iPad charging woes

WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

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Apr 1, 2019
27
Freedom 38 Boston, MA
I’ve been using an iPad Air 2 as my primary chartplotter since I bought it in 2015. It has worked pretty much flawlessly, and I really like my setup. The iPad is in a waterproof case in a cradle at the helm, and I keep a lightning cable plugged into a USB outlet that’s installed on the back of my helmpod. The outlet is a Blue Sea 1045, which has “Intelligent Device Recognition.”

The problem is, starting this season the charger doesn’t seem able to keep the battery full anymore. If I’m sailing for an entire day, I notice the battery percentage slowly drops despite being plugged in and showing that it’s getting charged. If I don’t do anything, it will drop down to 10% or less by the evening.

The screen is always on, usually at maximum brightness. It’s not using the internal GPS for location data; instead it connects to the chartplotter’s wifi network, and gets GPS data from the NMEA network. Bluetooth is turned off.

I initially thought it was just that the battery needed to be replaced, but before bringing it to a place to have this done, I tested the battery capacity with an app on my computer. Despite being 6 years old, it showed that the battery is still at ~89% of its original capacity. That doesn’t seem bad enough to be causing this problem.

One other thing: when I first noticed that my iPad had nearly run out of battery, I was about to head into a tight anchorage and I really didn’t want it to die at a critical moment. I went below and grabbed a 22000mAh battery pack that I occasionally use to charge phones when I’m away from the boat. I plugged it in and the iPad’s battery percentage slowly started to go up instead of down. I can’t find the exact model of battery pack online anymore (it’s about as old as the iPad), but it apparently has something called “iSmart 2.0” charging, where it adjusts its output according to what’s plugged into it. However, it seems that the maximum output is still the same as the Blue Sea charger, which is 2.4 amps.

What am I missing here?
 
rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,548
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
I actually had a similar situation with my iPhone and it turned out to be the cable. I'd plug it in and by morning it would only be about 70% charged. New cable... 100% charged.
 
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WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

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Apr 1, 2019
27
Freedom 38 Boston, MA
Davidasailor26 said:
Did you use the same charging cable with the battery pack? Sometimes the cables wear out or dirt collects in the charging port that causes strange behavior.
Click to expand
I forgot to mention this! I keep a number of lightning cables on board, as they inevitably start to corrode on the lightning end and become finicky about when they'll charge devices, i.e., only if they're inserted in one orientation but not the other, or only if held at the right angle. So this year, I brought a brand new first party lightning cable, and before using it I dipped both ends in silicone dielectric grease to see if that would prevent the contacts from corroding. It seems to be working, as they haven't turned green yet.

Could it possibly be that the USB-A ports in the Blue Sea charger are corroded enough to reduce their charging efficiency, but not stop it entirely? That charger has been out in the weather for 5 or so years, but it's always seemed to work fine.
 
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jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,353
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Cables wear out. So changing the cable may help. Ports can vary their power output.

Perhaps we should know what the Apple prescribes in their Apple Charge Adapter.

10W USB power adapter

These devices come with a 10W power adapter in the box:​

  • iPad Air 2​
  • iPad Air​
  • iPad mini 4​
  • iPad mini 3​
  • iPad mini 2​
  • iPad 2​
Now what is the BlueSea charging port providing...
Specifications
Maximum Output Current4.8A DC (total)
Input Voltage12V DC
24V DC
Output Voltage5V DC ±5%
 
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WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

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Apr 1, 2019
27
Freedom 38 Boston, MA
Ok, so the iPad can handle 2.1A and the BlueSea port can output up to 2.4A, so it should be able to charge as fast as the iPad could want. Could the issue maybe be that the BlueSea charger's "Intelligent Device Recognition" is somehow getting fooled into thinking the iPad is something that needs less current?
 
jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,353
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Not all charging ports are created equal. I have been using the SCOSCHE USB inserts, after reading @Maine Sail's article on charging of phones and iPads. ( iPad Charging - How Much Energy? - Marine How To )

These SCOSCHE USB chargers have kept my iPad and phone playing nicely.

I also added the
USB C Car Charger, Anker 49.5W PowerDrive Speed+ 2 Car Adapter with One 30W PD Port for MacBook Pro/Air 2018, iPad Pro, iPhone XS/Max/XR/X/8, S10/S9, and One 19.5W Fast Charge Port for S8 and More​
1630597821263.png​
 
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jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,353
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Wade, I think that the BLUE SEA unit may be listing the "Maximum" performance. When used it may be performing at a "safe" level. Not sure. I do know that the 2 units I posted have preformed while I have been sailing providing adequate power to the iPad or the bigger charger to my laptop.

Note that you indicated the iPad is in a water proof container and out side (I assume in the sun). If the iPad gets warm, and charging can increase the heat in the battery, the iPad tends to shut down to protect the unit from overheating.
 
D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,406
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Use a pencil eraser to clean the lightening connector. Clean out dust and debris oin the lightening port. And power down and reboot the iPad.
 
WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

.
Apr 1, 2019
27
Freedom 38 Boston, MA
dlochner said:
Use a pencil eraser to clean the lightening connector. Clean out dust and debris oin the lightening port. And power down and reboot the iPad.
Click to expand
I tried all those things, no dice. Also, that wouldn't account for the fact that it charged properly when connected to the battery instead of the charger port.
 
Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

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May 17, 2004
5,469
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Don S/V ILLusion said:
Which is why I suggested to measure the voltage the iPad is getting.
Click to expand
How would you suggest doing that? The connectors on a lightning cable are too tiny to get a DVM probe on, and even if you could testing them when the connector is out probably won’t indicate the voltage when the connector is plugged in.
 
WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

WadeBoggsCarpetWorld

.
Apr 1, 2019
27
Freedom 38 Boston, MA
Davidasailor26 said:
How would you suggest doing that? The connectors on a lightning cable are too tiny to get a DVM probe on, and even if you could testing them when the connector is out probably won’t indicate the voltage when the connector is plugged in.
Click to expand
Good question! After some searching, it turns out there are specialized devices that will do just that. There are tons of them on Amazon/Aliexpress, and they all basically do the same thing. I just ordered this one, so we'll see how it goes:

 
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Don S/V ILLusion

Don S/V ILLusion

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Sep 25, 2008
7,296
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Davidasailor26 said:
How would you suggest doing that? The connectors on a lightning cable are too tiny to get a DVM probe on, and even if you could testing them when the connector is out probably won’t indicate the voltage when the connector is plugged in.
Click to expand
A simple USB tester or the old fashioned way of exposing the wires on an un-needed cable to allow measuring with a voltmeter.
 
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seadaddler

seadaddler

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Dec 19, 2006
5,813
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
I have my iPad next to my chartplotter all the time and have USBn connection for it my nav pod which holds
My chart,plotte and keeps the iPad working no problem with a good charge.
 
cagreen75

cagreen75

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Nov 6, 2017
77
Catalina 30 5611 Stratford, Ct
An Ipad that is that old likely needs a new battery. I would take it to a repair shop where it can be tested professionally and if found to be bad have them replace it. They can also check the cord you are using at the same time and they should be able to tell you if there is some other thing causing the problem.
 
tfox2069

tfox2069

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Apr 8, 2011
772
Hunter 40 Deale, MD
WadeBoggsCarpetWorld said:
Good question! After some searching, it turns out there are specialized devices that will do just that. There are tons of them on Amazon/Aliexpress, and they all basically do the same thing. I just ordered this one, so we'll see how it goes:

Click to expand
Thanks. Another opportunity for my wife to ask me, "What'd you get from Amazon NOW?!?!" Cool find bro.
 
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