth function, I don't need to plug my phone into it at all (and never do), but prefer to charge it via the above method for far better performance, using the phone in any function via bluetooth. Music via the thumbdrive simply has better quality and is less vulnerable to quality loss via any possible micro-wave interference.

Even with more modern radio USB systems you're also more likely to drain your phone battery (while in playback) far more with syncing than you're actually getting out of that socket as a charge.
 
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The USB port in /older) cars and attached to radio etc. are installed there primarily for the sake of data transfer (like playing music from your phone or player into the car sound system). Beyond that, nowadays, they usually also give out a charge to a connected phone, but it's a dreary process seeing how the output is weak/slow. And no, the output here isn't about voltage, it's about low amperes.

Also the infotainment of your car may, over time or even from the beginning, fail to recognize your phone (that's not uncommon, especially with older model cars).

Have you checked whether yours works with the phone to play music into the system? If it does then you're one headache short in that a charging adapter that goes into your cigarette lighter socket, better said 12V power outlet (USB port at the other side) gives you a better charging performance anyway.

Of course I also recommend following the advice of others here of checking the fuses.

Just FYI my car (model 2020) has a radio with a USB port that also gives out a charge, but I use that port only to pipe in music from a thumbdrive. Seeing how it also has a bluetooth function, I don't need to plug my phone into it at all (and never do), but prefer to charge it via the above method for far better performance.

Even with more modern radio USB systems you're more likely to drain your phone battery (while in playback) more with syncing than you're actually getting out of that socket as a charge.


The car is Bluetooth enabled, so the only=nly issue we have is that the phone cannot be charged while hooked to the USB port o=in the car. Omne day it’s good and then, all of a sudden....🤷
 
The car is Bluetooth enabled, so the only=nly issue we have is that the phone cannot be charged while hooked to the USB port o=in the car. Omne day it’s good and then, all of a sudden....🤷
Well, go for the 12V adapter charger then. As pointed out, charging the phone via the installed USB port potentially brings more problems than merit.

That those ports can become temperamental is an issue even with newer car models, usually related to phone and car-system being at odds.

Of course you can always take it in to the dealer for bigger money than a charge adapter would cost you.
 
Well, go for the 12V adapter charger then. As pointed out, charging the phone via the installed USB port potentially brings more problems than merit.

That those ports can become temperamental is an issue even with newer car models, usually related to phone and car-system being at odds.

Of course you can always take it in to the dealer for bigger money than a charge adapter would cost you.


Not sure the car is equipped with a 12 volt power adaptor....or a cigarette lighter...
 
Manual shows a few, should be a standard not optional feature I would imagine.

Screenshot_20210127-181358_Samsung Notes.jpg
 
Not sure the car is equipped with a 12 volt power adaptor....or a cigarette lighter...
Should have one

Honda.jpg

not for cigarette lighters, of course, as the warning on the right
shows.
 
Should have one

View attachment 67315619

not for cigarette lighters, of course, as the warning on the right
shows.
Yes there is a power port on the left....I don’t drive the car very often, much easier to get a 12 to 5 volt power port insert than to figure out why the USB port is inop.
 
Yes there is a power port on the left....I don’t drive the car very often, much easier to get a 12 to 5 volt power port insert than to figure out why the USB port is inop.
I'd still check whether you can pipe music (from thumbdrive, phone or player) into the car audio, via the existing USB port.

If that works, then the data connection would be ok and only the charge output would be on the blink, possibly phone related (software conflict).

Have you tried any other phone on it and does your phone charge in another car?

Anyway, charging phone via the 12 volt output while using the bluetooth to "pipe in" to the audio system does, as you say, circumvent the existing problem nicely.
 
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