2016 CX-5 Can't Charge A Phone

I drove 5 hours streaming the radio.com app an alternating between phone calls with 0 drain on my iPhone 6 using the oem white cable connected to the USB port in the console. Never used the phone gps, so not sure if that would draw any more charge.
 
Agreed the USB ports are worthless on the iPhone 6 plus, let alone to charge an iPad. On the 2016 there's no more 12v power outlet except under the armrest. This 12v power outlet stay on when the ignition if off. This means I have to unplug a USB charger to prevent battery drain. Does anyone leave their USB charger in the 12v outlet? I wonder if it drains the battery.

I'm looking for a strong and reliable USB charger that is sufficient to charge an iPhone 6 plus AND an iPad. The cheap crap I bought off of eBay broke shortly. Any recommendations?

I leave my 2.0A charger in the armrest outlet with the cable plugged. No issues with battery drainage even after 3 weeks of letting the car sit. The type of charger might make a difference (I have a Monoprice charger). I left a cheap eBay no-brand 2.0A charger in a normal on socket in my RX-8, and it drained the battery within 2 weeks.

I've bought a few eBay USB chargers in the past. They either self-destructed, drained the battery with heavy ghost current, or improperly charged my phones. I stick with quality Anker or Monoprice 12V chargers nowadays.
 
I leave my 2.0A charger in the armrest outlet with the cable plugged. No issues with battery drainage even after 3 weeks of letting the car sit. The type of charger might make a difference (I have a Monoprice charger). I left a cheap eBay no-brand 2.0A charger in a normal on socket in my RX-8, and it drained the battery within 2 weeks.

I've bought a few eBay USB chargers in the past. They either self-destructed, drained the battery with heavy ghost current, or improperly charged my phones. I stick with quality Anker or Monoprice 12V chargers nowadays.

Thanks. I decided to spend $20 on a quality charger. I don't have a QuickCharge device however I figured the quality of this unit is probably better. I ordered one on Amazon today.

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I actually meant Aukey for the 12V socket chargers (lol). Anker for portable battery chargers.
 
I drove 5 hours streaming the radio.com app an alternating between phone calls with 0 drain on my iPhone 6 using the oem white cable connected to the USB port in the console. Never used the phone gps, so not sure if that would draw any more charge.

GPS uses a lot more battery than streaming music because the screen stays on during GPS use. The screen is one of the biggest consumption of battery.
 
I can't find anything about the ratings of these ports in any of the documentation I have, and I'm not at home with my multi-meter right now. Do you know where I could find those specs?

I measured around 0.5A (~0.46A) to be exact for the USB port using a USB port power meter I borrowed from a friend. It measures live current and has a male and female connector with a display. You can buy one of these on Amazon. Take note that this was measured in my 2013 CX-5 and girlfriend's 2015 CX-5. The 2016 was revised, but I'm not sure if the USB ports are pumping more current. 0.5A is standard for 2.0 USB ports, is the same in computers. Blue USB ports are 3.0 USB ports that pump out 1.0A at best.
 
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I can't find anything about the ratings of these ports in any of the documentation I have, and I'm not at home with my multi-meter right now. Do you know where I could find those specs?

If a device exceeds the maximum electric current value of 1,000 mA, it may not operate or recharge when connected.
page 5-20 of Owners Manual.
 
If a device exceeds the maximum electric current value of 1,000 mA, it may not operate or recharge when connected.
page 5-20 of Owners Manual.

Owner's Manual is a wonderful thing. So are various technical standards for different classes of electrical/data ports.

Recognized standards for USB ports of the following versions are as follows:

USB 1.0
USB 2.0
USB 3.0
Voltage
5v
5v
5v
Maximum amperage
0.15A
.5A
.9A

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</tbody>

Newer USB specs can be higher but there is a limit as to how much current a small port can pass. Exceed this (or have a damaged plug/port) and over-heating/melting can occur.
 
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I measured around 0.5A (~0.46A) to be exact for the USB port using a USB port power meter I borrowed from a friend. It measures live current and has a male and female connector with a display. You can buy one of these on Amazon. Take note that this was measured in my 2013 CX-5 and girlfriend's 2015 CX-5. The 2016 was revised, but I'm not sure if the USB ports are pumping more current. 0.5A is standard for 2.0 USB ports, is the same in computers. Blue USB ports are 3.0 USB ports that pump out 1.0A at best.

Perfect, thanks.

If a device exceeds the maximum electric current value of 1,000 mA, it may not operate or recharge when connected.
page 5-20 of Owners Manual.

Yeah, it's right there. Guess I missed it when searching.
 
