Fiat Ducato 12v sockets (1 Viewer)

injebreck99

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I have 2 12v dash sockets on my Swift Bolero, one is he cigar lighter, next to it is the accessory socket, says max 180 amp on it, mine is only live when the ignition is switched on, is this normal, if so, what good is it , I wanted to plug a small solar panel into it occasionally, or use it for charging when not on EHU, is it easy to convert it to full time live.:Confused:
 

darklord

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If it is only live with the ignition on, then it is relay controlled. MYSELF, If I were planning on using it to charge the engine battery, I would run a seperate suppy to it fused, having said that, you may just as well leave it well alone, and run a supply from the engine battery to either another gig lighter placed on the dash or even in the glove box.
 

TheBig1

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I have 2 12v dash sockets on my Swift Bolero, one is he cigar lighter, next to it is the accessory socket, says max 180 amp on it, mine is only live when the ignition is switched on, is this normal, if so, what good is it , I wanted to plug a small solar panel into it occasionally, or use it for charging when not on EHU, is it easy to convert it to full time live.:Confused:

I believe you have misread the amperage of the socket, no wat is it anywhere near 180amp. more likely its 180 watt so 15 amp

converting to permanent live is simple enough, just disconnect the feed at the back of the socket and replace with a suitably fused and thickness cable from the battery. However you need to remember it will be easy to drain the battery inadvertantly if you leave anything plugged in

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hilldweller

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if so, what good is it , I wanted to plug a small solar panel into it occasionally, or use it for charging when not on EHU, is it easy to convert it to full time live.:Confused:

It's there to protect you from yourself. But if you find a half decent auto-electrician he could pull out the relay that switches it and replace it with a fixed link. From memory each socket has it's own relay.
 

Jaws

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And even at 15 amps the contact area is pretty small and quite possibly a potential fire hazard !

I would not use any cigar socket for more than a few amps tops
 
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injebreck99

injebreck99

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Fiat Ducato sockets

I have now used a accessory cigar lighter socket wired to a live feed on the fuse box and secured under the dash, ready for occasional use, thanks for all the replies. :thumb:

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rainbow chasers

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You will only be charging your engine battery, and not your leisure, so will make little difference when not on hook up if you are intending to recharge your habitation use.

The reason they put these on ignition, is as someone already said, to protect you from yourself. You should not have anymore that 3 outlets on a cigarette/powerpoint. By putting one on ignition, they limit the possibility of overloading the socket.

You can add one direct to your leisure for solar charging, fused and with a suitable cable for charging the leisure when off ehu.
 
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injebreck99

injebreck99

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You will only be charging your engine battery, and not your leisure, so will make little difference when not on hook up if you are intending to recharge your habitation use.

The reason they put these on ignition, is as someone already said, to protect you from yourself. You should not have anymore that 3 outlets on a cigarette/powerpoint. By putting one on ignition, they limit the possibility of overloading the socket.

You can add one direct to your leisure for solar charging, fused and with a suitable cable for charging the leisure when off ehu.

It will only be used for charging the engine battery. I already have a small dash type solar panel for this and will have a roof mounted one for the leisure battery, or I may yet decide to carry a spare leisure battery, have not decided yet.
 

magicsurfbus

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I wanted to plug a small solar panel into it occasionally, or use it for charging when not on EHU

Why not use crocodile clips to connect the solar panel directly to the engine battery's terminals?

Don't make the solar panel too small if you want any worthwhile charge outside summer.

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injebreck99

injebreck99

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Why not use crocodile clips to connect the solar panel directly to the engine battery's terminals?

Don't make the solar panel too small if you want any worthwhile charge outside summer.
I wanted a more permanent fixture, but it can be removed in minutes leaving no trace.
 

ray lake

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Hi
For anybody not sure about the additional auxiliary 180w cig lighter in a fiat Ducato I may be able to finally end the saga !!
Mine stopped working when I used it to power a tyre air pump (which unknowing to me had seized !)
I checked everywhere for info to no qavail and in the end removed half the dash to trace the origin.
It is not on the fuse-board as is suggested but wired from new, direct to the engine battery which is under the floor on the pax side.
It has a 10amp fuse in line which in my case of course had blown.
Given that it is rated for180w it should be I suggest 15amp and yes it is and meant to be permanently live. That is it's intended function.
Over the years I have source all sorts of helpful info from these forums and now for the first time hopefully able to help some one else !!
 

Gellyneck

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More than toes wet now!
Hi
For anybody not sure about the additional auxiliary 180w cig lighter in a fiat Ducato I may be able to finally end the saga !!
Mine stopped working when I used it to power a tyre air pump (which unknowing to me had seized !)
I checked everywhere for info to no qavail and in the end removed half the dash to trace the origin.
It is not on the fuse-board as is suggested but wired from new, direct to the engine battery which is under the floor on the pax side.
It has a 10amp fuse in line which in my case of course had blown.
Given that it is rated for180w it should be I suggest 15amp and yes it is and meant to be permanently live. That is it's intended function.
Over the years I have source all sorts of helpful info from these forums and now for the first time hopefully able to help some one else !!
My Ducato manual says the fuse for this socket is F14 (in the engine compartment) and rated at 15A. Haven't physically checked this however it's not permanently live.

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PeteH

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IF you want a live permanent feed, the best way is to take a feed from the Habitation battery(s) with suitable sized Cable and wire direct with an In-line fuse.
 
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It's there to protect you from yourself. But if you find a half decent auto-electrician he could pull out the relay that switches it and replace it with a fixed link. From memory each socket has it's own relay.

You can also put a short link across each of the fitted relays if you want the sockets to be permanently live.
 
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