I need a cigarette lighter plug for my van that will handle a 6 amp load. I have a lot of these plastic plugs and I've tried several that I had here with plastic housings. After a couple of minutes the internal spring supporting the fuse gets hot enough to melt the plastic housing and render the plug useless. Does anyone know if there is a high current, perhaps bakelite version of this crappy Chinese plug? Thanks, Lenny
Take a look at these Ebay items:
251125329902 This one is fused for 10A, located in the US 130315134986 This one is rated at 5A, located in Taiwan 260803255337 This one is rated at 25A, located in the UK.-- Dave M A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.
Before you blunder any further, check the cigarette lighter fuse rating on your vehicle. My 1960 Ford Falcon was 5 amps, which suggests that a 6 amp load isn't going to work. Later models come with 10 or 20 amp fuses, which seems to be the defacto standards.
We won't talk about products that try to start the vehicle with an auxiliary battery plugged into the cigarette lighter.
On the plug end, I've seen 7.5A and 10A fuses. Here's one rated at
20A, but I'll bet that it arrives with a smaller value fuse: $7.68 More:If you find a cigarette lighter plug that either locks or doesn't creep out of it's socket, I would be interested. The vibration problem is common in marine applications. However, ones that claim to lock require a corresponding locking socket:
I'm looking for one that doesn't require I butcher my vehicle dashboard.
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
I can't find the ones I bought, but this concept.
Greg
After I looked at a bunch of cigarette-lighter plugs, I kinda gave up in disgust... wired up a separate feed to the battery with its own fuses, installed some Anderson PowerPole connectors in a standard ARES/RACES configuration, and have been happy ever since.
--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!
"Think of it as evolution in action."
--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!
I recently bought some blade fuse holders that had 3.5mm wires and included
30 amp fuses. I intended to use them for 5 amps, and bought extra fuses accordingly.The fuse holders arrived from China, with 3.5mm wires. Unfortunately the the 3.5mm was the outside dimension of the wires, they were really 16 guage.
To top it off, blade fuses are color coded, and for some reason I can not fathom, the Chinese standard is red for both 5 amp and 40 amp. In two orders of fuses, I got 5 amp fuses like I ordered in one, and 40 in the other.
I guess that's what happens when you try to evolve to quickly.
Geoff.
-- Geoffrey S. Mendelson, N3OWJ/4X1GM/KBUH7245/KBUW5379
What do they use on those kettles for vehicular use? cut off the kettle?
Lighter sockets which have been used for cigarette lighter usage generally have badly oxidized center contacts, which will usually result in heat being generated by the poor/high resistance contact made for an electrical connection which requires any significant current.
A better connector such as Dave P suggests, is a much better solution unless the electrical device needs to be used universally in multiple vehicles.
If the socket is in bad condition electrically, a better quality plug connector likely won't improve the situation of the plug components overheating. Even Bakelite will break down if subjected to high heat from a poor electrical connection.
In most cases, the plugs aren't very secure connections to begin with.. especially when the vehicle is being driven causing vibration and movement of the cable.
I have a few lighter plugs that would be considered good quality/high reliability, but they're usually only available with high quality 12V accessories. Older products typically have better quality hardware.. such as an older Sony or similar brand name product, maybe more easily found in a thrift shop these days.
A better quality connector may be found on accessories intended for use on aircraft, such as laptop PC power converters.
-- Cheers, WB .............
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nI would disconnect the battery or lighter fuse and then go at the vehicle's cigarette lighter connector with a small wire brush on a Dremel tool. Don't forget to blow out any small wire fragments that come off the cheapo Chinese brush. Then check the back side of the connector, (it's probably a push on terminal type) for looseness and signs of burning, and then finish up with a shot of silicone type tuner cleaner. Lenny
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