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Is it possible to fry the electrical system by plugging too many accessories into the lighter? I have a high-powered 1 million candle spotlight for the bush, but I have been advised that it may blow the alternator. Is there any truth to this? If I turn off all other electrical appliances, will it ease pressure on the system?
It should only blow the fuse. I tried hooking up a generator through a power inverter in my Ranger during the Great Midwest Blackout a couple years ago. The inverter could handle the power draw, but the lighter circuit could not (hey, it was all I could think to do on short notice :) ). I replaced the fuse and no problem.
Well, it really depends on how much of a load it puts on the system, what the alternator is rated for, and how often you use it.
Now, I agree with Swifster that if there is too much current draw in a given circuit, it should blow the fuse; but, say for example it runs to 95% of the max draw on the circuit and you operate it for a given period of time. The fuse may never blow but it could indeed damage your alternator, by (believe it or not) damaging the electro-mechanical components of the alternator.
Think of it like this, any time you draw current from an alternator, you are creating a larger electro-magnetic resistance to the spin of the alternator's guts (thats a technical term there ;)). This is why when you kick on the heater and the radio at idle for example, your engine rpms drop a little. The more current you draw from the alternator the more physical resistance you create, and as such the more heat you create inside the alternator. Do it enough and yeah, you can, as you put it "fry it" without ever blowing a fuse.
Hope this helps,
Dutch
no its no truth to that. you bat. is made to carry a certain load for a certain amount of time whether you have an alt hooked to it or not. if you left the light on all the time with the motor running and the alt. couldn't keep the bat up then your bat would go dead but that shouldn't burn the alt. up. you would be taking more amps. out of the bat. than the alt could put back, so you would need to go to a bigger alt. but if you're just use a light every now and then for short period of time then go for it. its not gonna burn up anything just because you pluged it in.and if its a short in the light then it should blow the fuse, if for some reason its to much load for the wiring then it should blow a fuse. if youer gonna do this for long periods of time then you will need a bigger bat and higher amp. alt.**) **)
If it is a valid comparison, I have a Million Candle power light that I use in my boat. It also plugs into the cigarette lighter. Been using it for years and it never burned out the alternator in my ourboard motor, nor did it ever run the battery down. It also never blew the fuse. If those things did what you say I don't think they would be as popular as they are. If you are concerned about it, get one of the ones with an internal rechargable battery.
Pat
you'er slipping dennyw, You must have had a bad new yrs. Im gonna have to fire you and hire you back for less money. :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:Quote:
Originally posted by DennyW
:) You and Mike are right on this. I just looked up amp rateings. 3-5 amp is no problem at all. Should work fine. I don't know what I was thinking. I think it was like a bush truck with multiple lights, hahaha.:)
that lady done got you all shook up.:LOL: :LOL:Quote:
Originally posted by DennyW
:LOL: :LOL: I hear ya. Got a headach today. I may just sit answering out for today, hahaha.:LOL:
You should only run 80% of the the rated load on the alt to prevent damage. A 60 amp alt should be able to handle a cont 48 amps. At least that is how electrical is rated on everything else. For example a 100 amp transformer can not be loaded more then 80% of its rated load or 80 amps. This is done to prevent overheating and damage. The same thing applies to wire. But generally wire is larger than what the maximum load is. I know this because I am a licensed journeyman electrician. Look it up in the National Electric Code. It does not apply to automotives in the code but electricity is electricity. We use deep cycle marine batteries wired in series to run 277 volt lighting and such.
jramshu, you're not comparing apples with apples. the guy was asking about a light that you plug into the lighter. you don't believe that ford and gm figured in to their charging system a little lead way? i don't believe any one thing that you can buy that's made to run off of the lighter is gonna burn your alt. up. he was told he could do it , now you are telling him don't go over 80%. he don't know what 80% of his system is ,but now he still don't know what to do. Tell him it will be ok to run his light some times and he don't have to worry about burning his alt. up. :HMMM: :cool:Quote:
Originally posted by jramshu
You should only run 80% of the the rated load on the alt to prevent damage. A 60 amp alt should be able to handle a cont 48 amps. At least that is how electrical is rated on everything else. For example a 100 amp transformer can not be loaded more then 80% of its rated load or 80 amps. This is done to prevent overheating and damage. The same thing applies to wire. But generally wire is larger than what the maximum load is. I know this because I am a licensed journeyman electrician. Look it up in the National Electric Code. It does not apply to automotives in the code but electricity is electricity. We use deep cycle marine batteries wired in series to run 277 volt lighting and such.
