Can anybody help please, with a question about a phone charger
in A Rover 75 Conn Diesel Auto, I need to charge my phone from the cars Cigar lighter, but when i read the manual, it says not to use a charger, it may give a problem with the cars system any body help please
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MOTEL,
I have heard in the past that any other plug ins apart from the cigar lighter can cause relays to go live and mess up the electrical systems.
Not a cure, just a reason I'm afraid.
Cheers - Jon S
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I am sure that you will want to be guided by the handbook but I can't think what relays there are in a fag lighter system that could cripple the rest of the car electrics. Also, when you look at the power required to heat a lump of metal to red hot in 10 seconds, to light a fag, it is a whole lot more than that needed to charge a puny little telephone battery!
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Fair point,
I seem to remember the said incident happening on a Citroen.
'Nuff said!!
And before you all go off on one - I drive a Citroen!!!!
Any Auto Electricians out there that can add some dimension and sanity to this thread?
Cheers - Jon S
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Maybe what Rover are worried about is if the charger fails and the mobile phone starts discharging via the fag lighter.
It sounds to me like they are covering their ar*e with that one. I'd imagine that a diode fitted into the supply to the lighter socket would stop the above happening.
When mobile phones first came out, didn't you need to unplug the charger before starting the car so that nothing got damaged? Mabe Rover are worried that people might still have these types of chargers (I'm sure the newer ones are OK).
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There are a few chargers for laptops and a couple of mobiles that use a switch mode regulator to control voltage and as a consequence transmit high frequency interference 30 to 40 Khz via the power feed cable.
There have been reports of ECU and Radio interference from the odd unit so I think the Rover comment is a safe all.
Plug it and and forget it.
Peter
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The instructions I had with a Siemens car charger about 3 years ago said to unplug when starting the car. I could never remember and never inflicted any damage on car or charger as far as I know.
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MOTEL
Odd. Several makers happily provide ciggy lighter sockets without the lighter, put a plastic cover on the top, and call them 'auxiliary power sockets'.
I can only assume Rover are being very cautious. One problem is that these sockets do vary, and some phone chargers fit better than others, so they may worried about potential short circuits. If it's live when the ignition is off, they may be worried obout the battery being flattened.
Personally I wouldn't worry, but you may consider if it's possible to fit a smaller fuse in the supply as a precaution since the phone charger will need far less current than the lighter (assuming you don't smoke).
Regards
John S
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