12 v power port

[Captain Neon]

My converted 802 radio has a 12v power line to operate 12v accessories. I also have a 12v converter that I acquired a few years ago. I am wondering if there is a way that I can wire these in parallel to get more available amperage to the power port. I don't want to mess up and wire in series and have a 24v power port.

I am interested in the 12v power port to charge cell phones, run a Garmin GPS system, or charge digital camera batteries. I may even be able to recharge a 12v power pack if needed too.

[Norm's Coupe]

If your car is converted to 12 volts, why not just add some plug in sockets under the dash with a separate fuse. Then you can run the things you mentioned without a problem. You could add as many sockets as necessary. You could use the type socket that accepts the same plug as goes in a cigarette lighter.

If you are trying to plug in something that runs off house current, you can buy a converter for that too to plug into the cigarette lighter, or one of the sockets.

Oh, and by the way. If your car is converted to 12 volts, you can buy a 12 volt windshield wiper motor that will bolt right in. Pick up a copy of Rod and Custom or Street Rodder magazine. There is always an ad toward the back about the size of a calling card that advertises them. Think they run about $150 or so. I would have mentioned this before when you ask about electric wiper motors but thought you had 6 volts still.

[Captain Neon]

My car is 6v. My 802 radio runs on 6v. The guts inside the radio, however, are 12v. The company that did the conversion to AM/FM/aux placed a 6 to 12v converter inside the case. As an extra feature, the radio has a 12v output that I can use to run a 12v power port. I am wondering if I can also wire my extra 6 to 12 v converter in such a way that I can take both 12v power sources and get a higher amperage 12v power port.

[Norm's Coupe]

In that case I'll pass on answering your question. It is quite possible you'd end up with 24 volts and that wouldn't be good, but I really don't know for sure. I'm sure someone else may be able to answer it for sure though.

[123.gramps]

I can't answer your question but would like to know who converted/modified your radio.

[greg g]

A jump charger located discretely in your car will power those accessories for a day ou two if not more. I have a car radio plugged into one in my garage it will play for about 5 days before it needs recharging. You could put ot in your trunk and either wire a circuit from it or just put it in the back seat and plug in your stuff through a power adaptor cord. A gps would probably run for two weeks on one of those. You can find them for 30 bucks or so.

[Captain Neon]

A jump charger located discretely in your car will power those accessories for a day ou two if not more. I have a car radio plugged into one in my garage it will play for about 5 days before it needs recharging. You could put ot in your trunk and either wire a circuit from it or just put it in the back seat and plug in your stuff through a power adaptor cord. A gps would probably run for two weeks on one of those. You can find them for 30 bucks or so.

Been there and done that for the last seven years. I'm ready to move on to something more user-friendly.

[Captain Neon]

I can't answer your question but would like to know who converted/modified your radio.

Visit http://www.turnswitch.com. They converted my radio. It wasn't cheap. I haven't installed it yet, but it will go in right after the wiper motor gets put back in. I am pretty excited to finally have my dash radio working again and can get the clutter out of my front seat.

My wiper motor is in the custody of UPS on its way to New York to be rebuilt.

[Norm's Coupe]

Ben,

The more I think about it, if you want to run a bunch of modern stuff like that, you might be better off just converting the whole system to 12 volt.

That said, I really don't know why we have to be able to use all those modern things in our old cars. Usually, we're just tooling around for pleasure anyway. About the only thing we might need is the cell phone. Just make sure it's charged up before leaving home and we won't have to recharge it in the car. If on a trip to a show, just plug it into the motel outlet to recharge the cell phone at night, and it should last all day the next day. As for the GPS on a trip. They didn't have those back in the day, they used maps. Do the same and you don't need the GPS. As for the digital camera batteries, they last a long time usually. I don't bother charging those when they go dead. Just stop at any store or gas station and buy new batteries and stick in the camera. Digital camera batteries aren't that expensive.

[Alexander]

in theory it can be done, but not advisable. if you do it, i would suggest using a diode in line with each power source.

the other thought, the current (amp) draw of these small devices, cell phone, navigation is small. do you know what you 12V out put in the radio is rated at? it might have power to run what you need with out doubling the power source.

[tinlizzy]

Don't they make 12v tractor batteries with a center post on for 6volt. I use to have one in a 1950 plymouth. I had a lot more cranking amps with just the 6volt and used the 12v for other stuff but that was 20 years ago.

Lee

[BobT-47P15]

Ben......who will be rebuilding your wiper motor????

