My (Samsung) smart phone ran very low on charge today so I plugged in
into my fag lighter charger.

I know it was connected OK because the battery charge indicator on the
phone changes from red to blue & back when a charger is
connected/disconnected.

But it wouldn't charge. I normally use the fag lighter charger to keep
it topped up during the day, but didn't today until it was only 5% charged..

Plugged it into my wall wart & it charges OK.

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?

Can be, some can't supply the full 1A or 2A that recent phones would
like, also some chargers or cables don't have the "secret handshake" of
shorted pins or resistors that indicate they can supply higher currents
than the 0.5A maximum of a USB port.

On 03/03/14 22:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:
My (Samsung) smart phone ran very low on charge today so I plugged in
into my fag lighter charger.

I know it was connected OK because the battery charge indicator on the
phone changes from red to blue & back when a charger is
connected/disconnected.

But it wouldn't charge. I normally use the fag lighter charger to keep
it topped up during the day, but didn't today until it was only 5%
charged..

Plugged it into my wall wart & it charges OK.

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?



This one will charge even the biggest Samsungs (Note 3) as well as my
old Note 2. Use the phones supplied lead for best effect.



http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/avantree-...ger-p39366.htm

On 3/3/2014 5:21 PM, Andy Burns wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?

Can be, some can't supply the full 1A or 2A that recent phones would
like, also some chargers or cables don't have the "secret handshake" of
shorted pins or resistors that indicate they can supply higher currents
than the 0.5A maximum of a USB port.

I have a couple of these

http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Converter-Cigarette-BlackBerry-Playbook/dp/B004X71HXU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393886781&sr=8-1&keywords=satechi+USB+Charging+Adapter

- they supply the secret handshake.

On 03/03/2014 22:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:
My (Samsung) smart phone ran very low on charge today so I plugged in
into my fag lighter charger.

I know it was connected OK because the battery charge indicator on the
phone changes from red to blue & back when a charger is
connected/disconnected.

But it wouldn't charge. I normally use the fag lighter charger to keep
it topped up during the day, but didn't today until it was only 5%
charged..

Plugged it into my wall wart & it charges OK.

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?


I find the micro-USB socket on my S2 is very fussy - some plugs work
fine, some not. Quite a few will work with a bit of careful positioning.
It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the charger itself - car,
battery pack, mains, computer USB socket, portable fusion machine, ...

In your line, I would get one of the battery pack chargers so you can
easily charge your phone, all day, even when well away from the van or
any source of mains power.

--
Rod

On 03/03/2014 22:39, Tim Watts wrote:

Use the phones supplied lead for best effect.

For some reason ICBA to find out, the supplied USB lead* with my Samsung
phone will only charge it at 230mA, regardless of source. It works fine
as a data lead so the pins must be connected at each end.
A generic USB lead charges it at 530mA...

* The supplied AC charger is one of the USB socket types.

Depends whether the light change is a proper electrical sensing one or just
some switch when you plug it in. My guess is that the charger from the
vehicle is bust.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
My (Samsung) smart phone ran very low on charge today so I plugged in into
my fag lighter charger.

I know it was connected OK because the battery charge indicator on the
phone changes from red to blue & back when a charger is
connected/disconnected.

But it wouldn't charge. I normally use the fag lighter charger to keep it
topped up during the day, but didn't today until it was only 5% charged..

Plugged it into my wall wart & it charges OK.

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 03/03/2014 22:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:
My (Samsung) smart phone ran very low on charge today so I plugged in
into my fag lighter charger.

I know it was connected OK because the battery charge indicator on the
phone changes from red to blue & back when a charger is
connected/disconnected.

But it wouldn't charge. I normally use the fag lighter charger to keep
it topped up during the day, but didn't today until it was only 5%
charged..

Plugged it into my wall wart & it charges OK.

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?



I have the same problem. I have three USB car lighter charges. The one
with a red LED light is a bit better, although oddly this one won't
maintain the charge in the battery if the screen is powered on all the
time by a GPS application.

Today I found that my Panasonic camera would not charge from a USB port
of my PC, presumably because the battery only had a little charge left.


--
Michael Chare

Michael Chare wrote:

I have three USB car lighter charges. The one
with a red LED light is a bit better, although oddly this one won't
maintain the charge in the battery if the screen is powered on all the
time by a GPS application.

