[JerseyCitySky]

Does the 12V power port always stay on? My charger light remains on when i turn the car off...will this drain the battery if it is being used? What if it is not being used to charge anything?

 

[JohnD]

Does the 12V power port always stay on? My charger light remains on when i turn the car off...will this drain the battery if it is being used? What if it is not being used to charge anything?

Yes, it does. I have a charger for my cell phone with a little LED on it that changes color when it is actually charging, but stays lit just when it is plugged in. That light stays on constantly, but had not been much of a drain on the electrical system. I often leave my phone in the car overnight and let it charge up so it is good to go in the morning - no problem.

 

[Ernest]

I think there is a battery drain protection built into the SKY if I remember correctly to prevent battery from going dead.

 

[SkyMan 08]

those little chargers for cell phones and I pods are so little current drain you could leave them for weeks without removing them and you wouldn;t notice any difference... and they do not use power as long as you are not using them to actually charge something. the little led may take a tiny bit of power but not even as much as one dash light would...I wouldn;t worry about leaving it plugged in, but I always pull mine out till the led goes out, just to keep it from maybe shorting out on the seat frame or something...

 

[maddogg015]

I think its actually a good thing if you need to charge something.. you ont need to turn the car on...

 

[Rick Tinley Park]

You could charge about 20 cellphones without draining the battery...
If your phone is charged and just on float -- the LED uses more power just to let you know its working -- and that would last a week or more I bet.

 

[ggccg]

CAUTION: some cell phone chargers can get extremely hot and have been know to cause fires... I know because my son's roommate almost burned down their apartment and the Fire Inspector pinned the cause on the roommate's cell phone charger.

 

[eldeeko]

CAUTION: some cell phone chargers can get extremely hot and have been know to cause fires... I know because my son's roommate almost burned down their apartment and the Fire Inspector pinned the cause on the roommate's cell phone charger.

Using the charger in the car does not use a transformer, so it doesn't get hot. (The home charger uses a transformer to get 12volts to the cell phone battery and they are designed right to the limit of their capabilities so they run warm. If they are unventilated or covered up they could get quite hot and be dangerous.)
Some automobile cellphone chargers may use a solid-state regulator as the battery voltage varies all the time. They may get a little warm but never hot enough to cause a fire. (Some regulators are internal to the cell phone)
Not to worry!

 

[Seagull]

10 min.

I think there is a battery drain protection built into the SKY if I remember correctly to prevent battery from going dead.

I think it goes off after 10 minutes.

 

[JohnD]

I think there is a battery drain protection built into the SKY if I remember correctly to prevent battery from going dead.

That's to turn off the interior and trunk lights if a door or the trunk is left open. Since the charger stays on overnight, the 12v "cigarette lighter" can't be on that same circuit.

 

[SkyMan 08]

That's to turn off the interior and trunk lights if a door or the trunk is left open. Since the charger stays on overnight, the 12v "cigarette lighter" can't be on that same circuit.

Actually the computer monitors battery voltage and shuts EVERYTHING off if it drops to a level where the car will not start, when you turn the key on it reactivates what was turned off, not just the interior or trunk lights but many more things... The 10 minutes that Seagull was talking about is the power retention for the radio and accessories, after you turn the key off you have about 10 minutes you can listen to the radio, put the windows up etc... unless you open the door during that time, then it kills the power to the accessories.

 

[SkyMan 08]

Using the charger in the car does not use a transformer, so it doesn't get hot. (The home charger uses a transformer to get 12volts to the cell phone battery and they are designed right to the limit of their capabilities so they run warm. If they are unventilated or covered up they could get quite hot and be dangerous.)
Some automobile cellphone chargers may use a solid-state regulator as the battery voltage varies all the time. They may get a little warm but never hot enough to cause a fire. (Some regulators are internal to the cell phone)
Not to worry!

some aftermarket ones that were not designed for your particular device can get extremely hot... If your charger or the device it is attached to gets hot to the touch I would not leave it plugged in and unattended...

 

[MCW Sky]

Interesting

I once left my cell phone plugged into the car charger when the battery was dead thinking that if someone called me at least I would know when I got back to the car - only to discover that the power plug in tat car shut off with the ignition. And both cars since do the same thing - I have considered adding an extra circuit that does not shut off with the car.

I do use an inverter in my car on trips where I have my computer plugged in to use the turn by turn spoken nagivation/GPS - I suspect that would be a bad thing to leave plugged in and switched on when not necessary. (bluetooth device with software loaded on the computer).

 

[SkyMan 08]

I once left my cell phone plugged into the car charger when the battery was dead thinking that if someone called me at least I would know when I got back to the car - only to discover that the power plug in tat car shut off with the ignition. And both cars since do the same thing - I have considered adding an extra circuit that does not shut off with the car.

I do use an inverter in my car on trips where I have my computer plugged in to use the turn by turn spoken nagivation/GPS - I suspect that would be a bad thing to leave plugged in and switched on when not necessary. (bluetooth device with software loaded on the computer).

it does not shut off on the Sky...