[Captain Neon]

As recommended by Pete, Robert Ficken is doing the rebuild, http://www.wiperman.com. I'm also planning on installing a vacuum reserve canister to improve the wiper motor's performance as recommended by Don Coatney.

Norm, my wife is the world's worst navigator. I have used maps for years, but without fail my wife will tell me to turn at the wrong intersection or miss an exit, etc, etc. The GPS also works great to calibrate the speedometer. Call it a marital strife reducer. There are too many instances where I have had to snatch the map from my wife because she can't read it or she gets us hopelessly lost.

I'll probably just have the one port from the radio, but was simply curious if I could boost the amperage with a 6 to 12 v converter that I inherited years ago. The converter will give me 5 amps; probably more than enough to run the GPS.

[Niel Hoback]

My gps can be charged by connecting a usb cable to this computer, so the power draw must be very, very small. Look on your gps to car power cable and se if it says how much it puts out. Probably in the milliamp range.

[123.gramps]

Visit http://www.turnswitch.com. They converted my radio. It wasn't cheap. I haven't installed it yet, but it will go in right after the wiper motor gets put back in. I am pretty excited to finally have my dash radio working again and can get the clutter out of my front seat.

My wiper motor is in the custody of UPS on its way to New York to be rebuilt.

Thanks much. I'll make contact with them and see where it goes.

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm, my wife is the world's worst navigator. I have used maps for years, but without fail my wife will tell me to turn at the wrong intersection or miss an exit, etc, etc. The GPS also works great to calibrate the speedometer. Call it a marital strife reducer. There are too many instances where I have had to snatch the map from my wife because she can't read it or she gets us hopelessly lost.

Ben,

I learned years ago to never depend on the wife past and present one to read the map. I just look myself and it saves a lot of grief. Also never to depend on someone else telling me when the coast is clear if I can't see the other way very well for some reason. I look myself ever since about 1963. Was stationed at the Engineering Depot in Granite City, IL then while in the army. Me and another guy were going to pick up a couple of girls we had met earlier. Had trouble seeing the traffic from the other direction so the guy with me said "go". So....."go" I did. But.........there was another car coming that he evidently didn't see either. Luckily I was able to goose it and get by without an accident. But........ever since that day, I do my own looking.

[Don Coatney]

The company that did the conversion to AM/FM/aux placed a 6 to 12v converter inside the case. As an extra feature, the radio has a 12v output that I can use to run a 12v power port.

The unanswered questions are what is the amperage output of the radio output (As an extra feature, the radio has a 12v output that I can use to run a 12v power port) and what are the amperage requirements of the gadgets you want to connect? How can you expect anyone to answer your questions without this information?

[kool47p15]

Check out E Bay auction #200291389291

6v pos gnd to 12v neg gnd power inverter

I got mine in the mail today, will hook it up next week

[Norm's Coupe]

Ben,

I think all of us have missed the obvious answer to your question.

The best person to answer your question would be the guy or place that converted your radio and put that output plug in there. They should be able to tell you right away how much you can plug into it, and what.

[David Maxwell]

...and it's been working great. Not sure about your situation and wanting to split to more ports. I posted a response earlier and for some reason it jumped to a new thread. You can check it out. It's a pic and URL to a splitter.

[Captain Neon]

It was really just an academic question. More than likely, I will only be running one item at a time. The amperage out of the radio is dependent on how much juice the radio is drawing producing volume. There is more than enough power to run one low-powered item, e.g. cell phone charger and Garmin.

I was simply curious if I could easily supplement that power with my 6 to 12 v converter. I will probably just have the one power port running from the converter already running the radio, and possibly add another port later running from the converter alone. A total of three power ports, one 6v for my portable MoPar spotlight and other 6v accessories, and two 12v power ports.

I wasn't a Boy Scout, but bad things tend not to happen when we are prepared. I've even got a port under my dash to hook up a 12v power pack to send a supplemental 12v straight to my coil rather than opening the hood and jumping the battery. A little safer per Bob's exploded view photo of his battery, and less embarrassing if my P15 and I are having a bad day.

[Frank Elder]

You could even hide your radio power port by routing it to the cigar lighter in the dash, replacing the lighter housing with it instead. Then when not in use, put the lighter in to disguise it.

[Norm's Coupe]

As far as jump starting our cars, it's no big deal. If you were to get stuck someplace and the battery was dead, you can just push the car enough to make it roll a little. Then pop the clutch with it in gear and she'll probably start right up without a jump. Doesn't take much movement to start the car using the clutch. Then you don't have to worry about jump starting with a 12 volt and blowing the battery.