My phone has wireless charging, I bought the official Nexus charger, it
is *very* fussy about the cigar lighter adapter and USB lead, but with
the correct combination it will run with GPS and screen on, while
actually managing to charge rather than discharge during the journey.

The place where the dedicated Brodit adapter fixes to my car is good in
terms of being able to see the screen, and nice to be able to just
"sling" the phone onto it and be aligned and held by the charger's magnets.

The downside is that the wireless charging interferes with DAB radio
signals, and whenever the phone drops back to 2G coverage that
interferes with DAB and FM signals, AM is not affected but then ****ty
AM reception is the reason I bought DAB in the first place :-(

On 03/03/2014 23:37, Brian Gaff wrote:

I'd guess the light change is electrical, because the display changes if
you unplug the fag lighter end.

Depends whether the light change is a proper electrical sensing one or just
some switch when you plug it in. My guess is that the charger from the
vehicle is bust.
Brian



--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 04/03/2014 01:39, Michael Chare wrote:
On 03/03/2014 22:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:
My (Samsung) smart phone ran very low on charge today so I plugged in
into my fag lighter charger.

I know it was connected OK because the battery charge indicator on the
phone changes from red to blue & back when a charger is
connected/disconnected.

But it wouldn't charge. I normally use the fag lighter charger to keep
it topped up during the day, but didn't today until it was only 5%
charged..

Plugged it into my wall wart & it charges OK.

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?



I have the same problem. I have three USB car lighter charges. The one
with a red LED light is a bit better, although oddly this one won't
maintain the charge in the battery if the screen is powered on all the
time by a GPS application.

That could be it - I was using the sat nav ap.

Today I found that my Panasonic camera would not charge from a USB port
of my PC, presumably because the battery only had a little charge left.


That's what I was wondering. The fag lighter charger usually works fine,
but in this case the charge level had dropped to around 5%.

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 03 Mar 2014, Tim Watts grunted:

On 03/03/14 22:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?

This one will charge even the biggest Samsungs (Note 3) as well as my
old Note 2. Use the phones supplied lead for best effect.

After the manufacturers have finally agreed on standard
cable/plug/wallwarts for mobiles (obviously very welcome for many reasons)
I find this a total PITA. We now have loads of these cables around at home
for various e-readers and phones etc, no idea now which originally belonged
to which. It was only via help from this ng that I even realised that there
were differences; we thought we were going mad that some cables 'seemed' to
work better than others...

--
David

In article ,
The Medway Handyman writes:
My (Samsung) smart phone ran very low on charge today so I plugged in
into my fag lighter charger.

I know it was connected OK because the battery charge indicator on the
phone changes from red to blue & back when a charger is
connected/disconnected.

But it wouldn't charge. I normally use the fag lighter charger to keep
it topped up during the day, but didn't today until it was only 5% charged..

Plugged it into my wall wart & it charges OK.

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?

My Samsung seems to charge from everything except one of those
portable battery packs. It can take the full output of a 2.1A
USB supply, but if the supply doesn't tell the phone it can
supply 2.1A (max rating in the USB spec for a micro-usb connector),
the phone falls back. In theory, max current draw allowed is only
0.1A if the supply doesn't indicate it can supply more.

It may be that your cigar PSU just isn't a good one. 2.1A ones
are now easily available, but most are still only 0.5A or 1A.

This one has two 2.1A outputs:
http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/mw3...put/dp/PW03056

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Tue, 04 Mar 2014 08:22:32 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

On 03 Mar 2014, Tim Watts grunted:

On 03/03/14 22:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:

Is there a big difference between fag lighter & wall wart chargers?

This one will charge even the biggest Samsungs (Note 3) as well as my
old Note 2. Use the phones supplied lead for best effect.

After the manufacturers have finally agreed on standard
cable/plug/wallwarts for mobiles (obviously very welcome for many reasons)
I find this a total PITA. We now have loads of these cables around at home
for various e-readers and phones etc, no idea now which originally belonged
to which. It was only via help from this ng that I even realised that there
were differences; we thought we were going mad that some cables 'seemed' to
work better than others...

It's a standard that isn't a standard then.

FWIW I've found most cables work, some charge more slowly than others.
My Samsung tablet displays an error icon when you connect it to a USB
port but it does charge. YMMV, of course.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?