wiring question

J

Jake B

New member
so our c-dory has what looks to be an older cigarette lighter on the helm, this was originally hard wired(piggy backed) on old switch panel. when we replaced the old switch panel this winter to a 8 switch blue sea. I re ran the wired into the fuse block.

while we don't smoke we do use this for a fan, inverter, and a dvd player for the kids.

so first time using it a few weeks ago the dvd player would not turn on. figured maybe the dvd plug had gone bad as the fan and cigarette lighter both worked.

this weekend Its still not working for dvd player so I figure I would try the inverter it blows the 10a fuse. i put in a 15a,20a and 25a, each time it pops on the inverter, wont power dvd player but fan and lighter will work,

so I take all the items into my car and they all work fine, inverter powers on , dvd player turns on, fan works.

this has me scratching my head. on the back of the cigarette plug there was just two black wires. my one buddy who tends to help with my wiring thinks maybe i got the hot and ground backwards and thats why some things work and others don't but switching the wires around and the lighter pops a fuse right away.

I think maybe the plug has just gone bad but with half items working it just has me wondering, figured I would throw this out there incase someone has some experience with this. as of now my plan is to just replace.
 
Probably some internal glitch when things are plugged in. Likely a mismatch with the probes from the DVD player and the inverter, the latter causing a short, the former not making contact.

I would replace it. Bench test the replacement with the DVD player and the inverter before installing.

Unclear on the inverter. What is its rated draw? 25 A seems high. Assume it blows when you plug it in, right? Or does it only blow when you switch the inverter on?
 
blows when i plug it in. all three of these worked fine last season when it was hard wired. and yes it is hight i think(at work so off top of head) it was rated for 10-15a for inverter. i wasn't about to keep going past 25a fuse.
 
I would question if this was really a cigarette lighter. The cigarette lighter plug has become a standard for many boats and cars--now more frequently used as you are using it.

I agree there is an internal short--throw it out. The positive should go to the center pin of the socket, and the negative goes to the metal case surrounding.

I also agree that 25 amps would be beyond what I would stress any of these plugs with.
 
It had the cigarette thing that went into it and would get red hot. looked all over online and could not find one with the same holes and since it still does heat the cig thing I will prolly leave it where it is and went ahead and got a new one on lunch today that i will install in a better location for dvd and inverter use.
 
I would disable, or remove a defective cigarette lighter type socket. It is possible that a 1989 boat might have a real cigarette lighter…certainly the newer boats do not.

I have the one which came with my boat in the console (plastic, and not one which you would put a cigarette lighter into). I have two more by the helm, one over each bunk at the rear of the forward cabin. I also have one in the starboard lazarette for the inflatable pump, as well as one in the shelf over the forward cabin--for Sirius radio. They are very handy for small appliances.

For the most part these are rated at 10 amps--although some heavy duty ones may be rated for 20 amps.

In any case, I would not put any inverter more than 100 to 150 watts thru this type of plug. For larger, then hard wire it in, properly, with a fuse or breaker, with wiring adequate for the size of inverter you are running.

I prefer to us DC to DC converter plugs to power the USB type of chargers.
 
Yeah on second thought i will at the least disable it. the inverter is a small one used to run our vacuum packer while on extended fishing trips. I would like to have more of these plugs in and around the boat. but i hate drilling holes in it..
 
I don't drill holes for the extra plugs. I use the duplex wire in vinyl sheaths. Heat shrink each connection, then heat shrink the vinyl sheath. Just leave the connector on a short piece of the cable. I'll try and get a photo later in the day. Tuck these connectors into a place where there is some support from clips etc.
 
Jake B":24vanqqb said:
Yeah on second thought i will at the least disable it. the inverter is a small one used to run our vacuum packer while on extended fishing trips. I would like to have more of these plugs in and around the boat. but i hate drilling holes in it..
Click to expand...
Another option is to make a cable with a male plug on the one end to plug in where you plug in your downriggers (assuming you have them) and a female 12V outlet on the other end. When I wired in the downriggers on the tomcat, I installed four outlets even though I only use two downriggers. The other two outlets are "spares" that can be used as 12sources for other things (like a pot puller, another downrigger or my home made Scotty-12V outlet cable).
 
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