inverters

[mark e]

driving my car on saturday had my 150w inverter in the cigarette lighter had problems powering my portable cd player.

when stopped with engine off, played no problem but soon as i was driving round the cd player just clicking to itself. Im afraid i might have started the engine with it all plugged in too.

anyboby else had problems like above ?
any advice welcome

 

[paulamy]

hi mark e not had the same prob but we have a 300watt inverter which mostly gets used for the tv but when i plug the laptop in it beeps as if the battery was getting low and wont work tried running the vehicle but is the same, the laptop charger only draws 140 watts so should be ok any clue would also be welcome.mark i dont think it should make any difference wether the vehicle runs or not as long as the batteries are ok.

 

[Geoff.W]

Hi.
Mark, just a thought but have you tried pluging CD player into mains to see if the fault is there rather than with the inverter.

Paul, again just a thought but is your inverter 300W peak or continuous, if it is peak rate, continuous would only be around 150W. Is the laptop power pack 140W input or output, if output internal losses would probably account for at least 10% therefore input would be more than 150W. I know this doesn't help much but may explain the problem. Other things to look for, comdition of the wires and connectors, and check that your input(12v) wires are not too long and are heavy enough.

Regards Geoff.​

 

[Geoff.W]

Hi Mark.
Just an update. I see from your post in another place (MHFun) that the CD runs OK with engine off. If I was you I would check charge voltage. 15v or above could cause other faults, blown bulbs, damage to electronics, etc. If it is high then it's probably down to regulator in alternator.

Regards Geoff.​