To power or not to power

[fin_676]

In my part of the world most small electronic devices run at 5 volts this is to give them compatibility with universal serial bus on computers
Chargers or power leads for use in cars etc using the lighter socket are often a wee bit larger than they could be as they house the electronics to reduce the voltage from vehicle voltage to a stable 5 volts for use by the device
when travelling i use a wee harness that i plug into my battery charging pigtail that has a lighter socket on it and the charger unit for my mobile phone as battery voltage can vary from 12.8 volts to 14.5 volts the wee electronics pack does a good job of running the phone
a big spike of power would kill the electronics pack and not the phone new charger coast £1 if you shop around
Never wire an electronic device straight into the wiring harness of a vehicle unless it has been specifically designed to be fitted that way

Brian

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

Not 100% sure on this but my guess would be that a cigarette lighter source would have a pretty large fuse wired to it (greater than 10 amps). That almost would be like having no fuse at all for a low current device such as a GPS or Radar detector.

I also heard that a cigarette lighter adapter is not the EXACT same size as a Parts/accessory adapter. But once again, I have never actually measured them.

I am sure lots of people just plug it in but I myself would match the current rating of the device with the socket.

Hoop is spot on...a cigarette lighter socket has a heat resistant ceramic insulator, so when you plug in that pop-up lighter, the socket does not catch fire, matched with a heavy fuse in line (typically 20A or so). An accessory outlet uses fiberglass or fiber/bakelite insulator which can be damaged if high current device is plugged in...manufacturer is giving itself some liability wiggle room, because they do not know what type of device you are plugging in, as there is no surge/spike protection provided. :s

 

[tubguy]

Most 12 volt devises have an installed fuse in the male end of the power cord and I would imagine that should protect any low amp GPS or MP3 or anything else from damage. I had a friend install a gps into his 12 volt on the bike. The shop cut the cigarette lighter end off and wired it to the 12 volt, it instantly burnt out. Many of these accessories are only 3 to 6 volt. I would not have any problem using the socket for a power supply.
Ken

This is exactly what happened to my GPS when I went to hard wire the power cord into the bike. And then stupid me I did the exact same thing with my Sat radio twice. I actually broke open the male plug and saw the fuse that was in it and yes, If I recall it was a 5amp. My soulution was I installled 2 outlets under my fairing and ran both supply lines to the gps and Sat radio. Expensive lesson!!!

Tubguy

 

[uhpilot]

Plus, if your like me and actually use your lighter, the acc plugs can spread the two prongs inside the adapter apart which is what catches your lighter and holds it in place while it gets hot.



Ricky