Thread: Wiring DC/DC PSU to cigarette lighter

Originally Posted by ericthebikeman

I've been thinking of getting an opus 150W PSU but I don't think I'm ready to run cableing directly to the battery yet. I was thinking of using the second power jack "lighter socket" in the trunk.

First, will this work?
Second, if it does will opus still do a shutdown when the ignition is switched off?

Since the 4th of July has passed, I don't think you'd like to see more fireworks, especcialy if your car is the firework. No it will not work, if you try it most probably your car will be on fire. The Opus uses a lot of power, and just like an amp you have to you have to wire it from the battery.

Originally Posted by Cris

Since the 4th of July has passed, I don't think you'd like to see more fireworks, especcialy if your car is the firework. No it will not work, if you try it most probably your car will be on fire. The Opus uses a lot of power, and just like an amp you have to you have to wire it from the battery.

While I agree that there might be a small risk associated with rigging to that outlet, I don't think it would be all that bad. A lot depends on how much amperage that circuit was designed to provide. Check out your car's manual, and find the fuse for that trunk outlet's circuit. If the fuse is 15A or 20A, it would probably be a bad thing to use (see aformentioned fireworks comment). If it's using a larger fuse, it should probably be okay. I'm betting the latter, since most trunk-mounted outlets were designed for high-draw devices, like battery jumpers and portable tire inflators.

As for the switching thing, I don't know a ton about the OPUS supplies, but if they work according to whether power is present for switching, then all you need to do is plug something into the outlet, then switch off the car to see if the device turns off. I'm also betting that this outlet is always on, allowing you to reinflate your volleyball without having to start the car every time.

If I have misunderstood how the OPUS does its switching detection, then nevermind what I said about whether it will switch off. Heh.