charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

[Ted S.]

Has anyone used external speakers for their iPOD while charging the device through the cig. lighter? My '63 SWC lighter (it works) male part looks different from the iPOD charger male made by Belkin. I want to use the hi tech external speakers rather than the 45 year old scratcy speaker in the dash. The external speakers (two of them) are really neat; small enough to fit the palm of your hand and they are quite powerful.

The Belkin device that inserts into the lighter has the usb port to power/charge the iPOD. Don't wish to fry anything and that is the reason for the post. Advice??

[Bill I.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

Ted, can't understand why no replies. Yes, if the charger is designed for 12v., it will function with no problem. Bill

[Joel T.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

Has anyone used external speakers for their iPOD while charging the device through the cig. lighter? My '63 SWC lighter (it works) male part looks different from the iPOD charger male made by Belkin. I want to use the hi tech external speakers rather than the 45 year old scratcy speaker in the dash. The external speakers (two of them) are really neat; small enough to fit the palm of your hand and they are quite powerful.

The Belkin device that inserts into the lighter has the usb port to power/charge the iPOD. Don't wish to fry anything and that is the reason for the post. Advice??

Ted;

Should not be a problem with your '63. I have connected my GPS to my '63 cigarette lighter and it worked fine.

Another option which I like is to buy one of those cheap plug in inverters (I have a Black and Decker .. like $20.00 @ WalMart). This converts the 12V DC to 120 V AC so you can use your regular plug in iPod charger.. I find that this charges the unit faster than the straight 12V method and you don't need to buy all the extra 12V chargers for things like cell phones...

Have fun,

Joel

[Harry S.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

Hang on guys, the 63 original cig. lighters were not made for continuous output of power for cell phones, gps's or anything else. It it well documented that fires, yes fires, have started because of the excess heat.

If you plan to use GPS's etc, then swap out the lighter for the 3 or 4 prong version that can accommodate the current technology. Do some more research on this.

[Brian M.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

I'm with Harry, I smell smoke.

[Bill I.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

Harry, got to take a little exception on your advice. When you push in the cig lighter, it's a dead short, that's why it's a 20A fuse protecting it. An IPod charger does not draw any where that amperage. My cell phone 12v adapter says 2A @ 12v DC, Not a heavy draw on a 20A circuit. Remember, it's not going to be pluged in 24/7. Maybe 3, 4 hours, I see no problem. Bill.

[Joel T.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

Bill;

That's where I was coming from too. I figured that it is a 20A fused circuit which is being used at much less than full capacity.

Joel

[Jack H.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

It's not really a 'dead short'... The cig lighter element has an intrinsic resistance (about 2 ohms).

The key is reading the foreign device's current draw rating and making sure it's within the fuse range for the cig lighter branch circuit.

The only caveat beyond that is the physical design of the power plug (geometry). Few mfgrs of these cig lighter power tap devices really understood Casco's design envelope...

They often fit, but insert rather sloppily. If the power tap is appreciably bigger/wider than the Casco cig lighter element, the holding prongs in the socket can wind up being bent/distorted.

Then, when you switch back to cig lighter mode, your element may not stay in the power socket and/or release too quickly (before the element is fully heated). So, beware using the cig socket to power foreign item(s) and then switching back to cig lighter mode for an Operations Check...

[Dennis A.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

On C1 cars.... do not use the lighter socket for any thing other than the lighter, (unless a fuse has been added to the lighter circuit)

[John H.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

On C1 cars.... do not use the lighter socket for any thing other than the lighter, (unless a fuse has been added to the lighter circuit)

That lighter feed circuit didn't become fused on Corvettes until 1967.

[Terry M.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

I was surprised to find my 1988 Celebrity had an unfused lighter feed to the dash. Don't ask me how I found out.
Be careful out there.

[Michael G.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

Most devices designed to be plugged into a cigarette lighter socket have their own fuse built into the plug. I'm not sure about Ipods, so I'd check your plug for a fuse. If there's one, the fuse that device manufacture provided will protect your device. As for the effect on your car, I don't really know.

Mike

[Paul Y.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

I have run Ipods,GPSs,Radar detectors,and CB radios out of cigarette lighters for many years without smelling smoke. Maybe I'm just lucky. I even have a 1 to 3 adapter so that I can run more than one off one cigarette lighter. I never use the lighter anymore. If convinced, I might be willing to put a fuse in the lighter line. Paul

[Terry M.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

The lighter in my Celebrity melted the dash. I never used it for anything -- not even to light cigarettes -- and it melted the dash while the car was parked.
Put a fuse in that circuit. I would have thought a car that new would have had a fuse in the circuit.

[Paul Y.]

Re: charging your iPOD thru cig lighter

Terry, I'm convinced. What amp fuse should I have in there? Paul