Dexcom USB cable - rewired to charge my receiver unit
Hi all. I am new to this forum but thought I would post something helpful. I am a type 1 diabetic and I use the dexcom seven CGM. Recently I noticed that my receiver unit stopped charging. I called dexcom support and they said they would send me new charging cord, which would take a week to get to me.
Unsatisfied with this, I went to every electronics store in Colorado trying to find a compatible charger. (FYI there aren't any, dexcom uses a very proprietary plug) so I was out of luck and assumed I would have to back to my old "test 10 times a day" routine. Then it occurred to me that the USB cable supplied with my dexcom might somehow be converted to charge my receiver.
(it doesn't by default, and I have no idea why). So, I pried opened the end of USB cable with a putty knife and saw four wires. (red, black, green and white) I knew that the red wire is supposed to be the 5 volt power supply in a USB cable, but I compare where that wire was positioned to the now useless power cable dexcom was replacing.
Turns out the red wire in the USB cable wasn't being used for power in the USB cable (no idea why) so I just snipped it, hooked it on to the same pin position as I observed in the actual power cable and viola, it started charging my receiver! So I closed the plug/tip enclosure and had a functional USB charging codd.
I have no doubt this is not approved by dexcom and don't pretend to be an electrical engineer, it just worked nicely for me.
Unsatisfied with this, I went to every electronics store in Colorado trying to find a compatible charger. (FYI there aren't any, dexcom uses a very proprietary plug) so I was out of luck and assumed I would have to back to my old "test 10 times a day" routine. Then it occurred to me that the USB cable supplied with my dexcom might somehow be converted to charge my receiver.
(it doesn't by default, and I have no idea why). So, I pried opened the end of USB cable with a putty knife and saw four wires. (red, black, green and white) I knew that the red wire is supposed to be the 5 volt power supply in a USB cable, but I compare where that wire was positioned to the now useless power cable dexcom was replacing.
Turns out the red wire in the USB cable wasn't being used for power in the USB cable (no idea why) so I just snipped it, hooked it on to the same pin position as I observed in the actual power cable and viola, it started charging my receiver! So I closed the plug/tip enclosure and had a functional USB charging codd.
I have no doubt this is not approved by dexcom and don't pretend to be an electrical engineer, it just worked nicely for me.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tyler on -
You saved me!!! My charger died after 2 months or so of slowly degrading. Been calling dexcom for a couple days and haven't been able to get ahold of them. I pried off both the USB and Power cables Proprietary ends (slide a knife in, rotate knife to unlock plastic from metal connectors, then pull the plastic down, once the metal box is exposed its easy to pry open and see the red wire our man is talking about. The red wire needs to be cut since its soldered... After you carefully cut it strip off enough of the wire's insulation to expose. Then push the red wire to connect to the bottom left pin. If you're not sure about the correct pin be sure to open up the Charger proprietary end and see which two pins are in use on its' pins.)
Anyways though I'd elaborate to encourage anyone looking at this thread to try. This is doable! It's easier than it sounds.
Thanks so much for figuring this out CO!!!!
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