confused

[Jack]

The previous post about coffee makers got me thinking.. I have many 12 volt appliances and chargers that plug into a cigerette lighter type plug. The problem is many of the dc electric cords are mixed up. I should have labeled them but I didn't. My question is, am I likely to damage an appliance if I use the wrong cord to power it? I know the fuses are an issue but besides that, if the cord and plug fit and the appliance works am I likely to damage it? thanks, Jack ps. Anyone else staying at the Harborage marina in St. Pete New Years Eve?

 

[kendall]

12v

If they are 12v appliences the only thing you have to realy watch for is the polarity of the plug, for most 12v plugs you'll find the outer band is negative, BUT some odd ones exist that have negative on the inner tube. if you have something like a walkman or radio make sure you use the adapter for it, they generally have a stepdown in them.  normally 12v is good for 12v, most tems will have a legend near the socket that has the pinout shown, those that -normally- don't have polarity issues, but it's better to look. If your applience has metal sides on it make sure that the metal isn't a ground, if it is and the polarity is crossed it gets interesting at best  I have a couple of pigtails cut from adapters hardwired into my fuse panel on the truck and use them for every 12v appliance I use in the truck, much easier than keeping track of a few different adapters.ken.

 

[Calif. Ted]

Some things that plug into a cigarette lighter

are not really 12V. but the plug is actually a converter. Cell phones, XM radios etc. To match things up look on the plug for it's "output" and on the input for the device. Both are usually labeled for both voltage and draw.