Cigarette light plug and wire--warning

[dlwtrunked]

Just a warning. I recently wanted a source for cigarette lighter male plugs with wire. Looking at Amazon I found many are rated at only 5 W and many buyers report the fuses instantly blowing despite the vendor. I found one from eBay rated higher and ordered one for about $5 only to discover he adds $200 shipping to every item he sales. Last year I bought a long wire to go from the battery to a T-connector for a 2m rig in the car. I installed it last month to find it had a 2V drop and the radio would not come on due to that nor would anything else that I tried that using more than an amp or so. I replaced that with wire from HRO that was fine. So one should not assume one can easily buy this simple item. The marked appears to be flooded by bad cable in it.

 

[GTR8000]

I found one from eBay rated higher and ordered one for about $5 only to discover he adds $200 shipping to every item he sales.

Lolwut

 

[rf_patriot200]

The rentacop for my complex pulled in one evening and had his hood up on his squad and I asked if he needed a jump, but his kenwood radio wouldn't work he said. I looked, and he had it all cobbled up to a cigar lighter plug and I laughed. He said what's so funny, and I said relax don't shoot. we'll straighten this out in a few minutes . The cigar lighter was half melted with a 15 amp fuse in it, trying to power a 40w radio.

 

[buddrousa]

My local Walmart has these in Automotive.

Robot or human?

 

[dlwtrunked]

My local Walmart has these in Automotive.

Robot or human?

I will look at one but they do not give a current specification. The problem I am seeing is very thick wire insulation with little conductor inside. Some is listed as 16 gauge but looks thinner.

 

[dlwtrunked]

The rentacop for my complex pulled in one evening and had his hood up on his squad and I asked if he needed a jump, but his kenwood radio wouldn't work he said. I looked, and he had it all cobbled up to a cigar lighter plug and I laughed. He said what's so funny, and I said relax don't shoot. we'll straighten this out in a few minutes . The cigar lighter was half melted with a 15 amp fuse in it, trying to power a 40w radio.

I had a professional installer install the wiring (that did not work that I had bought) for mine. I would have installed it myself but I am recovering from should cuff surgery and that will take months. If you have had such surgery you will understand--worse than should replacement, knee replacement etc. At the time I could only reach my left arm 5 inches from my body. Anyway, I watched him do it and he did a very professional job but testing with an LED tester did not reveal the unexpected problem discovered when I put the radio in a week later. Added a new note to my memory, even for something this simple, test under a load. WE could not visibly find anything wrong with the wire.

 

[Omega-TI]

Sigh... yeah, ALWAYS come straight off the battery when installing a radio. Use a proper gauge (fused) wire attached to a new terminal that connects to the battery. It's amazing how many people will buy an expensive top of the line transceiver and then take shortcuts during installation. Also, don't forget to clean the battery posts properly and use some Noco corrosion preventative spray. Also remember, 90% of all automotive electrical problems are due to poor grounding issues.

 

[MikeinDestin]

I saw a real good video on this from a knowledgeable ham who used to instruct on Amateur Radio installations. Auto fires have started from pulling too much current from your cigarette lighter circuit. That is only meant for lighting a cigarette. The plug is what gets hot, very hot! If you don't want to tackle it yourself, go to a car stereo shop. They'll wire it to your battery, and provide the fuses, etc. It's well worth the money. I saw a pic of a fire started from an ht. That's right, a handy talkie! I used to think there was nothing wrong with using those to power a transceiver until I saw the video. Now I'd never do it. Another reason is alternator whine. A whole other subject!

 

[nd5y]

The cigar lighter was half melted with a 15 amp fuse in it, trying to power a 40w radio.

Transmitting at full power a 40 watt radio shouldn't draw more than about 8 or 10 A at 13.8 V.

 

[davidgcet]

Transmitting at full power a 40 watt radio shouldn't draw more than about 8 or 10 A at 13.8 V.

many aux ports, they have not been lighters ports in many years, now only have about 18 gauge factory wiring feeding them. the insulation has a higher rating but the wire still will have higher voltage drop on higher current loads.

as to the post above about having a professional installer do it, if he did not realize the wire gauge when installing it then he is not a pro. or not one i would trust to do my work. reminds me of the cop car we worked on one time that all the grounds were all pigtailed using wirenuts until it got to one single number 12 to carry the light bar, siren, 2 radios, strobes, flashlight and a couple other minor things. that poor wire had no insulation left and was actively burning the padding under the passenger side carpet. the department refused to pay for us to repair it so we took a ton of pics, removed all fuses and had them sign a waiver stating they were told it was minutes away from a fire if used again before fixed.

