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OT: 12v vehicle outlet/cigarrette lighter

T

tn8n

Member
hoping someone might have some insight here. i have a "power port" with three outlets in my work van that i use for my gps, phone charger, inverter, etc that is plugged into the cig lighter. it quit working yesterday so i checked for voltage at the cig lighter and did not have 12 volts. i checked the fuse for it and it wasn't blown so it must be in the wiring supplying it.

i went to advance and got one of those accessory taps you plug into the fuse panel to give you power for an accessory and used it to power the 3 outlets. one wire to ground and the other one hot from the fuse panel.

the fuse i chose was only hot with the key on, so i plugged in 3 chargers and turned the key on. as soon as i turned it on, it smoked all 3 of my chargers. blew all 3 fuses, filled my van with smoke, the whole bit.

any thoughts what i'm doing wrong here?
 
(quoted from post at 13:58:59 11/25/12) hoping someone might have some insight here. i have a "power port" with three outlets in my work van that i use for my gps, phone charger, inverter, etc that is plugged into the cig lighter. it quit working yesterday so i checked for voltage at the cig lighter and did not have 12 volts. i checked the fuse for it and it wasn't blown so it must be in the wiring supplying it.

i went to advance and got one of those accessory taps you plug into the fuse panel to give you power for an accessory and used it to power the 3 outlets. one wire to ground and the other one hot from the fuse panel.

the fuse i chose was only hot with the key on, so i plugged in 3 chargers and turned the key on. as soon as i turned it on, it smoked all 3 of my chargers. blew all 3 fuses, filled my van with smoke, the whole bit.

any thoughts what i'm doing wrong here?
Click to expand...

My first question would be how did it blow three fuses if it was only protected by one?

TOH
 
Are you sure that you got the negative wire to ground? The damage sounds like reversed polarity. The fuses should have protected the chargers if they were hooked up correctly.
 
i thought the same thing, replaced all 3 fuses, reversed the wires and tried again, same result.
 
(quoted from post at 14:16:17 11/25/12) easy, each charger has a fuse in it and i had 3 plugged in.
Click to expand...

So there is no fuse protecting the accessory circuit itself? How is the accessory strip connected to the fuse panel? Does it have a dummy fuse to plug into an empty slot? Unplug the chargers and turn on the key. What happens?

TOH
 
the accessory tap i bought has two places for a fuse on it. one is for the fuse you remove to be able to plug it in and the other is for the accessory you are adding. it didn't blow either of those, only the ones in the chargers. i finally gave up and removed the power tap and put the factory fuse back in.

now when i turn the key on, it doesn't blow any fuses or anything and everything is working fine.except for the cigarrette lighter, obviously.
 
(quoted from post at 15:53:46 11/25/12) the accessory tap i bought has two places for a fuse on it. one is for the fuse you remove to be able to plug it in and the other is for the accessory you are adding. it didn't blow either of those, only the ones in the chargers. i finally gave up and removed the power tap and put the factory fuse back in.

now when i turn the key on, it doesn't blow any fuses or anything and everything is working fine.except for the cigarrette lighter, obviously.
Click to expand...

If the fuses in the new power tap do not blow then it is wired correctly and working fine. Let me see if I correctly understand your new circuit:
  • [*:a4f116e03f]Your new power tap is a single jack that you purchased to replace your non-working cigarette lighter.[*:a4f116e03f]It has a fuse block that plugs into a fuse slot in your vehicles fuse panel[*:a4f116e03f]Ther is a socket in that fuse block for the fuse that you removed from the fuse panel[*:a4f116e03f]The new power outlet also has an inline fuse in the hot lead going to the power outlet that protects any accsessory plugged into it.[*:a4f116e03f]When you turn on the key with nothing plugged into the new power outlet everything is fine[*:a4f116e03f]You have a second 3 jack power tap that you originally used in the cigarette lighter to power your gadget chargers[*:a4f116e03f]When you plug it into the new power outlet and turn on the key all three fuses in it blow but the fuses in the new power outlet are not blown[/list:eek::a4f116e03f]

    If that is accurate then your problem is almost certainly a dead short in the old 3 outlet unit or in all three of the chargers plugged into it. Are the charger fuses built into the 3 jack power strip or are they inline with each charger? Have you tested the 3 jack "power port" with nothing plugged into the jacks on it? Have you tested the 3 jack "power port" in another vehicle? Have you tested the individual gadget chargers in another vehicle?

    TOH
 
you're right on all counts. i haven't been able to test them in another vehicle yet as i'm still out on the road. that's my next step though when i get home. i feel like it's got to be in the 3-outlet power port, too, i'm not sure how it didn't blow the fuse for it in the fuse box, but who knows. i guess if the chargers work in another vehicle it pretty much has to be the power port.
 
(quoted from post at 17:23:44 11/25/12) you're right on all counts. i haven't been able to test them in another vehicle yet as i'm still out on the road. that's my next step though when i get home. i feel like it's got to be in the 3-outlet power port, too, i'm not sure how it didn't blow the fuse for it in the fuse box, but who knows. i guess if the chargers work in another vehicle it pretty much has to be the power port.
Click to expand...
You have 3 individually fused loads connected in parallel and fed by a single line fuse. If the individual load fuses are lower amperage than the main line fuse it would be easy to blow them and leave the line fuse intact.

I'd also suggest you check carefully for a blown fuse somewhere in the circuit coming to the cigarette lighter - perhaps under the dash. My suspicion is your power port caused it to blow leaving the "upstream" one in the fuse panel intact and that's why it's not working.

TOH
 
(quoted from post at 17:23:44 11/25/12) i guess if the chargers work in another vehicle it pretty much has to be the power port.
Click to expand...
Testing the chargers in another vehicle sounds like a good next step.
I would be afraid the 3 port outlet may damage another vehicle too.
 
True, but reverse polarity applied to many solid state devices produces a failure that draws far more than the design current.
 
OK, next is to reduce the number of variables in order to determine which one is the problem.

Have you checked the system voltage? I assume that the engine was off when you had your problem. If so, what is the voltage at the battery and at the power source you tapped? If the engine was running, compare engine off voltage to engine running voltage. If more than 14.5V with the engine running, investigate that first.

If system voltage is OK, then see if hooking up the power outlet with nothing plugged in causes a problem.

If the power outlet is OK, then try one charger at a time. Try with no load on the charger, then with the device plugged in. If they work properly one at a time, add another. Repeat.
 
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