2018 Power to Media Hub w Aftermarket Stereo

[DavesCountry]

Hello all --

A few months back, I went with an aftermarket Kenwood. One of the things I lost was power to the media hub, and was wondering if anyone knew how to get that back.

NOTE - I don't care about the media hub actually connecting to the stereo, I just want to be able to use those two USB plugs as charging ports.

Here is what is odd - if I remember correct, the cable that plugs into the old stock head unit was, I believe, a mini-usb. So, I got an adapter which lets me plug the stock cable from the media hub into my aftermarket Kenwood. I will get a message on the head unit saying "usb not recognized." Even when I have this plugged in, I am still getting no power to the media hub in the console.

However, when I unplug the cable from the head unit - for about 24 hours I actually do get power to the USB plug and can use both of them to charge devices. About 24 hours after unplugging they go dead. So, clearly there is independent power to the media hub. With my old stock head unit, one of the two USB plugs had full time power.

So, clearly there is still power running to the hub. Any ideas on how to get that back?

 

[regal81455]

Did you use a Maestro RR when you installed the Kenwood? They make the following:

https://maestro.idatalink.com/accessories/category/product_id/452/project/rr

But it looks like you have an 18' so I'm not certain if it would work in your case. Might be worth a phone call to their tech support though if you did use the RR.

 

[DavesCountry]

I did

Did you use a Maestro RR when you installed the Kenwood? They make the following:

https://maestro.idatalink.com/accessories/category/product_id/452/project/rr

But it looks like you have an 18' so I'm not certain if it would work in your case. Might be worth a phone call to their tech support though if you did use the RR.

I did not use this because I was told from a variety of sources that it won't work in a 2018. I think the whole construct is different. My media hub is 2 usb, and a stereo jack. If I recall, the maestro rr is only for one usb.

 

[canadiankodiak700]

Aftermarket decks don't work with a usb hub. The deck is powering the hub, which has small capacitors inline to reduce noise and smooth out power delivery. These caps are charging up when you plug in the deck, when you unplug, is only the calls supplying power to the usb, that is why it stupid working shortly after.

The usb ram from idata is glitchy, some work fine, most don't. Your best bet is buy a usb port either round or rectangle, and Mount in place of the OEM usb hub. Your can connect it to the Kenwood and it will work perfect.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[DavesCountry]

Aftermarket decks don't work with a usb hub. The deck is powering the hub, which has small capacitors inline to reduce noise and smooth out power delivery. These caps are charging up when you plug in the deck, when you unplug, is only the calls supplying power to the usb, that is why it stupid working shortly after.

The usb ram from idata is glitchy, some work fine, most don't. Your best bet is buy a usb port either round or rectangle, and Mount in place of the OEM usb hub. Your can connect it to the Kenwood and it will work perfect.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Thanks for the info. Makes sense.

Let me ask you about an opposite solution. What if I took the USB cable from the media hub and direct wired that to a power source? Is there anything in the media hub circuit board that would prevent it from powering?

I ask about this solution because I wouldn't mind, if possible, to have constant power to the hub. Again, I don't care about actually plugging anything in there and having it actually connect to the Kenwood. I just want to be able to charge devices. When I had the original stock RA5, one of the two USB in the media hub supplied constant power whether the truck was on or not.

 

[canadiankodiak700]

If I'm not mistaken, that hub only operates on 5v as it's powered from the usb port. so you would need to step down power. In the end, it would be cheaper to just get a universal usb port from say Amazon and wire it to constant 12v.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[DavesCountry]

If I'm not mistaken, that hub only operates on 5v as it's powered from the usb port. so you would need to step down power. In the end, it would be cheaper to just get a universal usb port from say Amazon and wire it to constant 12v.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Again, thanks for the great info.

If it is 5v, then I am wondering if a kit like this would work - https://www.amazon.com/Hardwire-Bat...hardwire&qid=1599104934&s=electronics&sr=1-22

I'd like to pursue this for two reasons, if it would work.
1. I think it would be easier to plug into the USB behind the dash as opposed to taking apart the center console, running through the seat, under the carpet, etc.
2. I will measure and check again tomorrow, but I was having a hard time before finding a rectangular USB hub that I thought would fit decently in the space where my current media hub is.