I have recently aquired multiple items to plug into my car socket. i.e
mobile charger, gps, coolbox

At the moment I swap leads as required, but want to tidy up the setup. Can
anyone suggest the best way to go about this?

The socket is only live with ignition on which isnt a problem, however the
alternative would be to connect the coolbox to permanent live via a car
battery protector (i.e cut power when battery drops to 11.5v).

I have no idea of the power consumption of the gps and mobile charger,
however the coolbox consumes 48w. This could be moved to the rear of the
car, with a suitable extension (if so which guage cable would be required
for the current use)

Any suggestions on the tidiest setup?

john wrote:
I have recently aquired multiple items to plug into my car socket. i.e
mobile charger, gps, coolbox

At the moment I swap leads as required, but want to tidy up the
setup. Can anyone suggest the best way to go about this?

The socket is only live with ignition on which isnt a problem,
however the alternative would be to connect the coolbox to permanent
live via a car battery protector (i.e cut power when battery drops to
11.5v).

I have no idea of the power consumption of the gps and mobile charger,
however the coolbox consumes 48w. This could be moved to the rear of
the car, with a suitable extension (if so which guage cable would be
required for the current use)

Any suggestions on the tidiest setup?

125Ah leisure battery (£39) 4 way cigar socket from maplin (£3.99)
plug everything in, bob's yer uncle. I've even converted my boogie box
http://snipurl.com/gs3z to run off 12V by soldering a butchered 12V
cord similar to this but coiled http://snipurl.com/gs42 to the 12V input.

charges phones, GPS kit, runs LED lighting, etc, etc....

eventually, when I get round to actually building / converting a cvampervan
I'll get a split charge unit and another couple of leisure batteries.

HtH

on 07/08/2005, john supposed :
I have recently aquired multiple items to plug into my car socket. i.e mobile
charger, gps, coolbox

At the moment I swap leads as required, but want to tidy up the setup. Can
anyone suggest the best way to go about this?

The socket is only live with ignition on which isnt a problem, however the
alternative would be to connect the coolbox to permanent live via a car
battery protector (i.e cut power when battery drops to 11.5v).

I have no idea of the power consumption of the gps and mobile charger,
however the coolbox consumes 48w. This could be moved to the rear of the car,
with a suitable extension (if so which guage cable would be required for the
current use)

Any suggestions on the tidiest setup?

You can buy adaptors with four outlets, which would solve your problems
whist on the move.

I would not recommend relying on the 11.5v cut-out to leave your
battery with enough power to start the engine if it were connected
straight across the battery. This is mainly to prevent damage to the
battery.

If you really must run this item without the engine running, then
consider installing a separate leisure battery as a secondary battery,
with a secondary battery charging system such as is used for towing a
caravan. This is just a relay which connects the secondary battery
across your main battery to charge it once the engine is running. These
are either of the voltage operated type(easiest to install), or a type
operated by the ignition warning light circuit.


--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.org

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
john wrote:

I have recently aquired multiple items to plug into my car socket. i.e
mobile charger, gps, coolbox

At the moment I swap leads as required, but want to tidy up the
setup. Can anyone suggest the best way to go about this?

The socket is only live with ignition on which isnt a problem,
however the alternative would be to connect the coolbox to permanent
live via a car battery protector (i.e cut power when battery drops to
11.5v).

I have no idea of the power consumption of the gps and mobile charger,
however the coolbox consumes 48w. This could be moved to the rear of
the car, with a suitable extension (if so which guage cable would be
required for the current use)

Any suggestions on the tidiest setup?

You can get adapter leads - with one plug and 3 or 4 sockets - which enable
you to power several things from a single cigar lighter socket at the same
time - but they will, of course, all go off when you turn the ignition off.

The GPS and phone charger consume very little current - and could probably
be left on permanently if you wired an additional socket - through a fuse -
to a permanently-live source. Having said that, there seems little point in
powering a GPS when you're not going anywhere - particularly if it is able
to get a fix within a few seconds of being turned on.

The coolbox is a bit worrying. According to its rating, it will take 4
amps - but it may take a bit more in practice. This would be bad news for
the battery if left on without the engine running for more than an hour or
three - so you'll definitely need some sort of battery protection if you
want to go down this route - unless you install an additional (leisure)
battery just for the coolbox, and charge it through a split charge system. I
think that's what I would do.

It's worth having a close look at your vehicle wiring. You may well find
that you already have a heavy duty permanent live feed hidden behind the
boot trim somewhere. I have owned several cars which have done this - and
then used the feeds for things like the heated back window, switched by
means of relays - also at the back.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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