I believe a lighter is 20 amps so you can run a max of 16 amps on it. Take the watts and divide them by the volts and that gives you the amperage of the device. For example 200watts divided by 12volts equals 16.6 amps. That is pushing the circuit. Check out this site.
http://www.zena.net/htdocs/alternators/alt_inf2.shtml
It still has wattage. Candlepower just tells you how bright it is. Wattage is actual amount of electricity that is used.
Electricity is electricity whether ac or dc. So I am comparing apples to apples. And yes they did put some lead way. It is called the wire size and the ampacity of the fuse block. That way you can go to a higher alternator if necessary. I believe most are #4 going to the fuse block which is good for a little over 100amps. Most cars I have run into are like that anyway. But to make it short no a spotlight will not burn up an alternator.Quote:
Originally posted by lt1s10
jramshu, you're not comparing apples with apples. the guy was asking about a light that you plug into the lighter. you don't believe that ford and gm figured in to their charging system a little lead way? i don't believe any one thing that you can buy that's made to run off of the lighter is gonna burn your alt. up. he was told he could do it , now you are telling him don't go over 80%. he don't know what 80% of his system is ,but now he still don't know what to do. Tell him it will be ok to run his light some times and he don't have to worry about burning his alt. up. :HMMM: :cool:
Like I said before the sometimes hostlie enviroment of CHR comes out again.
So what is the formula for candle power?
CandlePower The unit for measuring the quantity or intensity of light energy emitted by a directional lamp (i.e., narrow spot, spot, flood, wide flood, etc.).
CandlePower is expressed in Candelas. Confusion is caused for some when one manufacturer lists a lamps CandlePower as "Center-Beam CandlePower" while another notes it as "Mean CandlePower" while still another uses "Candela" as the heading for the same information in their Lamp Data Chart. Any of these listings refer to the lamp CandlePower and are considered to be the same.
CandlePower is used in the Inverse Square Law calculation.
Some texts indicate that 1 candela = 12.57 lumens; do not try to convert lumens to candelas using this formula. Results will be inaccurate.
jramshu i have no idea what amps. a 1 million candle spotlight would draw, but i wouldnt worry about pluging it into a lighter to see if it burnes or not. thats the reason they put fuses in the system.Quote:
Originally posted by DennyW
:) We are talking candle power :)
Candlpower is just light intensity not wattage used. You will have to read the box it came in or find wattage listed on it.
I am going to leave it at that. I don't need an explanation of what wattage is since I am an electrical foreman and work with electricity in all forms everyday.
Look at it this way, you can change candlepower without changing wattage by changing the reflector. Think of a maglight, when you focus the beam to a smaller spot you are increasing candlepower. Candlepower is how much light that is concentrated in one spot. It is kinda like lumens in a bulb. The further away from the light source you are the less candlepower, but the bulb still has the same wattage.
To answer your question you should be able to find wattage written on the bulb.
Without looking at this site you really are "in the dark.":confused:
Look at this site about candlepower, watts, kelvin ratings, color etc...
http://www.lightcalc.com/glossary.html
Quote:
Originally posted by DennyW
:) Yes sir, I understand all that you are saying. That's why I asked the original asker the question about what it its rated at. I understand the changing of light, beams, intensity, by changing just the reflectors. I really wasn't trying to give you a hard time.
I would assume if it came with a lighter plug in, he should be safe to run it.
He seemed to be worried about it. That's why I suggested he run it from his battery instead of from the lighter socket. But, he hasn't replied with more info yet. :)
I apologize I come to this due to too many days with arguing with other electricians over "little things." I just started talking about this because of load on the alternator. If it came with a lighter plug on it of course you can use it. If I was worried about it I would run it off the battery myself or install another lighter circuit and socket. Fused of course.
