12 volt accessories and outlets

suprz,

Boy oh boy, I surely know where you are coming from for I have been where you are. My primary complaint is that both Ford outlets are too close to the gear shift lever. When anything is plugged into either outlet, they stick out so far that they interfere with shifting, especially when I up-shift and down-shift, distracting me from concentrating on the road. Not just a serious irritation, but also a safety matter. Then there is the problem with wires all over the cup holder surface.

I spent some design & installation time to make this little enhancement, and we both "Love" it with all problems solved.

I added one 12V outlet and a dual USB port in the front face of the cup holder seen with the two round rubber covers. The power to them is seen as a vertical gray strip going down from the radio section. When I have to remove the engine cowl, I first detach the cup holder, pull out the connector from under the radio & unplug and remove the thing. Power to my additional outlets is tapped from the cigarette lighter where power amperage is so much greater than the accessory port with rectangular rubber boot.

All things plugged into the new outlets, their wires drape to the floor, not over the cup holder area. The gear shift lever is free and clear to use without interference. When we stop, my wife stuffs everything out of the way, wires and all, inside the cubbie hole just below the two new outlets.

I bought the outlets new from a supplier on Ebay for less than $10. You can read more about the project by CLICKING HERE.

Make sure your brake lights are working correctly, many times they are on the same circuit. Just make sure...

klutchdust wrote:
Side note: I purchased a generic plug- in type adapter to use for my phone. I was in the coach and noticed some brown smoke coming from the plug. The dang thing shorted out, was melting AND the 12 volt fuse did not blow. I yanked it out and the pin was so hot it burned a hole in my dinette seat :M

Cigarette lighter and sockets are one of the WORST designs possible for use as a 12VDC power distribution, especially if you want a RELIABLE connection.

One of the BEST 12VDC power distribution connectors are Anderson PowerPoles. This size will easily and reliably handle 30A of power.

suprz wrote:
My 2006 Ford E450 cab has a dedicated cigarette lighter (yep, imagine that) AND a 12 volt "power outlet". The cigarette lighter doesn't have any power ( i have tried to find the fuse, and i have checked all of the ones listed on for website manuals) The power outlet does though, and i was wondering what you guys use to power more than one thing at a time. And how is it set up? Pictures are a plus. We currently are using a power "block" that plugs into the power port and expands that to 3 12 volt outlets, and 4 USB ports. We have a GPS that uses a cigarette type outlet, a dash cam that also uses a cigarette type outlet, and 2 cellphones plugged into USB ports and these are used while we are driving

Outlets do stop working after a while. One did in my Jeep. I removed the "plug" and installed a outlet specifically for plugging in two accessories. It also is powered ALL the time. Now, this is in my daily driver so i doubt that tiny LED light draws much. I plug my phone in and when shopping etc,I come back and it's charged.

Side note: I purchased a generic plug- in type adapter to use for my phone. I was in the coach and noticed some brown smoke coming from the plug. The dang thing shorted out, was melting AND the 12 volt fuse did not blow. I yanked it out and the pin was so hot it burned a hole in my dinette seat :M I took all those adapters and tossed them in the trash and bought ones from a better known supplier.





Cllena Dual USB Charger Socket Power Outlet 2.1A & 2.1A for Car Boat Marine Mobile (4.2A-Blue)

Mine is a bit different,being that it is a Chevy.On the dash just above the A/C outlets there is a small alcove.I have a 4 place splitter placed in there with 3 open slots for my dash cam, GPS,and anything else I need such as my small inverter. The 4th spot has a Plug In that displays the chassis battery voltage and alternates to inside temp with two 5 amp USB ports,this thing is real handy.

I have these

I have one attached to my cigarette lighter outlet in the cab of the clipper - I plug my GPS into one of the 12v plugs, my seat warmer into the heavy duty 12v plug, and my cell phone and mp3 players into the usb plugs.

I also have one in the house part connected to a 12v outlet by the battery so I can plug in laptop, cell phone, tablet, etc.

Then I removed a wall light and installed this in its place. There wasn't enough depth in the wall for a flush setup. This is placed up high so I can plug in my cell phone, kindle and tablet at night and be able to reach them while in the cabover bed.

I have put in one of these to replace some switches as well as having the cig. lighter and 2 USB ports, I have also installed a couple of other USB sockets in other places too.

Installed a double power outlet under edge of dash. It is connected direct to chassis battery, via #10 wire and inline fuseholder. Sorry no pictures available. But here is a link to one like it on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/BreaDeep-Cigarette-Lighter-Waterproof-Motorcycle/dp/B014RD1OPU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1548614186&sr=8-9&keywords=lighter+socket+power+outlet