StreetMedic

Hiya, all,

Just got an '04 F-150 a few weeks back and I was wondering about
something I read in the owners manual which I'd never heard before.

Ford advises against using the cigarette lighter outlet as a power point
and to *only* use the dedicated power points for cell phone charging, etc.

I was just curious if anyone has any insight as to why this is. I mean,
for years my cars have only had the one cigarette lighter. Cell phones,
radar detectors, etc., all plugged in there, seemingly without any issues.
Has something changed?

Thx,

S-M

 

Greg Surratt

On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 16:35:32 -0500, "StreetMedic"
<zhyvaxxeSPAMMERJAMMER@comcast.net> wrote:

> Hiya, all,
>
> Just got an '04 F-150 a few weeks back and I was wondering about
>something I read in the owners manual which I'd never heard before.
>
> Ford advises against using the cigarette lighter outlet as a power point
>and to *only* use the dedicated power points for cell phone charging, etc.
>
> I was just curious if anyone has any insight as to why this is. I mean,
>for years my cars have only had the one cigarette lighter. Cell phones,
>radar detectors, etc., all plugged in there, seemingly without any issues.
>Has something changed?
>
> Thx,
>
> S-M

I still use the cigarette lighter for charging the cell phone.

What has changed is that people are using those DC-AC converters to
run other things (laptops?) and the power points have heavier wiring
and fuse protection to deal with the increased current demands.

For instance, I run a laptop computer on a 400 watt converter on
trips. Haven't tried plugging in the coffee pot yet ;-)

Greg

William Wixon

i just recently put an additional powerpoint in back in the bed of my
pickup, opened up the dashboard to get at the cigarette lighter and
powerpoint, the powerpoint had *much* thinner wires, i was afraid to wire up
the in-bed powerpoint to it so i connected it to the cigarette lighter. (i
cannot recall the fuse sizes though)

b.w.




"Greg Surratt" <glsurratt@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:bmlvm1h1f8srknagpv3m2v4oblq60681oh@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 16:35:32 -0500, "StreetMedic"
> <zhyvaxxeSPAMMERJAMMER@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> Hiya, all,
>>
>> Just got an '04 F-150 a few weeks back and I was wondering about
>>something I read in the owners manual which I'd never heard before.
>>
>> Ford advises against using the cigarette lighter outlet as a power
>> point
>>and to *only* use the dedicated power points for cell phone charging, etc.
>>
>> I was just curious if anyone has any insight as to why this is. I
>> mean,
>>for years my cars have only had the one cigarette lighter. Cell phones,
>>radar detectors, etc., all plugged in there, seemingly without any issues.
>>Has something changed?
>>
>> Thx,
>>
>> S-M
>
> I still use the cigarette lighter for charging the cell phone.
>
> What has changed is that people are using those DC-AC converters to
> run other things (laptops?) and the power points have heavier wiring
> and fuse protection to deal with the increased current demands.
>
> For instance, I run a laptop computer on a 400 watt converter on
> trips. Haven't tried plugging in the coffee pot yet ;-)
>
> Greg

Shabtai Evan

Has anyone looked at the cigarette lighter winding. Many big amps are
need to heat up a lighter. Can't thing of any laptops that need that
much juice.
Simon









Greg Surratt wrote:
> On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 16:35:32 -0500, "StreetMedic"
> <zhyvaxxeSPAMMERJAMMER@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
>> Hiya, all,
>>
>> Just got an '04 F-150 a few weeks back and I was wondering about
>>something I read in the owners manual which I'd never heard before.
>>
>> Ford advises against using the cigarette lighter outlet as a power point
>>and to *only* use the dedicated power points for cell phone charging, etc.
>>
>> I was just curious if anyone has any insight as to why this is. I mean,
>>for years my cars have only had the one cigarette lighter. Cell phones,
>>radar detectors, etc., all plugged in there, seemingly without any issues.
>>Has something changed?
>>
>> Thx,
>>
>> S-M
>
>
> I still use the cigarette lighter for charging the cell phone.
>
> What has changed is that people are using those DC-AC converters to
> run other things (laptops?) and the power points have heavier wiring
> and fuse protection to deal with the increased current demands.
>
> For instance, I run a laptop computer on a 400 watt converter on
> trips. Haven't tried plugging in the coffee pot yet ;-)
>
> Greg

I. Care

In article <LYydnUxOLJy1sO3eRVn-pw@comcast.com>, shabtai@comcast.net
says...
> Has anyone looked at the cigarette lighter winding. Many big amps are
> need to heat up a lighter. Can't thing of any laptops that need that
> much juice.
> Simon
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Greg Surratt wrote:
> > On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 16:35:32 -0500, "StreetMedic"
> > <zhyvaxxeSPAMMERJAMMER@comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> Hiya, all,
> >>
> >> Just got an '04 F-150 a few weeks back and I was wondering about
> >>something I read in the owners manual which I'd never heard before.
> >>
> >> Ford advises against using the cigarette lighter outlet as a power point
> >>and to *only* use the dedicated power points for cell phone charging, etc.
> >>
> >> I was just curious if anyone has any insight as to why this is. I mean,
> >>for years my cars have only had the one cigarette lighter. Cell phones,
> >>radar detectors, etc., all plugged in there, seemingly without any issues.
> >>Has something changed?
> >>
> >> Thx,
> >>
> >> S-M
> >
> >
> > I still use the cigarette lighter for charging the cell phone.
> >
> > What has changed is that people are using those DC-AC converters to
> > run other things (laptops?) and the power points have heavier wiring
> > and fuse protection to deal with the increased current demands.
> >
> > For instance, I run a laptop computer on a 400 watt converter on
> > trips. Haven't tried plugging in the coffee pot yet ;-)
> >
> > Greg
>
How about a Sony FRV25? I plugged a 400W inverter into my cig. lighter
socket (couldn't find a 12v adapter with enough capacity) and hooked up
my laptop. It drew so much current the inverter alarm sounded with low
input voltage, which I verified by voltage measurement. I suspect the
wiring was too small to the cig. lighter. The inverter instructions
stated if that happened hook directly to the battery.
--
I. Care
Address fake until the SPAM goes away ;-}

putt@webtv.net

>Ford advises against using the cigarette
> lighter outlet as a power point and to
> *only* use the dedicated power points
> for cell phone charging, etc.

Following the Electrical engineers' advice at Ford is the smart thing to
do. The cigarette circuit was not designed/rated as a 'continous load'
circuit. Yes, it uses a large amount of 'current', but it is of short
duration. A Power Point circuit is supposed to be designed/rated as a
continous load circuit(s), and therefore safe to use as such.

Dave S(Texas)