Car Inverter Plug

[simps100]

Hi all,

I recently bought a car inverter for my fiesta which plugs into my power output, only problem is it keeps running when the cars off, and I'm bound to forget it one night killing my battery!! What would be perfect is if I could hard wire it in, firstly to keep the power outlet free and secondly to only come on when the ignition is on. Anyone know how possible this would be and if possible, how to go about it?

Thanks

Marc

[Danny87]

Hmm, I'm sure there's something you could do. Personally I would go about it one or two ways..

1. Wire an on/off switch into the 12v cigarette lighter socket - not a perfect solution but cheap as a switch would be a couple of quid, but you'd have to figure out a way to have the switch operable and within easy reach.

2. Using a relay powered by the ignition feed wire, so when the ignition is on the relay activates and switches on the main power circuit for the 12v ciggy lighter.

I used option 1 for my Punto and just made a tiny hole in the dash towards the bottom on the side, a bit of hassle with the wires but it worked and at least I had a switch to flick on or off and it gave me more control over the power of the ciggy lighter - it's still prone to accidently leaving it on though especially if you're tired when you get home and park etc..

Dunno, maybe you'll be able to come up with a better solution..

Dan

[simps100]

Option 2 sounds good, although what would be ideal Is if I could somehow hard wire the inverter Somwhere so my poweroutlet is still freed up for things such as satnav not sure If that would be possible though !

[Danny87]

I know exactly what you mean, I'm just trying to figure out the best way myself at the moment lol. I'm wondering if it's possible to just take a feed from the 12v feed to the power socket (use scotchlocks or solder) and then have your inverter fitted permenantly in the passenger footwell with a couple of screws/velcro if it would hold. My only concern personally would be putting too much load and end up blowing the fuse every time you had two items running. But saying that, you can get those dual 12v power socket things and people use them to run two items like a phone charger and GPS (very low power items though).

It would be interesting to know whether the 12v power point is fed directly from the battery via a relay or whatever, if that was the case then you could probably just take a feed via relay directly from the battery and run it through a grommet or whatever in the engine bay into the passenger compartment. That sounds like a lot of work though?

[orcomma]

I know exactly what you mean, I'm just trying to figure out the best way myself at the moment lol. I'm wondering if it's possible to just take a feed from the 12v feed to the power socket (use scotchlocks or solder) and then have your inverter fitted permenantly in the passenger footwell with a couple of screws/velcro if it would hold. My only concern personally would be putting too much load and end up blowing the fuse every time you had two items running. But saying that, you can get those dual 12v power socket things and people use them to run two items like a phone charger and GPS (very low power items though).

It would be interesting to know whether the 12v power point is fed directly from the battery via a relay or whatever, if that was the case then you could probably just take a feed via relay directly from the battery and run it through a grommet or whatever in the engine bay into the passenger compartment. That sounds like a lot of work though?

dont forget the battery saver relay that shuts off all auxiliary power 30 mins after ignition off. if you have low load, you might get away with just relying on this. it automatically reactivates when the door is unlocked.

[Danny87]

Thanks, that's really useful to know! I have my bluetooth handsfree plugged into my power point, it has its own on/off switch but I was worried about forgetting and leaving it on all night and draining my battery, so that's great information for me too!

[simps100]

Ah didnt realise after 30 mins the power port went off too, thats good to know so should never be able to kill the battery by leaving somthing plugged in..!

So do you think it would be powerfull enough to run the inverter and a sat nav or somthing without blowing the fuse?

[orcomma]

Ah didnt realise after 30 mins the power port went off too, thats good to know so should never be able to kill the battery by leaving somthing plugged in..!

So do you think it would be powerfull enough to run the inverter and a sat nav or somthing without blowing the fuse?

the !Removed! lighter socket is rated at 10 amps which at 12 volts is 120 watts. however it is fused at 20 amps (240 watts), to provide a buffer of protection. as long as you dont exceed 120w you should be fine in terms of poweful enough - but higher loads will drain the battery faster and may drain it too much within the 30 minute time frame.

what's the wattage of your inverter? and why aren't you just using the cigarette lighter charger with your satnav? (i think all of them come with one)