cell phone charging

[capt den]

i have seen this covered before and i believe it was said that you need 7 volts to charge a cell phone.with that said, will the 6 volt lighter on our dashes do the job? seems like the 1 volt difference should be OK. also, how do you measure the brake shoe to tell if it is a 12 inch or other size?  i believe my 54 windsor is 12 inch and i am getting ready to order new shoes for the front and rebuild kits for the wheel cylinders. thanks,  capt den

[Doug&Deb]

For cell phone charging there are inverters available. I have one wired to the ignition switch to a double USB port. 

[joecoozie]

Can't answer the cell phone question.

But for the brake question -  just measure the brake drum inside diameter

[capt den]

was hoping to not have to pull the drum today. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

odds are and this is a wag in a fashion if 12 your OD of the drum will be closer to 13  would be bigger than 12 inches...11 should be a bit less than 12 and 10's a bit less than 11...but to be safe...I would first pull a drum or two and in doing this...you can measure the inside diameter to determine if machining is needed and if the drums has the material left to clean up the surface and not bust out of minimum thickness.  

Edited June 30, 2022 by Plymouthy Adams

[keithb7]

Works for me. I mounted a 6V to 12V converter tucked up behind the glove box. Tied into the fuel gauge power wire. Powered by turning on the ignition switch.  2 years later it still charges fine for me. 

 

[Los_Control]

Just now, capt den said:

i have seen this covered before and i believe it was said that you need 7 volts to charge a cell phone.with that said, will the 6 volt lighter on our dashes do the job? seems like the 1 volt difference should be OK. also, how do you measure the brake shoe to tell if it is a 12 inch or other size?  i believe my 54 windsor is 12 inch and i am getting ready to order new shoes for the front and rebuild kits for the wheel cylinders. thanks,  capt den

I would not order anything before inspecting thoroughly what you have & what you need.  These old Dodges do not have readily available Drums like a ferd or a chubby.

You could easily order $200 worth of shoes just to find out it is your drums that are bad .... You really need to know exactly what you have, the condition of each part & a good idea how long each part could last before being replaced .... to make a educated decision about fixing your brakes.

 

About the charger, Most phones need 5 volt to charge.

I would be more concerned about the positive ground of the vehicle and if it would work with the phone?

A example is our 6 volt positive ground radios can be gutted and converted to a negative ground system .... But we do not have a inline converter to switch the radio without damage to the radio.

 

 

So just a WAG, the 6 volts is enough to supply the 5 volt requirement ... Possibly destroy the phone when the generator is cruising down the highway supplying 8 volts to the battery ..... I would be more concerned of the reverse polarity on our vehicles.

Most of us have a old junk phone lying around you could try and see if damages the phone before trying it on your good phone?

[DonaldSmith]

Household voltage adaptors are rated 100-240 v input, 5.0 V output.  I suppose an automotive adapter would go from 12-14 V input to 5.0 V. output.  What would happen if it were only fed 6-7 V input?

[OUTFXD]

My buddy has a 52 chevy 3100,  He ran an 8v battery,  turned up the voltage regulator a touch and charged his phone (used it for GPS) for years without issue or further modification.

 

Is this Relevant? Yes, Does it apply to our cars?  No clue. 

 

Best of luck!

[Sam Buchanan]

Something like this would work great if you want to build a charger:

 

 

 

$17 on Amazon, many different versions available but this one has input range of 5.5v-30 vdc, output selectable from 0.5-30 vdc. Will supply up to 4a.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Sam Buchanan

[OUTFXD]

Also be aware if you are running Positive or Negative ground.  Makes little difference to the car, Might make a world of difference to sensitive electronics.  If you are running Positive ground.  Buy a cheap cigarette lighter socket from your local Parts Hause and wire it in backwards.  Make sure to label it as such in case you decide to convert your electrical system in the future.

[Sniper]

51 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

Something like this would work great if you want to build a charger:

 

 

 

$17 on Amazon, many different versions available but this one has input range of 5.5v-30 vdc, output selectable from 0.5-30 vdc. Will supply up to 4a.

 

 

I am running one of those for my bluetooth amp.  Seems if the voltage gets too high, much above an actual 12v, it will shut down to protect itself.  Poor design for that application.  Anyway, it works fine but it's not going to give you more voltage than you put into it.  So while you can feed it 6v you aren't going to get 12v out of it, at least not mine. 

[TodFitch]

I re-invented the wheel the first try on setting up a cell phone charger on my '33. What fried my homemade attempt, a simple 5v voltage regulator, was that while the phone had a non-conductive case the shield on the charging cable’s microUSB connector was metal and it came in contact with some metal within the car and fried the regulator. All fused properly so no fire or visible smoke. But the regulator was dead.

