Stupid power / cigarette lighter question (1 Viewer)

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Dallas, TX
As I'm planning the trip, I'm debating power sources for my accessories (gps, laptop, ipod, radar, etc) and I'm wondering how best to do it.

Main question is, is the 60 cig lighter a standard size? my other car is an old porsche, and when I once tried to use the lighter-powered air compressor from the porsche in the 60, the plug was way too big. Is the porsche larger than normal or is the 60 smaller than normal? If I buy cig lighter chargers, will they fit/work in my 60?

Also, is it better to hard wire everything? or should I jump in and get a converter and wire that in somewhere? I'm assuming relying on the cig lighter is not optimal - just wondering what others have done.

Thanks.
 
Maybe I misunderstand the question but I have purchased inverters, map lights, nav device, etc... all use the cig lighter for power and all fit properly in my 62. The same devices fit properly in my Accord and Civic so I can only assume the 62/60 is standard sized... again, providing I understood the question.
 
It was a jumbled question. You did answer it. I guess the porsche has a "cigar" lighter or something.

If I'm on the road with multiple devices, do you have any thoughts as to power management? It might get kind of crowded with everything jostling for space on the lighter.
 
Ok I haven't done it on my 60 yet but I have a HUGE power management system in my LX. The key really is to take note on what items you will be plugging in. And think pie in the sky because it will be easier to route wires once, trust me. Once you know what will be plugged in, find the amperage draw of each. Then decide where you want to mount your aux. fuse panel(s). Then you will hard wire the fuse panel direct to the battery with a circuit breaker in there rated for the wire. If you need to know what wire to run use this: http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/maxwire.pdf and remember when figuring out gauge, its the run in BOTH DIRECTIONS!!!

Now if you are thinking about 110v power then you will need a converter. Mod Sine is fine for most gadgets but if you have a laptop of sensitive gear then you MUST go with the spendy PURE SINE inverter. These MUST be wired direct to the battery.

Now for me, I didn't want a bunch of wire runs to the battery so I instead made a central distribution point and branched out from there. You can see what I did here:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/239766-how-power-distribution-part-1-aux-fuse-panel.html

The links to the other three systems are in the first post of that thread. Now what I did is WAAAAAAYYYYY overkill but the underlying reasoning is sound.
 
Ok I haven't done it on my 60 yet but I have a HUGE power management system in my LX. The key really is to take note on what items you will be plugging in. And think pie in the sky because it will be easier to route wires once, trust me. Once you know what will be plugged in, find the amperage draw of each. Then decide where you want to mount your aux. fuse panel(s). Then you will hard wire the fuse panel direct to the battery with a circuit breaker in there rated for the wire. If you need to know what wire to run use this: http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/maxwire.pdf and remember when figuring out gauge, its the run in BOTH DIRECTIONS!!!

Now if you are thinking about 110v power then you will need a converter. Mod Sine is fine for most gadgets but if you have a laptop of sensitive gear then you MUST go with the spendy PURE SINE inverter. These MUST be wired direct to the battery.

Now for me, I didn't want a bunch of wire runs to the battery so I instead made a central distribution point and branched out from there. You can see what I did here:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/239766-how-power-distribution-part-1-aux-fuse-panel.html

The links to the other three systems are in the first post of that thread. Now what I did is WAAAAAAYYYYY overkill but the underlying reasoning is sound.

Joey you are no good for my wallet:bang:
 
Porsche is the oddball size... my 924 is different...

If you really plan on running quite a few accessories try installing an accessory fuse block, with some additional power points. Blue sea makes really nice fuse blocks, Marinco makes really nice 12V outlets.
 
Joey you are no good for my wallet:bang:

Tell me about it!!! I haven't even started on my bad ass solar panel project. I've just been slowly getting pieces together.

The 60 I am trying really hard no to go completely nuts with the installs I do. Just stuff that makes sense and isn't too spendy.
 
Well thats a relief, at least until I convince the wife how much we NEED an 80 ;)
 
Tell me about it!!! I haven't even started on my bad ass solar panel project. I've just been slowly getting pieces together.

The 60 I am trying really hard no to go completely nuts with the installs I do. Just stuff that makes sense and isn't too spendy.

Don't mount the solar panel on the roof and let your wife park in the parking garage! :doh:

Sorry. I just got back from the chit chat section and I've been laughing about the insanity of that thread all evening.

:p
 

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