Regulating van 12v cig output

S

Shadeaujed

New Member

Joined

Sep 21, 2019

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11

• Jul 15, 2020

• #1

I got the suaoki g1000 for a minivan.
The issue I am having is that while the unit is capable of charging from the cig output in the van, the voltage is all over the place!
it will throw up an error on the suaoki if the V drops below 10v.

can I regulate the van cig port to 12v to provide better power to the g1000?
i’ve looked on amazon and have seen some but most are very small amps.....like 4 or 5.

thoughts?

 

gnubie

Solar Wizard

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• Jul 15, 2020

• #2

What's the max amps the unit will draw from its DC input?

 

snoobler

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HBR, AZ

• Jul 15, 2020

• #3

Cig port should NEVER drop to 10V. Check van charging system.

 

S

Shadeaujed

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Sep 21, 2019

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• Jul 15, 2020

• #4

gnubie said:

What's the max amps the unit will draw from its DC input?

Click to expand...

 

gnubie

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• Jul 15, 2020

• #5

Absolutely no comment as to quality but, this might do the job. '12v' in, '24v' out, 15 amps. It would depend on the low voltage cut out point though. It might drop it's output at 10V from your ciggie socket. As someone mention, check your vehicle's DC system, it shoudln't go down to 10V except during cranking anyway.

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snoobler

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• Jul 15, 2020

• #6

Seriously folks. No vehicle's charging system should drop to 10V - period. We all know that a 12V battery is EMPTY at 10.5V.

Something is wrong on the input here.

 

gnubie

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• Jul 15, 2020

• #7

Charging. Charging. Charging.

How many amps is the vehicle's charging system providing during cranking? So, sure, there might well be a problem with his DC going down to 10V, assuming this is happening when the vehicle is actually running or sitting off, but under cranking that voltage can, and will drop.

 

snoobler

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• Jul 15, 2020

• #8

Most start circuits cut power to a lot of accessories during start, including accessory ports, so it's probably 0V during start. I suspect he's worried about more than the two seconds it takes to start the vehicle after which he should receive consistent >12V.

If he's observing a running 10V, he either has a massively overloaded 12V system or a failing charging system.

 

C

CascadeOffGrid

Off Grid Design and Installer

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43

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East Wenatchee, WA

• Jul 17, 2020

• #9

This sounds like a voltage drop problem to me. Your cigarette lighter is probably fed with very small gauge wire. When you try to pull 10amps on that small wire (could be 16 or 18 gauge from the factory), you are getting a lot of voltage drop between the battery and the cigarette lighter. My suggestions would be to install an aftermarket cigarette lighter directly wired (and fused) to the battery. I'd suggest using 12 gauge wire to minimize voltage drop.