Overheated 12volt Cigarettes connector plugs

[kryg]

I have a vexing problem with overheated 12volt Cigarettes connector housings and power plugs. They get so hot they melt.

My boats' system is all 12 volt and I have a number of female 12 volt Cigarette connector housings and power plugs. I have bought a 12 volt kettle, it draws 150 watts. Yet the good quality 12 volt power plus tips gets hot and plastic housing melts around the + end pin when it heats up?

I had the same issue with a power converter from 12 volt AC to 240 DC to run my computer..

What is the solution?
Is there a female PowerPoint connector that can regulate the output to 12 volt male power plugs?

Thanks for reading this issue, look forward to a solution, if there is one?

Kryg, SV Skoiern IV

[Jammer]

Common problem.


My advice is to rip out all your cigarette lighter connectors and replace them with powerpoles. Then replace the connectors on your 12v tea kettle, inverter, etc., with powerpoles too.


https://powerwerx.com/anderson-power...-sb-connectors

[svmatilda]

Most of those 12 Volt cigarette lighter connectors are only good for 10 amps max, the 150 Watt kettle will draw 12.5 amps, but more than likely will draw a lot more until the water in the kettle starts to warm up, so your overloading it.

Why are you using a small inverter to run your laptop, go on line and buy yourself a 12 Volt DC travel laptop power supply. There are a lot of reasons a small inverter wont work properly powering a laptop. First there is a loss of power converting from 12V DC -> 110 or 230V AC then the laptop power supply then converts 110 or 230 AC to 19V DC.
Next up what sort of AC wave is your small inverter putting out, I would bet its not a pure sine (likely square or step) so that is going to cause problems with your laptop power supply (charger) and I wouldn't mind betting that why it the inverter is burning the power plug in the cigarette plug, because its trying to do some thing it wasn't designed to do.

So if you get a 12 Volt power supply for your laptop this cuts out all the additional conversions, its then only 12 V DC -> 19 V DC into the laptop. I have been running these power supplies on board for years (Targus Brand) and haven't had a problem. With the old Dell Laptop, I used a Dell brand power supply because it wouldn't charge with any thing else. It was additional cost with the purchase but well worth it in the long run.

Other things to look for in cigarette lighter plugs, check your wire size to the socket is sufficient to carry at least 15 amps at 12 volts, check the fuse isnt undersized and check the fuse is cleanly connected.

On the plug sometimes there is a fuse in the plug its self, these cheaper plugs (unless top end quality) use a small fuse inside the plug and a lot of the time the fuse has really bad contact due to the arrangement of spring and contact, So a bad contact under load creates heat, some times enough heat to melt the plug and the socket.

Worse case it starts a fire.

Fair winds.

[svmatilda]

PS I noticed your in Pittwater

Jaycar has laptop 12V power supplies, make sure the sales staff are on the same page sometimes they are not.
Here is the link for RTM https://www.roadtechmarine.com.au/15...upply/p/MP3472

Here is the link for JayCar https://www.jaycar.com.au/150w-car-l...upply/p/MP3472

Jaycar also doi a 65 watt power supply as well, it depends on the power needs of your laptop really.

I have a bit of a write up on my blog

svmatilda.com go the the index

or

https://svmatilda.blogspot.com/2018/...er-basics.html

https://svmatilda.blogspot.com/2023/...e-problem.html

[svmatilda]

PPS

Once those plugs and socket have been heated up they are more than likely had it. The plug will loose spring tension and the socket due to heat will get an oxidisation on the contact in the end of the tube, and will require cleaning.....

I have been using cigarette lighter sockets for years and have had a few problems but that said if you look after them and dont over load or use cheap plugs they are trouble free. However you need good quality, some thing like in the Blue Seas range, yep more expensive but work.

However I wouldn't be surprised if the power wires running to your cigarette lighter socket are too small a cross section of wire. Your going to need 4mm2 on both + & - to be of any use. Either straight to the battery through a fuse or the circuit breaker in the nav station switch panel if you have one.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by kryg

I have a vexing problem with overheated 12volt Cigarettes connector housings and power plugs. They get so hot they melt.

My boats' system is all 12 volt and I have a number of female 12 volt Cigarette connector housings and power plugs. I have bought a 12 volt kettle, it draws 150 watts. Yet the good quality 12 volt power plus tips gets hot and plastic housing melts around the + end pin when it heats up?

I had the same issue with a power converter from 12 volt AC to 240 DC to run my computer..

What is the solution?
Is there a female PowerPoint connector that can regulate the output to 12 volt male power plugs?

Thanks for reading this issue, look forward to a solution, if there is one?

Kryg, SV Skoiern IV

Anderson plugs, yes they are big, ugly and unappealing but they WORK, and keep on working.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by svmatilda

Why are you using a small inverter to run your laptop, go on line and buy yourself a 12 Volt DC travel laptop power sdupply.

For newer laptops that use USB-C PD, I like to install a hardwired converter. I have purchased two of these over the years and they work great:



https://www.coolgear.com/product/usb...charger-ccg3pa


Depending on the install scenario they can be accompanied with a USB extension that mounts in a panel.

[Jhclay]

I have had the same problem with a small pump I bought to use for deck washing. It connected to the switchboard cigarette socket and worked well...until the plug melted. Neither the switchboard fuse nor the one in the plug blew, so that was scary. I put the problem down to a bad connection between plug and socket. I use a small inverter to charge my laptop and have had no problem with that connection.

[Bill Seal]

Look up SAE dc connectors. You can get them in bulkhead style, and 10 or 12 gauge.