So I picked up a USB power meter and did some testing on a 2016 CX-5 GT. It's pretty interesting, I'm unsure why the port in the car doesn't charge as quickly as we expect it to. All testing was using an iPhone 6+

In this first photo you can see the factory USB ports put out about 1A. It didn't matter which port, they both supplied the same amperage.
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The second photo is with the Y adapter that I spoke about earlier. I expected the amperage to almost double, but as you can see its a minimal increase.
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The third photo is to show you what a 2015 MacBook Pro Retina puts out with its "high powered" USB 3.0 ports.
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This final photo shows what the Apple supplied charging block provides.
2b36e3a3d75e665aab524bb7d83c055f.jpg


The Last photo is really throwing me off, the Mazda puts out more amperage but charges slower.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the great info! I've also noticed the 2016 ports charge an iPhone 6 plus very slowly. One thing though is that the current meter shows the total current draw, which maybe different from the charge current draw. When the iPhone is plugged in it may be drawing some current to establish communication with the car. So the actual charge current draw maybe less than what you measured. Just a guess.

I wonder how much current the larger Apple charger (one for the iPad) puts out. My iPhone 6 plus really likes the larger Apple charger.
 
I wonder how much current the larger Apple charger (one for the iPad) puts out. My iPhone 6 plus really likes the larger Apple charger.


I have the newer 12w charger in my office, i'll check it tomorrow. And i agree, my 6 Plus really likes that one the most. Dead battery to fully charged in about 40 minutes, LOL.

I also have a Scosche dual charging port for a cigarette lighter, that one charges the iPhone real fast too. I'll test that tomorrow also.
 
I have the newer 12w charger in my office, i'll check it tomorrow. And i agree, my 6 Plus really likes that one the most. Dead battery to fully charged in about 40 minutes, LOL.

I also have a Scosche dual charging port for a cigarette lighter, that one charges the iPhone real fast too. I'll test that tomorrow also.

Thanks! I guess if people are not satisfied with their USB charging ports can get an Apple car when it comes out, haha.

ps I can't believe there's no 12v outlet in the rear seats. C'mon, even the newer planes I flew on with Alaska airlines have USB charging ports that rivals the ones in the CX-5, haha.
 
Thanks! I guess if people are not satisfied with their USB charging ports can get an Apple car when it comes out, haha.

ps I can't believe there's no 12v outlet in the rear seats. C'mon, even the newer planes I flew on with Alaska airlines have USB charging ports that rivals the ones in the CX-5, haha.

So the 12w charger and the the Scosche dual USB (5amp Max each) both provide 1.0a to an iPhone 6+. At this point i definitely feel like the iPhone dictates what i needs and pulls that. Also, i noticed this morning that my power meter has 2 different ports. Power only and Data+Power. the data+power side only provides 0.5A, even with that Y adapter attached. Someone earlier in the threat said that may happen, interesting to actually see it happen. I've come to the conclusion that the ports are sufficient enough to prevent the phone from draining when using Waze with the screen on, but don't expect any increase in your charge. I'm going to keep using it this way for now, and use the center console port when an emergency charge is need. Probably not that often is my 6+ could last 2 days if needed.
 
So the 12w charger and the the Scosche dual USB (5amp Max each) both provide 1.0a to an iPhone 6+. At this point i definitely feel like the iPhone dictates what i needs and pulls that. Also, i noticed this morning that my power meter has 2 different ports. Power only and Data+Power. the data+power side only provides 0.5A, even with that Y adapter attached. Someone earlier in the threat said that may happen, interesting to actually see it happen. I've come to the conclusion that the ports are sufficient enough to prevent the phone from draining when using Waze with the screen on, but don't expect any increase in your charge. I'm going to keep using it this way for now, and use the center console port when an emergency charge is need. Probably not that often is my 6+ could last 2 days if needed.

Thanks JewBilly. So based on this the iPhone 6+ should charge at the same rate (1A) when plugged to the 12w Apple charger vs. the CX-5 USB port. But we know this isn't the case. It's a mystery on why the phone barely charges when plugged to a CX-5 USB port.
 
Thanks for the tests! I find this interesting even though I never charge my Windows Phone in my car. It has plenty of run time and charges really fast on it's wireless charging pad. I have left a little iPod Nano connected 99.99% of the time for the previous 3+ years and I was worried this might waste the battery but that has not been an issue.

It's a mystery on why the phone barely charges when plugged to a CX-5 USB port.

Not really. Look at the voltage readings. Charge rate is a function of amperage x voltage.

Were the measurements taken at idle, while driving or with the engine off? It also matters whether certain high draw electrical components are on/off.
 
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