Again I apologize for getting sooo defensive.:o
By the way that is a cool avatar.
then you ought to know how we fill, the guy asked if he could use his light without burning up his alt. and i said yes and you threw a ? mark into it. this is what i done for the last 40 yrs. and it looks like every answer i give somebody knows more about it than i do, so the one asking the ? don't ever know the truth. i have used one of those lights many times without any problem I work on alt and starters all day long, im ase certified in wiring of autos. so I believe I know if you can run that light or not. i just get so tired of defending my answers and the man still dont know for sure. :HMMM:Quote:
Originally posted by jramshu
I apologize I come to this due to too many days with arguing with other electricians over "little things." I just started talking about this because of load on the alternator. If it came with a lighter plug on it of course you can use it. If I was worried about it I would run it off the battery myself or install another lighter circuit and socket. Fused of course.
Again I apologize for getting sooo defensive.:o
By the way that is a cool avatar.
I have a degree in automotive electrical and electronics systems. I was a M1A1 Abrams Tank System Mechanic for many years in the Army. Our main thing was troubleshooting automotive electrical systems.I have also rebuilt starters and alternators for my own rides. I am also a licensed journeyman electrician in the state of Texas. So I also have tons of experience in the same field as you. But not as long considering I am only 33. One thing I do know is how much you are supposed to load ANY ac device, wire ampacity, and pretty much anything electrical. Anything from auto to industrial wiring. I am getting my Master Electrician license this year. I simply put in my opinion just like you. You are the one who put me in the defense. I WAS NOT trying to start anything. If you look it up any technical manual will tell you not to load an alternator more than 80% of its maximum ampacity. So therefore if he has a 60 amp alt he can run 48 amps continuously. That is all I was trying to say. There was no need in trying to pick apart my advice. Which happened to be yes you can run the light with the lighter plug with no prob whatsoever, without any problem with the alternator. If the lighter recepticle is overloaded it will simply blow the fuse. If I am wrong I will admit it, I am man enough to do just that. I was just trying to throw a little known fact about electrical loads. Consider it a little free information. I had no intention with arguing the facts with you lt1s10. With this I bid yall farewell, I have to go to work tomorrow and won't be back for at least two weeks so this is my last post for a while.
that's all well and good jramshu, but still the ? should have been addressed so the guy could have gone on and used his light without worrying about burning something up and then you could have come back with all the ifs you had and could have given us a lesson in electricity. the way you talk you would have thought the guy was working on a fire truck. the problem i have with this whole deal is a person asked a simple ? got some pretty good answers, and then one that comes on like he really knows what his talking about goes off the deep end with nothing really to do with the ? that was asked and the person leaves the board not knowing what the truth is. that guy asked a simple ? and should have gotten a simple answer to his ? and not confused it with all this other stuff. :confused:
lt1s10 The orig ? is about burning up the electrical system by having too many acces. plugged in to the lighter. Then others went on about the alternator. I simply replied to the loading side of the alternator. Some people other than you were making comments! I just put in my two cents, like you did. You don't have to read what I post.Quote:
Originally posted by gemcleod
Is it possible to fry the electrical system by plugging too many accessories into the lighter? I have a high-powered 1 million candle spotlight for the bush, but I have been advised that it may blow the alternator. Is there any truth to this? If I turn off all other electrical appliances, will it ease pressure on the system?
his postQuote:
Originally posted by jramshu
lt1s10 The orig ? is about burning up the electrical system by having too many acces. plugged in to the lighter. Then others went on about the alternator. I simply replied to the loading side of the alternator. Some people other than you were making comments! I just put in my two cents, like you did. You don't have to read what I post.
is it possible to fry the electrical system by plugging too many accessories into the lighter? I have a high-powered 1 million candle spotlight for the bush, but I have been advised that it may blow the alternator. Is there any truth to this? If I turn off all other electrical appliances, will it ease pressure on the system?
my post
no its no truth to that.
your post
You should only run 80% of the the rated load on the alt to prevent damage.
you cant plug to many accessories in the lighter plug, because you cant put but one in there at a time.
then i tried to get you to tell the man he could use his lighter without burning his alt. up and you went off the deep end about to much load, and the man had no idea what you was talking about. the guy was pulling out a cig. lighter and pluging in a light, he wont adding nothing to the system. you were making a mountain out of a mold hill, and im gonna read any post that ? my answers. ill almost bet you that you talked that guy out of using his light, when it was uncalled for. :HMMM: