Not Getting enough juice out of my 12v Outlet

[Btron]

I have an inverter plugged into my center console and I use that for my iPhone and Android chargers but when I plug my laptop into it, no dice.

It seems as if I rev the car that it gives out more power. "I found this out camping while trying to grind some coffee beans". I have a couple of inverters, they both work the same. All I want to do is run my laptop while driving.

Im getting plenty of power from my alternator. Is there something wrong with my inverter? Or maybe the age of my truck? How can I get adequate power to these outlets?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

You can't. The outlets are supplied by little tiny 16 ga wires and so the voltage drop when using larger amounts of power lowers the input voltage below the requirements of your load.

The solution is to run your own dedicated circuit from the battery. Say 10 guage wire, fused at the battery and routed into your console. Then use what ever connectors you like and it should work perfectly.

But to run a laptop, it is often possible to run directly off your 12 volt system without an inverter-search Amazon for "car adapter" with your laptop model. An inverter typically wastes half the power that it uses and is a poor way to power accessories that could be powered directly from 12 volts. For sure there are phone adapters for every model that don't need an inverter.

Inverters are a sometimes necessary evil but what you are describing, does not need an inverter. Because they are power hogs, you'd be better off doing something different.

 

[Mike6158]

As I remember it the wiring to the cigarette light plug is small and that will cause increased voltage drop. You may be overloading the circuit when you have all that "stuff" plugged in. My Dell charger is rated almost 5A DC. But, cigarette lighters are usually rated 10A. Maybe the socket is bad? Assuming the circuit is rated for 10A it sounds like you have a weak link that's causing voltage drop, maybe the socket or plug

 

[Sandroad]

@Cruiserdrew has it right. The 10A DC sockets are rated at only 120 watts. That's about 1A at 110 volts and counting what the inverter uses, most laptop power supplies will draw more than that. You'll need to either 1) hardwire in the inverter to the battery 2) get a 12VDC adapter for the computer or 3) get a laptop with a very low power draw. My MacBookPro runs off a small inverter in the cabin, but it's super efficient. You might try the cig lighter plug, since it's wired with it's own fuse and heavier wire for the resistance load of the lighter.

 

[Btron]

Yes, I also have a MacBookPro. I will run through all suggestions tomorrow. Super fat from T day. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I def have thanks for IH8mud! My go too for all Cruiser needs.

- cheers

 

[Patineto]

You can't. The outlets are supplied by little tiny 16 ga wires and so the voltage drop when using larger amounts of power lowers the input voltage below the requirements of your load.

The solution is to run your own dedicated circuit from the battery. Say 10 guage wire, fused at the battery and routed into your console. Then use what ever connectors you like and it should work perfectly.

But to run a laptop, it is often possible to run directly off your 12 volt system without an inverter-search Amazon for "car adapter" with your laptop model. An inverter typically wastes half the power that it uses and is a poor way to power accessories that could be powered directly from 12 volts. For sure there are phone adapters for every model that don't need an inverter.

Inverters are a sometimes necessary evil but what you are describing, does not need an inverter. Because they are power hogs, you'd be better off doing something different.

Drew you just save me a lot of work and expense..

thanks for sharing, very helpful..

 

[JohnVee]

Isn't there something about MacBooks not working with a certain style of inverter?

 

[Btron]

Isn't there something about MacBooks not working with a certain style of inverter?

Come to think of it, the box my inverter came in had a picture of a laptop on it, insinuating it would power one. A box can sell a whole lot of bull and assumptions too.