Charging A Cardo Scala Rider While Riding

[Nice n Easy Rider]

I have seen several posts that said that the Scala rider couldn't be charged while riding. I wasn't sure but my unit (about 3-4 years old) wasn't holding a charge for a full day of riding so at the recent UN I rode with the Scala automobile charger plugged into the helmet and into a Powerlet BMW-auto converter cable. I can't say for sure that it was charging but my unit never quit during any of the rides.

 

I thought I'd see if I could get a definitive answer from Cardo. From their response (below) I'd say that yes you can charge while riding but that you incur several risks; (1) getting water into the charging port and damaging the unit or (2) having a cable disconnect and interfere with either the bike or rider. In any case, if you're willing to take the risks it looks like you could charge while riding but they certainly don't recommend it.

 

George,

 

Thank you for contacting the Cardo Systems Support Center regarding our products. The Cardo team takes great pride in maintaining a "working" relationship with many of our customers, and a significant part of our product design has come about as a result of our ongoing dialogue with customers such as yourself. We therefore welcome your query and encourage you to continue talking to us in the future.

 

We cannot advise that you charge a scala rider while it is in use on a motorcycle for several reasons, even though we do provide a 12 volt adaptor that provides the 9 Volt of charging current to a scala rider (5 Volts for the scala rider G4). The reasons for this are as follows:

1) Riding with the charging port open exposes the unit to damage from rain/water as the charging plug does not seal this port like the charging port door does. This will void the warranty.

2) It is not safe to have the power cord plugged into the scala rider while riding, as it is not secured to the unit at the scala rider end and could come loose and get caught in the moving parts of the motorcycle, causing damage to the cord or possibly an accident to the bike and riders. Also the 12 Volt end of the charger is also not solidly attached to the charging port, due to the design of the cigarette lighter that all 12 Volt chargers are based on, so that end could also come loose and cause injury.

3) Especially on all 9 Volt scala riders, the charging port is susceptible to damage if excessive strain is placed upon it from the charging cord. As you move your head around it would put strain on this port and could break the charging pin in the center if the strain is too great in the wrong direction. You would then not be able to charge your scala rider at all.

 

Therefore you should not that if you charge while using the scala rider, you do so at your own risk. It is better to charge it in a saddle bag for a short period, if the batteries are truly running low, and then pull over to use them again for a while after they have at least partially charged. Doing this will not harm the life of the batteries.

 

Please feel free to contact us if we can assist with any other questions.

 

Best regards,

 

Garth Schafer

Customer Service Representative

Cardo Systems, Inc.

Toll Free: 1-800-488-0363

International: +4989 450 36819

Phone: 412-788-4533

Fax: 412-788-0270

support@cardosystems.com

 

www.cardosystems.com

[KDeline]

We have run them with the power cords. I think they had to be charging but I charged them that night at the campground, from the bike. I don't like how hot they get when charged from the bike so I charge them from AC when I can. The bike is hitting them with 12 volts while the wall charger is 5 volts. More power equals waste heat.