Replacing cigarette lighter

[Lorin]

Tried out the new (ish ) engel fridge whilst camping yesterday. Worked for about 20 minutes before it stopped! I checked all the dash fuses and they were fine. It therefore appears the cigarette lighter has given up the ghost.

Surely an engel fridge designed to run off 12v can't be too much for an LC cig lighter - can it? It was a bit warm though

Without really knowing what I'm on about I assume the lighter itself will be okay and I'll simply be able to replace some wiring or a fuse or something.....

So I'm going to have a go at replacing it myself - is there anything I should know before I start blindly undoing screws and removing parts of my dash? I tried just pulling the cig lighter out and achieved nothing but a broken bit of dash.

 

[Crispin]

That's not good.

What's the rating of the fridge at 12V? The cig lighter is normally 10A (120W) so if you were over that....
If you were close to it would be a dodgy / old connection which cooked.

Have you measured the cig lighter with a voltmeter to check it still has some power?

Warm is not a good thing

 

[Chas]

That's not good.

What's the rating of the fridge at 12V? The cig lighter is normally 10A (120W) so if you were over that....If you were close to it would be a dodgy / old connection which cooked.Warm is not a good thing

I read somewhere recently that a 45l Engel draws 1.8 amps at full blast, I was looking because I've just fitted a 3 way + USB adaptor in the back specifically for the Engel and re-charging my mobile and replaced the rather flimsy piece of wire it came with for a heavier bit, so a cig lighter rated at 10 amps should be fine. I have run my 45l Engel of a cig lighter with no problems, never gets warm, could there be a fault with your Engel?
Chas
PS
Also just fitted the 2k inverter, RCB and a 15a round pin socket connected to 12v and I'm very pleased to say when I connected it all up there were NO bangs

 

[Gilbert v H]

Hi

probably the lighter itself is broken. I recently had the same problem (see here: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7639). I just used a standard aircompressor to pump up a tyre. The lighter in the 80 seems quite sensitive.
Anyhow, you can just buy a standard replacement lighter and fit it, easy job.

Cheers
Gilbert

 

[Lorin]

Thank you all for the info. I've just had a look round the engel and cannot find any info about what power it draws. I'll have a further investigate tomorrow - maybe call engel.

Haven't checked the cig lighter with voltmeter either, so will get myself one tomorrow and check.

 

[Steve Wright]

Thank you all for the info. I've just had a look round the engel and cannot find any info about what power it draws. I'll have a further investigate tomorrow - maybe call engel.

Haven't checked the cig lighter with voltmeter either, so will get myself one tomorrow and check.

Hi Lorin

They draw 2.7 Amps (max) from the web page:

http://www.expeditionexchange.com/engel/

Steve

 

[Chas]

Thank you all for the info. I've just had a look round the engel and cannot find any info about what power it draws. I'll have a further investigate tomorrow - maybe call engel.

Haven't checked the cig lighter with voltmeter either, so will get myself one tomorrow and check.

This may help;
http://e.dominohosting.biz/dca/mpsdb01. ... E/FREEZERS
Chas

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Probably a poor connection caused voltage drop, higher current draw and heat. If a power plug is warm something's not right. I think the positive contact inside cigarette lighters can get a bit dirty and corroded, especially if they've been used as a lighter. I prefer the other similar type connector for the fridge or anything that's semi permanent as it grips the positive contact and holds a firmer connection.

 

[Chris]

Let's be honest. Fag lighter sockets are for fag lighters. The have never been a good, reliable connector. There must be considerable losses at times. I like the little click connectors that Jon mentions. Much more positive. I get them from caravan shops.

These ones are well made

Chris

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Vehicle Wiring Products and lots of other places do them. You can get a plug that comes with an adapter so it can still be used in a cig lighter socket as well. My Waeco fridge came with one of those on the 12v power lead.

 

[Julian Voelcker]

Yes Chris, those hella/Din sockets are much better and are preferred for overlanding power supply, however they are only rated for something like 16amps as opposed to the 20amps of the Cigi sockets.

The big problems with the Cigi sockets is that you can get problems with the contacts and a lot of vibration - they don't grip the plug well enough so it slops around in the socket leading to degradation of the contacts.

 

[Chris]

Is that rating for the cable size associated with it Julian or for the plug itself?

My preferred set up (planned) will not rely on too many of either. I'd rather hard wire things in tbh. Fine for a phone charger, but other stuff needs something better in my view.

Chris

 

[Lorin]

Jon, Chris and Julian, it turns out you're all correct. I tested the cig lighter with another lead and it works fine. Looking at the cig lighter I can see that the contacts are in pretty poor condition. I then looked at the plug on the engel power lead and found it contains a 'special thermal fuse' which I assume has blown due to a poor connection. It certainly was hot when I removed it.

Thanks for all you help. I'm going to a replacement thermal fuse and replace the cig lighter with the better caravan ones as suggested.

Cheers

 

[Steve Wright]

Jon, Chris and Julian, it turns out you're all correct. I tested the cig lighter with another lead and it works fine. Looking at the cig lighter I can see that the contacts are in pretty poor condition. I then looked at the plug on the engel power lead and found it contains a 'special thermal fuse' which I assume has blown due to a poor connection. It certainly was hot when I removed it.

Thanks for all you help. I'm going to a replacement thermal fuse and replace the cig lighter with the better caravan ones as suggested.

Cheers

Hi All

If you want some decent power plugs, I would suggest these:

https://www.argentdata.com/catalog/prod ... bfa7ff779c

I know the company is in the states, but if you look at the price $7.50 and thats for ten sets thats cheap !

but these are rated at 30 amps and I suspect they will take more that that, admitting they are not round but with a bit of thought these can be fitted in places like the boot and to be used for things like the fridges.

I bought some of these, for my radio equipment, and have got them all over the place

Steve

 

[pugwash]

anyone know how to get the cigarette lighter socket our without removing the dashboard? i've fiddled and fiddled and fiddled and had no luck!

 

[Julian Voelcker]

anyone know how to get the cigarette lighter socket our without removing the dashboard? i've fiddled and fiddled and fiddled and had no luck!

How long have you been fiddling with it?

For the time and effort it is usually quickest to prise the lower dash out a bit - should be able to get to it in a minute or so

 

[pugwash]

anyone know how to get the cigarette lighter socket our without removing the dashboard? i've fiddled and fiddled and fiddled and had no luck!

How long have you been fiddling with it?

Most of my life actually



can't get my hand up underneath- wondered if there was some way of cleverly pushing and pulling to get it out from the front- doens't look like i'll have that luxury though!