1. Home
  2. Hobby Electronics Basics
  3. Battery drain question with an external car CD player

Battery drain question with an external car CD player

I have just bought a used Sony Discman player to use in my car because the built-in one started rejecting CDs (older GM/Delco player, as they're wont to do).

It has an adapter that you plug into the car's cassette player, then there's the 12V power adapter for the power. When I plug the power adapter into the power source (my car has a dedicated one, so I don't have to use the cigarette lighter), a little LED light comes on on the power adapter to show it's getting juice.

My question is, would it drain the battery if I left the power adapter in the power source all the time, and the little LED stayed on all the time? It's kind of hard to push it in and I'd like to avoid that every time I want to use the CD player. Also, this is assuming I have the Discman turned off, of course.

I was looking in my car's owner's manual and it says my car is equipped with a feature that automatically turns off the headlamps and any internal lights after 10 min. if you leave them on by mistake, but I wasn't sure if this applied to the 12V power source.

I thought someone out there might have some experience in using external CD or MP3 players in their car.

Reply to
super70s
Loading thread data ...

If all you have running is the adapter then no problem leaving it in. Some vehicles shut off power ports when not running some don't. You will need to check your owners manual.

Reply to
Tom Biasi

Yes my manual mentions the power port, but it doesn't say if it's shut off or not when the car isn't running.

I guess I could leave it in for 10 minutes, and if the LED light goes out that would mean it's been automatically shut off. I sort of hate to risk draining the battery at all with it though.

The manual also mentions something about a "power drop" under the glove compartment on the passenger side that has power and grounding but I haven't climbed in and checked that out yet. I guess that would be for hooking up a device permanently.

Reply to
super70s

Do what you said to see if power stays on. The draw from just the adapter and LED is negligible. I have three in my vehicle on all the time. Unless you don't start your vehicle for months at a time.

Reply to
Tom Biasi

Yeah I presumed the LED only drew a negligible amount of power, the car has a "flashing" red LED in the in-dash stereo that blinks all the time. But the yellow LED on the adapter stays on constantly.

Thanks for your input.

Reply to
super70s

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.