electrical question

[VE258]

Hi all! long time ago i've wired cigarette outlet directly to the battery with 5A fuse. bright idea come to my mind before last camping trip to bring inflatable mattress with me(along with 12v air pump).
while bike was running, i plugged in the pump , pressed start and pump died right away. i suspect that 5A fuse,but it looks fine. no signs of burning out.since i wasn't bright enough to carry a bike's manual with me , i've ended up riding without gps and sleeping on the ground .
there is a plenty of spare fuses in the bike's electrical system.
anyway-here my question: is it ok to use an 8A rated air pump(assuming i put a higher rated (10A?) fuse) with my current setup(cigarette lighter wired directly to the battery with a fuse on positive wire)?
i just want to be make sure that i won't destroy battery doing this. that the last thing i want in the middle of nowhere. and of course from now on i'm going to carry my manual in the frunk

Thank you!

 

[ste7ios]

No. To do this you need proper cables (thicker) and an outlet that can hold all those amperes. And I'm not sure if the generator can feed you so many amperes at idling...

 

[L.B.S.]

Hi all! long time ago i've wired cigarette outlet directly to the battery with 5A fuse. bright idea come to my mind before last camping trip to bring inflatable mattress with me(along with 12v air pump).
while bike was running, i plugged in the pump , pressed start and pump died right away. i suspect that 5A fuse,but it looks fine. no signs of burning out.since i wasn't bright enough to carry a bike's manual with me , i've ended up riding without gps and sleeping on the ground .
there is a plenty of spare fuses in the bike's electrical system.
anyway-here my question: is it ok to use an 8A rated air pump(assuming i put a higher rated (10A?) fuse) with my current setup(cigarette lighter wired directly to the battery with a fuse on positive wire)?
i just want to be make sure that i won't destroy battery doing this. that the last thing i want in the middle of nowhere. and of course from now on i'm going to carry my manual in the frunk

Thank you!

You won't harm your battery.

It's most likely that the 5amp fuse blew from the air pump draw- It's happened to me more times than not...

I would replace the fuse whether or not it looks still good, just to rule it out. Sometimes they can look fine, but not work.

Personally, I don't have a problem with putting in a 7.5-ish or so fuse. But as with everything- user beware, YMMV!

 

[Gigs]

You're battery can handle that output but as stated before the socket and wiring that came with it may be an issue. Too much current through cheap wires can cause too much heat and melting or worse a fire. A larger fuse may be fine for this application but regular use of the wires with too much current can cause breakdown of any plating or insulation and lead to a fire, again. So be careful.

 

[L.B.S.]

No. To do this you need proper cables (thicker) and an outlet that can hold all those amperes. And I'm not sure if the generator can feed you so many amperes at idling...

I'm sure you could run at least two or three air pumps at the same time, even at idle. There is plenty of power available. Sure, not for a silly length of time, but more than enough for the average tire or mattress' worth. If your pump takes longer than that to inflate a tire/air mattress, then you are using the wrong pump, or a bad one I'm thinking.

The difference between 5 and 7.5 amps isn't an outrageous increase to the point of dire need, as long as the original wire gauge size and outlet were designed for a 5amp size or larger fuse to begin with, IMHO. Obviously a 1 amp outlet like in the OEM Honda frunk application, would be a total no no.

 

[VE258]

if battery is ok with that, i guess i can simply check wires load by trying the pump at home with 10A fuse. just hold them and see,how hot they are under the load. if they get ridiculously hot in a very short time-then obviously i need a thicker wires.

 

[ste7ios]

Concentrate on the lights. If they're getting dim the generator can not feed this pump and battery power is used.

 

[VE258]

ok, got it!

 

[treybrad]

The difference between 5 and 7.5 amps isn't an outrageous increase to the point of dire need, as long as the original wire gauge size and outlet were designed for a 5amp size or larger fuse to begin with, IMHO. Obviously a 1 amp outlet like in the OEM Honda frunk application, would be a total no no.

+1. You said you wired the outlet straight to the battery (not using the Honda accessory harness stuff). As long as you used an appropriate sized wire, stick whatever size fuse you need in there. Think my heated gear runs off a 15A fuse.

Here's a cheat sheet for wire size/amperage/length - Wire Gauge Amps Ratings for 12 volt Automotive Systems

trey

 

[dduelin]

As a general rule and only as a general rule cigarette (can I say that?, smoking tobacco is so unhealthy these days ) lighter-type 12 volt power outlets are rated for 15 amps. If the power point outlet is supplied with wires it should come with wires appropriately sized BUT the wires must be sized appropriately based on the distance to the power source if they require lengthening. If the power point is connected with wires shorter than 3' feet than 16 AWG should be Ok, 14 AWG is better. The fuse goes in the positive wire and as close as practical to the battery.

 

[BerndM]

I wired my NON Honda cigarette lighter socket directly to the battery with a fused positive lead. I used #14 fine stranded copper wire and the fuse is a 15 amp fuse. The socket and wire have no issue with 15 amps. My air compressor is noticeably happier with the motor running, especially when the tire pressure starts to climb up over 30 psi.