Cigarette lighter

[ab56452001]

Hi, dont have a duall battery system on my Xj as yet, was wondering could i run an inverter( 12v to 240v)from the lighter to a 2 amp battery charger without any issues?, was wondering if it can be done in an emergency, thanks.

[Mitch]

I asked an auto eleco to run heavier wire into my cig lighter socket so i could run 2 fridges.He said the yanks allready ran quite heavey wire in there anyway so i should,nt bother.

[Richo]

If just charging camera batteries etc, stick to an inverter of 150 watts or less, they draw a heap of power and you run the risk of causing a lot of heat build up in the lighter socket..... Remember the positive centre pin will probably only have 1mm square of contact.

150 w at 12 v is going to pull about 13 amps, a lot through a ciggy socket.

[ab56452001]

Thanks for replies, yer i have an inverter 600 watts that connects to the battery, and a 150 max one that plugs into the lighter, thats the one i was thinking of using, just to top up a battery not from dead flat, cheers.

[junglejuice]

Even a 150W unit will draw more than 10A, even assuming 100% efficiency (which they aren't) it would be 12.5A, they are more likely around 85% efficient so that means around 14.7A @ 12V..

Too much for a cigarette lighter socket and the small wiring they use for it....

[ab56452001]

Been looking around , a manual 4 position battery isolator switch (like i had on my old Pajero under the bonnet),an inline fuse holder, battery terminals for duall set up will set me back about 50-60$, would have to run twin line cable to back of car though , but thats no biggy, having to open bonnet to change switch is not a worry either , might have to go down this route then, cheers.

[Raisins78]

Using the 12v ciggie lighter, to run a 240v AC inverter, to run a 12v DC battery charger, to charge a 12v battery is going round the LONG way lol.
If you really want to charge a second battery, just use jumper cables. if the battery is hard mounted in the car, buy a dual battery kit, or even go the cheap solenoid option.
Using the cig lighter, inverter, battery charger option you are losing efficiency in each step.
EG... the battery charger will charge at 2 amps (lets say) thats 24w.
The 240v side will use a touch more than that (as nothing is 100% efficient) so lets say 30w.
To pull 30w out of your inverter, it will be using almost double that on the 12v side, or more as inverters are at best around 50% efficient.
so thats 60w. add to that some voltage drop losses etc. and you will find your using 5-8amps from your cigarette lighter to charge a 12v battery at 2 amps.....
Jumper leads will be your best option (just for emergencies as you stated.
As for if the battery is hard mounted in the car as a dual battery type setup.....dont skimp, do it right the first time, and you wont have problems, failures, a burning wreck where your car once was etc.
You can set up a 12v-12v charging system pretty cheap (under $100) that is safe, although not as flexible and failsafe as the big name systems.