I dont understand????
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Tuned
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 305
Likes: 0
From: Havana Fla
I dont understand????
This sounds crazy but I swear its true. The power point on the dash is driving me insane. I can put a tester in it and get +12VDC with red lead in center and black lead on outside. I can get +12VDC with red center and black to other cig plug out side, (or any other ground) when you plug a charger, any of 3 cell phome chargers, the garmin nav plug, or the xm radio plug into powerpoint the little red or blue or green lights come on as they should. BUT this is the crazy part. The device will not charge/turn on. the Garmin is what pushed me over the edge, when you plug it in the unit blips then gives you message external power lost. but the red light on plug never flickers. slam truck door and it does it again. So Im assuming that the power point has a bad connection that makes enough contact for the indicator light but not good enough to really work?
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,351
Likes: 242
From: North Florida
I once had a problem with a phone charger that wouldn't make a good connection in the power outlet. I had to use a pencil eraser (steel wool would work) and rub on the contact portion of the charger so that it would make a better connection. I assume that there was a layer of oxidation that I removed. However, if this was your problem, I don't think that you would be getting the indicator light. I was getting an intermittent contact, and if the light was on, I had power.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 857
Likes: 0
It sounds like you have a bad or high resistance connection to the power point. As long as the current demand is low, you'll see full voltage. As soon as you attempt to draw any current through it, the resistance won't allow current flow. Also, you may have heating at the point of the bad connection. I'd start by looking for a bad ground connection to the barrel of the power point and look for a bad power connection at the center 12v+ connection in the base.
You Keep What You Kill
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,902
Likes: 2
From: Huntersville, NC
It sounds like you have a bad or high resistance connection to the power point. As long as the current demand is low, you'll see full voltage. As soon as you attempt to draw any current through it, the resistance won't allow current flow. Also, you may have heating at the point of the bad connection. I'd start by looking for a bad ground connection to the barrel of the power point and look for a bad power connection at the center 12v+ connection in the base.
Hotshot
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 11,537
Likes: 27
From: Long Beach, Ms.
Take a multi-tap ( DealExtreme: $4.39 1-to-3 Car Cigarette Lighter Power Port Splitter ) and plug it into the the power point. now plug something into one of the outlets and then check another for voltage.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 42,561
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From: Long Island USA
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Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,049
Likes: 1
I feel your pain. I had a similar issue with a cell phone charger. The difference is that I use a power splitter. The charger light was on, but no one was home to charge my phone. I took out the splitter and it still wouldn't work. I wrote off the charger since every other device I plug in still works. I have a new phone now and my wife's charger still works, so I've moved on.
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