Cigarette Lighter Adapter behaving strangely

J

jmicklov

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Joined
Dec 23, 2004
RO Number
15952
Messages
188
I have 2 adapters on my '94 Sea Ray Sundancer (33'). One in the cabin and the other on the dashboard.

I had a cell phone charger plugged into the cabin outlet thru a multi-plug cigarette lighter adapter with its own power indicator light, and the indicator light showed it had power. However when I tried to plug in my inverter, the 12v power went out after a few seconds of turning on the inverter. About 10 minutes later, the 12v indicator lamp came back on. This happens with both the dash and the cabin adapters.

I did not see any dashboard breakers popped, and don't know if there are any other 'hidden' fuses or breakers. This has happened other times as well.

The adapter is almost behaving like there is a thermal breaker that resets itself after a few minutes, or poor connections that limit voltage. The user manual shows the 2 adapters, but no fuses/breakers.

I'm at a bit of a loss to trying to find the culprit and correct it.

Thanks,
Jack
 
VERY likely you have an auto resetting thermal breaker. You stated you plugged in an "inverter". Please define what that is, is this just an adaptor for a cell charger or a true 12vdc to 120vac inverter? If it is an inverter, how many watt inverter is it? If your still not sure, look in your main 12vdc fuse box, auto resetting breakers are silver or black boxes normally and usually with out any type of markings.

does any other native 12vdc items do the same thing?.......D.........
 
A word of caution inverters and cigarette power outlets are a very poor combination. In fact I don't like cigarette type assemblies or outlets at all. They make for a poor connection and they lose the ability to hold the plug properly in place. Placing a 2 or 3 outlet cigarette adapter contributes to an already bad situation. The connection doesn't do well with vibration and boats are loaded with vibrations. Many are wired with woefully undersized wire contributing to an already bad electrical connection.
Bill
 
The inverter in question truly converts 12VDC to 120VAC. It is only a 140 watt inverter, and would draw about 1.2 amps max. When I simply plugged in the inverter, with no AC load, I still lost the 12V.

I'm not exactly sure where that main 12v fuse box would be located. There are circuit breakers on the dash, above the switches. There's also a a circuit board-like item under the dash that has several link type fuses, all of which looked ok. Any other ideas on where to look?
 
I would hard wire the inverter into a stand alone switch with it's own fuse. As I mentioned these cigarette outlets and plugs are prone to corrosion which causes resistance neither is a good combination in a boat. How old is the 12 VDC outlet you're having a problem with? Cigarette style outlets for the most part have too many exposed surfaces that will eventually corrode.
Bill
 
I've installed 2 lighter plugs in my boat. They are heavy duty ones designed for truck beds. They have a gasketed spring loaded cover that not only stop corrosion, but tend to hold the male end in & tight when using. My only use for them is cell charging & hand held spot at the helm and a 12v coffee brewer in the salon.
 
Jack,

Your math is off a bit. If your inverter is 140 watts then it is drawing 12 amps at 12 volts. You very well may be overloading your outlet.

Mike
 
LOL. Mike, I was figuring that at the 'AC' end.

Thanks for your inputs. Since the adapter is doing what it's currently intended- charging my cell phone, I'll leave it at that. Was hoping to plug my laptop into the inverter output and run some navigation software, but it's not critical.

Thinking that some things are better left alone....

Jack
 
They sell lap top chargers that have a plug for 12vdc. I have 2 for my dells, came with them new from Dell. You just unplug the 110 cord and there is another port on the side of the charger for a 12vdc adaptor.........D.........
 
I've seen those adapters and in the interim,actually found a cigarette lighter adapter buried in my IT 'stuff'.

Thanks.
 
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