[markcouz]

Also look up 12v Hella Plug - they are 15a rated instead of 10a and vastly better design, positive connection that will not vibrate loose.

I have used them for a year long offroad trip around Southern/East Africa, and now have them in my boat for portable 12v appliances. I crossed the Atlantic late last year and used them for PC (via 12v/19v adapter), portable shower, portable pumps etc with no issues.

I have no cigarette lighter adapters in my boat - I hate the things and cant understand why they are still in use anywhere!

[Hartleyg]

Buttlighter connections are poor performers and, as you've found, subject to real problems with aging, corrosion and overload. They are, unfortunately, popular with consumer-grade DC stuffe. The shift to USB connectors for charging small electronics should be a good thing for most of us, as panel-mount USB fixtures (even waterproof ones!) are easy to find.

"SAE" connectors are indeed excellent performers, and pretty reasonably priced - but you won't find them in a form you can mount on a bulkhead, they're all inline cable connectors. You will need to use them by butt-splicing them into existing wiring, so use good splices and learn how to crimp them correctly.

"PowerPoles" are good electrical performers, but do have a problem with low extraction force (they come apart fairly easily) unless you use the locking bits - and those don't work with the panel-mount versions. PowerPoles bigger than 45amp are fine, but really too big for most convenience outlets.
"DT" connectors are good,but pricey and not as easy to implement, with special crimpers for the pins and lots of pieces.


Some off-the-wall solutions I've seen (and sometimes used):
1. 250V 15a AC outlets and plugs - the ones with the blades inline instead of parallel like a 115V plug - in the USA, no one is likely to come aboard with something with one of these plugs on it, and they have good contact surface area - but they are large and cumbersome - and the 2-part socket that installs like an 115V AC fixture seems to be disappearing.
2. Two-bladed plugs that look like two-blade 115V AC plugs, but with the blades about 30 degrees angled to each other - you see these on portable generators sometimes as their DC output. Not easy to find, unfortunately, and I've never seen a bulkhead-mountable version.

3. Our boat came new (in 2001) with 2-prong AC sockets wired as 12V DC (scary!). I suspect the Taiwanese wanted to use the above slanted-blade type and couldn't find them. I removed them ASAP and replaced them with the #1 250v fixtures! The AC sockets were normal 3-prong (grounded) sockets and they're fine.
4. 3-pin XLR plugs & sockets are used quite often in medical equipment DC charging connections - they're rugged, available everywhere fairly inexpensively and the pins are good for 15 amps or so. But there is NO standard as to which pin is what, so you're on your own if you use them .


Whatever you do, pay attention to good wire connections (everywhere) and keep an eye on whatever you use to make sure it remains corrosion-free.


Hartley
S/V Atsa

[SY Harmony]

Originally Posted by Hartleyg

Buttlighter connections are poor performers and, as you've found, subject to real problems with aging, corrosion and overload. They are, unfortunately, popular with consumer-grade DC stuffe. The shift to USB connectors for charging small electronics should be a good thing for most of us, as panel-mount USB fixtures (even waterproof ones!) are easy to find.

"SAE" connectors are indeed excellent performers, and pretty reasonably priced - but you won't find them in a form you can mount on a bulkhead, they're all inline cable connectors. You will need to use them by butt-splicing them into existing wiring, so use good splices and learn how to crimp them correctly.

"PowerPoles" are good electrical performers, but do have a problem with low extraction force (they come apart fairly easily) unless you use the locking bits - and those don't work with the panel-mount versions. PowerPoles bigger than 45amp are fine, but really too big for most convenience outlets.
"DT" connectors are good,but pricey and not as easy to implement, with special crimpers for the pins and lots of pieces.


Some off-the-wall solutions I've seen (and sometimes used):
1. 250V 15a AC outlets and plugs - the ones with the blades inline instead of parallel like a 115V plug - in the USA, no one is likely to come aboard with something with one of these plugs on it, and they have good contact surface area - but they are large and cumbersome - and the 2-part socket that installs like an 115V AC fixture seems to be disappearing.
2. Two-bladed plugs that look like two-blade 115V AC plugs, but with the blades about 30 degrees angled to each other - you see these on portable generators sometimes as their DC output. Not easy to find, unfortunately, and I've never seen a bulkhead-mountable version.

3. Our boat came new (in 2001) with 2-prong AC sockets wired as 12V DC (scary!). I suspect the Taiwanese wanted to use the above slanted-blade type and couldn't find them. I removed them ASAP and replaced them with the #1 250v fixtures! The AC sockets were normal 3-prong (grounded) sockets and they're fine.
4. 3-pin XLR plugs & sockets are used quite often in medical equipment DC charging connections - they're rugged, available everywhere fairly inexpensively and the pins are good for 15 amps or so. But there is NO standard as to which pin is what, so you're on your own if you use them .


Whatever you do, pay attention to good wire connections (everywhere) and keep an eye on whatever you use to make sure it remains corrosion-free.


Hartley
S/V Atsa

https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-We...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

[Hartleyg]

SY Harmony said: "https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-We...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==


Well, that's great! You still have to butt-splice it in, but that would help a lot! Looks like they might mount correctly in the hole from removing a buttlighter connector, too.


Thanks!


Hartley
S/V Atsa

[SY Harmony]

Originally Posted by Hartleyg

SY Harmony said: "https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-We...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==


Well, that's great! You still have to butt-splice it in, but that would help a lot! Looks like they might mount correctly in the hole from removing a buttlighter connector, too.


Thanks!


Hartley
S/V Atsa

A butt splice is the correct method of connection per ABYC.