 

So I decided to go with a commercial product and got this: https://customautosoundmfg.com/product/power-inverter I have it hidden under the dash and powered off the ignition switch. I have the output wired to a 12v accessory outlet mounted on the bottom lip of the dash and then I plug in a common 12v to USB adapter. When I moved my old dash cam to the Plymouth I also hooked the “hardwire kit” for the dash cam to the output of the power inverter.

[Sam Buchanan]

16 minutes ago, Sniper said:

 

 

I am running one of those for my bluetooth amp.  Seems if the voltage gets too high, much above an actual 12v, it will shut down to protect itself.  Poor design for that application.  Anyway, it works fine but it's not going to give you more voltage than you put into it.  So while you can feed it 6v you aren't going to get 12v out of it, at least not mine. 

 

I was responding to the request for info about charging a cell phone at 5.5vdc.

[Loren]

First 1952-54 Windsor brakes are 12 inch. That’s what I have on my 49 Plymouth.

Second I used an old Garmin GPS while my speedometer was out for repair.

I belong to the Model T Ford club and had found in their material that many members had figured out that chargers and adaptors have a voltage regulating chip.

The target voltage is 5.5 volts. So they will work with zero problems on our cars. However, there is the positive ground vs negative ground issue.

From experience it would be best to make up a plug/jack adaptor to reverse the polarity, rather than trying to do it at the lighter jack.

The dash is chromed steel and if you aren’t paying attention just a little slip will pop the fuse (if you put one in).

[OUTFXD]

8 hours ago, Loren said:

it would be best to make up a plug/jack adaptor to reverse the polarity, rather than trying to do it at the lighter jack.

Good point! My Tecnological sense is so behind the times I am used to starting with a cigarette lighter and building from there and just adding as USB port didnt even cross my mind.

[1949 Wraith]

Easiest way to charge a cell phone on a 6 volt car is to carry a rechargable portable battery pack in your glove box.

[Loren]

1 hour ago, 1949 Wraith said:

Easiest way to charge a cell phone on a 6 volt car is to carry a rechargable portable battery pack in your glove box.

This one of those things you learn from your 17 year old.

He however has found that he is “over the hill” in video games because the 12 year olds can regularly beat him. lol

The only video game I ever mastered was “Pong”.

Considering the cost of the battery packs vs a power port & polarity adaptor, I think the battery pack wins.

However, it does have a “cool factor” to have your GPS plugged into the lighter socket but only to folks over 60.

The 50 year olds don’t use GPS to navigate anymore, they use their iPhone and a battery pack.

I don’t navigate anymore, the spouse does that, I just drive. Much simpler. Easier to keep up with traffic than technology.

[capt den]

battery pack wins. not comfortable wiring into the car things i do no understand well. brake shoes. i have shoes in the garage, i think they are for my car. how are they measured to know they fit a 12" drum?  thanks    capt den

[Los_Control]

For a battery pack, I have seen these advertised on the internet for awhile, looks to be useful.

We all need a good bright flashlight from time to time, then it is solar powered & charged from the sun. Same time it will power your usb devices such as a phone from the solar charger.

Seems like it could be a useful tool to have in the glove box when needed. Then used to charge the phone while driving.

Is it any good? No clue, for $30 is cheap enough and Amazon is sold out ....

 

https://www.amazon.com/Preppers-Tactical-Flashlight-Emergency-Ultimate/dp/B07YNF3MQ5/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

Edited July 1, 2022 by Los_Control

[Plymouthy Adams]

Have fun with this....in truth, you might want to grab your shoe and head to the local brake shop, the may well have this very chart on hand for you to gauge the ones you have in captivity....

 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

as an added, you could get out your compas and draw a 10, 11 and 12 inch circle and lay your shoes against the circle for correct arc...

[capt den]

tried the drum diameter chart and a compass circle. seems that both show 12" shoe. i ordered shoes from rock auto and wheel cylinders. maybe i will actually get the right parts.  thanks for the help    capt den

[thebelvedereman]

While on the subject of of charging things, I just got my 48 New Yorker, it's been swapped onto a Chevy frame and drivetrain, so it's 12 volts, I'm thinking I should be able to run a wire to the original cigarette lighter and use it with 12 volts ???

[Sniper]

49 minutes ago, thebelvedereman said:

While on the subject of of charging things, I just got my 48 New Yorker, it's been swapped onto a Chevy frame and drivetrain, so it's 12 volts, I'm thinking I should be able to run a wire to the original cigarette lighter and use it with 12 volts ???

 

I would think so, the unit pops out based on heat and the only change I can think of is that it would heat up faster.