Is it safe to connect my car battery charger into the cigar lighter socket ?

[steve-45]

Originally Posted by macmac

My Haynes manual shows the cigar-relay-coil is fed via F11 @ 5amp,
but its contact (which feeds the cigar-socket) is via F15 @ 15 amp.

What model and year is your vehicle?

Don't always believe the Haynes manual.

[macmac]

Hi:SD1too & steve-45
The car in question is the:
2002 Rover 75 Tourer 2.0 CDT 1950cc auto Club
...and its stated at the top of the previous article.
Thanks

[HarryM1BYT]

It is safe to charge via the lighter socket, providing you do not exceed the charge rate of the fuse. I do it often, it saves opening the bonnet and taking the battery cover off. It can be easier than taking off the battery cover, to tap the +ve in the engine fusebox busbar + a good ground.

Early cars needed the ignition to be on to work, later ones not, but the exact date of change was blurred through Mk I and MK II.

[Mike Trident]

Originally Posted by steve-45

This must be the only positive "project drive" change.

I actually don't it as a positive! need to unplug my phone charger every time i get out of the car.

[steve-45]

Originally Posted by macmac

Hi:SD1too & steve-45
The car in question is the:
2002 Rover 75 Tourer 2.0 CDT 1950cc auto Club
...and its stated at the top of the previous article.
Thanks

Sorry, limited viewing on this iPhone, sounds like maybe you will need the ignition switched on to activate the cigarette lighter socket.

If it was a facelift model it definitely would have been live all the time.

[myfirstrover]

I use one of these as a long term battery conditioner http://www.oxfordproducts.com/motorc...b85gaat2sla4v6 just the job !

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by macmac

The car in question is the:
2002 Rover 75 Tourer 2.0 CDT 1950cc auto Club
...and its stated at the top of the previous article.

Thank you but it would be helpful to place this information in your profile rather than "None". I don't think you'll get the best response by expecting members trying to help you to trawl through your previous threads trying to find out your car details.

Originally Posted by myfirstrover

I use one of these as a long term battery conditioner http://www.oxfordproducts.com/motorc...b85gaat2sla4v6 just the job !

Yes, that device has the same features as the C-tek range except that Oxford is rather secretive about the maximum output and the physical dimensions; both pieces of relevant information.

Simon

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by myfirstrover

I use one of these as a long term battery conditioner http://www.oxfordproducts.com/motorc...b85gaat2sla4v6 just the job !

I have no faith in their products. I had an earlier one connected to my bike's battery over winter and it lost its mains supply and rapidly exhausted the battery - which of course I did not discover for several weeks, by which time the battery was completely wrecked. It gives no clues about the output at all, nor any actual spec..

[MarkS]

The earlier models did indeed have the cigar lighter socket fed from a relay.
If you want a permanently live cigar lighter socket for camping or solar/mains charging purposes, it would be trivial to replace the relay by a shorting wire across the relay contact.

[MarkS]

Originally Posted by HarryM1BYT

It is safe to charge via the lighter socket, providing you do not exceed the charge rate of the fuse. I do it often, it saves opening the bonnet and taking the battery cover off. It can be easier than taking off the battery cover, to tap the +ve in the engine fusebox busbar + a good ground.

Early cars needed the ignition to be on to work, later ones not, but the exact date of change was blurred through Mk I and MK II.

I would consider it much safer to charge via the cigar lighter socket as
1) The battery is protected by a 15A fuse, equally importantly, the battery is protected from a charger fault.
2) There are no crocodile clips under the bonnet to slip, and cause a direct short across the battery, with it's attendant fire & welding risk.

Indeed on previous cars, I used a standard 'dumb' mains charger, mounted in the dry in the garage, permanently powered up, with a long long lead on the 12V, that was fed through the car window on a curly lead, into the cigar lighter socket. It kept the battery fully charged, and warm, dramatically improving starting on icy mornings. Just wind down the window, pass the lead out, and drive off ! And it is not too serious if the 12V lead gets a little wet, no RCD tripping.