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Can you 'fast charge' a phone in the car?


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I am on my 3rd 'fast charger' bought for my car to charge phone. Juts assumed the 1st 2 didn't work but the newest one was more expensive, so I thought it would. At home, my fast charge, 20W, gives a very reliable fast charge...

HiCharge.thumb.png.434357c370578f246f3a6afdfc9e50a1.png

However, in my car, it's a different story. I have 2 different 12v sockets, the original Ford one, and an extra one I had put in. No combination of using them, with different cables, with different 'chargers' that plug into the 12v socket make a blind bit of difference. Is my car just too old to cope with modern technology, something as simple as a phone charger? I started a journey today with 52% battery, 2 1/2 hours later, it sat at 74%, that's rubbish!

LoCharge.thumb.png.15e4ef961243355cf3f7205fa1534b25.png

Anyone know how I can get a fast charge for my phone in my car? (Oh, and no quips about Maypole please 馃槀)

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The 12V socket in your car is just providing 12V. Usually limited by a 10A fuse so plenty of power.聽

The phone charges off 5V as a base line for USB, 500mA is the standard power limit.聽

You need a charger that鈥檚 compatible with your phone鈥檚 fast charging protocols for it to charge any faster. Usually you can pull up to 2A at 5V on a compatible phone and charger. Faster than that and they phone negotiates a higher charging voltage. You can see on the charger itself what output voltages it supports.聽

What phone do you have? If you鈥檙e getting 2A off a normal 5V charger at home it should be possible with a 12V one too.聽

Basically the problem here isn鈥檛 the car but the 12V charger you are using in the car.聽

You could also be somewhat limited by heat. In a heatwave and hot car the phone may charge at a slower rate to stop itself overheating.聽

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3 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

What phone do you have? If you鈥檙e getting 2A off a normal 5V charger at home it should be possible with a 12V one too.

The phone I have is a Cat S52...

5 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

You could also be somewhat limited by heat. In a heatwave and hot car the phone may charge at a slower rate to stop itself overheating.聽

I appreciate this week has been abnormal, it being sunny here in NI, but to be fair, I've had this issue for months now, not just in hot weather...

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The phone spec says Quick charge 4, which is proprietary Qualcomm, but it鈥檚 a Mediatek SoC which is odd. I should think at the very least you could get 5V 2A charging working.聽

What chargers are you using? What is the rated voltage and current output on the charger itself? It鈥檚 always on a label or stamped/etched on the plastic.聽

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Just now, alexp999 said:

The phone spec says Quick charge 4, which is proprietary Qualcomm, but it鈥檚 a Mediatek SoC which is odd. I should think at the very least you could get 5V 2A charging working.聽

What chargers are you using? What is the rated voltage and current output on the charger itself? It鈥檚 always on a label or stamped/etched on the plastic.聽

This is the spec of my latest failed 'fast' charger...

IMG_20230908_180314_8.thumb.jpg.08025183099165936753dbb60b65c618.jpg

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I would certainly expect that to work. At least 10W charging.聽

It seems to be unable to negotiate the faster rate and is defaulting to USBs fail safe 500mA

Are you using the same cable in the house and in the car?聽

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Just now, alexp999 said:

Are you using the same cable in the house and in the car?聽

I wasn't, but, this afternoon I did trial my 'home' cable in car, it made no difference...

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It鈥檚 either a compatibility issue between the charger and phone. 聽Or the charger is fake/lying.聽

I can鈥檛 think what else it would be.聽

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2 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

It鈥檚 either a compatibility issue between the charger and phone. 聽Or the charger is fake/lying.聽

I can鈥檛 think what else it would be.聽

Thanks for trying. The 1st 2 chargers were bought on eBay, so could easily be fake, however the most recent one was bought from a multiple retail outlet so their supply chain should be fairly robust, so I'm assuming it's the real deal,

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4 hours ago, StephenFord said:

so I'm assuming it's the real deal,

....or it's as real as anything that's made in China 馃ぃ

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my 2 penneth, my Oneplus 9 uses a 65watt fast charger, anything lower and it does standard crawl charge which is enough to keep it topped up using as a sat-nav and hands-free calling.

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10 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

my 2 penneth, my Oneplus 9 uses a 65watt fast charger, anything lower and it does standard crawl charge which is enough to keep it topped up using as a sat-nav and hands-free calling.

I can't find a car charger for 65W - what do you have?

EDIT

I entered a typo, have found some, will buy one later today!

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  • 2 weeks later...

We have a winner! @Jimpster suggested that a 65w charger worked for him, so I bought one...

fastcharger.thumb.jpg.9edd66a83a06ac58a13192f5e53c023d.jpg

This now gives me a proper 'fastcharge' which I'm delighted at!

Screenshot_20230918-163954.thumb.png.73ca08350f1e806ea1a2d635cd3935c1.png

You guys, as always, are awesome, thank you...

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2 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

This now gives me a proper 'fastcharge' which I'm delighted at!

Well done Stephen (and Jimpster) 馃憤

It's probably the first time a 2005 petrol Focus has been fitted with a fast charger 馃ぃ

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Hopefully allowed, i do have a 3 pin plug and cable 65 watt charger that i used with my oneplus that went bang {not the chargers fault } inbox and i will send for postage costs.

Can add a pic if required first come first served

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10 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

Hopefully allowed, i do have a 3 pin plug and cable 65 watt charger that i used with my oneplus that went bang {not the chargers fault } inbox and i will send for postage costs.

Just curious, can't you use it for your replacement phone?

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54 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Just curious, can't you use it for your replacement phone?

the new phone came with its own 67watt charger as it was A grade so complete minus earphones for health and safety reasons

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