robobass wrote in
:

When the family makes a road trip I bring along a 12v 4 amp cooler.
The ciggie plug melted long ago and I wired up one of those 3/16"
cannon shaped connectors used for low voltage home stuff like laptops,
external HDs etc. It also gets very hot and is starting to melt.
What's a good off-the-shelf solution which doesn't take up much room?
The whole ciggie plug thing is the dumbest convention ever, I must
say. I can't believe it's still extant.

A good quality cigarette plug connector in a clean good quality socket
can handle 8 to 10 amps without problems. I have a 100W inverter that
has one and has never given any trouble. However, it needs to have a
body that's held together properly with several screws, preferably a four
sided negative spring contact and a positive contact made out of plated
machined brass, not pressed steel. If the socket has actually been used
for a cigarette lighter, its basically trashed by the heat and ash and
will never be reliable.

If you are modding the vehicle to provide a connection point, consider
fitting an ISO 4165 socket. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4165 (also
frequently misnamed as a 12V 'DIN' plug)

--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
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