 

[dlwtrunked]

I will look at one but they do not give a current specification. The problem I am seeing is very thick wire insulation with little conductor inside. Some is listed as 16 gauge but looks thinner.

I did check today. My local Walmart does not have these (I looked and so did one of their people). I am going to go with another way to accomplish my need.

 

[dlwtrunked]

many aux ports, they have not been lighters ports in many years, now only have about 18 gauge factory wiring feeding them. the insulation has a higher rating but the wire still will have higher voltage drop on higher current loads.

as to the post above about having a professional installer do it, if he did not realize the wire gauge when installing it then he is not a pro. or not one i would trust to do my work. reminds me of the cop car we worked on one time that all the grounds were all pigtailed using wirenuts until it got to one single number 12 to carry the light bar, siren, 2 radios, strobes, flashlight and a couple other minor things. that poor wire had no insulation left and was actively burning the padding under the passenger side carpet. the department refused to pay for us to repair it so we took a ton of pics, removed all fuses and had them sign a waiver stating they were told it was minutes away from a fire if used again before fixed.

I had given him the wire to use as it had the T-connector on the end (he normally installs stereos and alarm systems and had not seen one); that particular wire conductor did not look thin (baought earlier from unknown) but do not know its gauge nor kept it.

 

[n3obl]

One reason why I set TOT to around 30-45 seconds for radio so it don't accidentally key down for length of time.

 

[BinaryMode]

Just a warning. I recently wanted a source for cigarette lighter male plugs with wire. Looking at Amazon I found many are rated at only 5 W and many buyers report the fuses instantly blowing despite the vendor. I found one from eBay rated higher and ordered one for about $5 only to discover he adds $200 shipping to every item he sales. Last year I bought a long wire to go from the battery to a T-connector for a 2m rig in the car. I installed it last month to find it had a 2V drop and the radio would not come on due to that nor would anything else that I tried that using more than an amp or so. I replaced that with wire from HRO that was fine. So one should not assume one can easily buy this simple item. The marked appears to be flooded by bad cable in it.

Don't trust Amazon fuses either... And A lot of the crap there isn't even UL listed. Buyer beware - buyer do their research!

 

[dlwtrunked]

Don't trust Amazon fuses either... And A lot of the crap there isn't even UL listed. Buyer beware - buyer do their research!

I have had bad fuses before. Tested OK outside of the holder and did not work inside the holder. Yesterday I learned about "new costs". To replace the driver door speaker speaker and wiring harness (intermittent no audio) in my Toyota Corolla is over $1200 at dealer repair; I said "No"-- I cannot do it my self due to recovering from surgery and it will have to wait). And an eBay vendor cancelled my order at my request for a 6 inch wire splitter with T-connectors for my Yaesu mobile rigs after I discovered he was charging $200 shipping. but I still trust eBay more than Toyota (at least my local dealer).

 

[ecps92]

I did check today. My local Walmart does not have these (I looked and so did one of their people). I am going to go with another way to accomplish my need.

Try AutoZone or Advanced Auto Parts

 

[rf_patriot200]

Transmitting at full power a 40 watt radio shouldn't draw more than about 8 or 10 A at 13.8 V.

Right, but he had several go arounds with this lighter plug, and it was a melted mess from being overheated . I guess his boss was the first one to try running that kenwood off a measly lighter plug.

 

[dlwtrunked]

Try AutoZone or Advanced Auto Parts

I bought 100 ft of good auto wire from Amazon and it will be delivered in one day and already have connectors and will male what I need myself. (I had checked each of those, and neither had what I needed even with clerk help.)

 

[EAFrizzle]

I've been using this harness since January. QT-60Pro, daily use, and I can get long-winded. I plug into the extra port in the console, and haven't had a bit of problem so far.

If you're having to make a field-expedient or reclaimed adapter, the plug and coiled wire from Q-beam style spotlights are usually a safe bet for higher current.