110v inverter, huh, what is it good for?

[TerryG]

I have one. What should I do with it? (Polite responses only please, unless really witty)

[g8dhe]

Put it on Ebay and sell it back to a Bongo owner in Japan ?

[TerryG]

When I say 'I have one' I mean, of course, that I have one fitted to the rear offside interior panel of my Bongo. Thought it was a regular 12v outlet and wondered why it made my tyre compressor behave very strangely.

[scanner]

When I say 'I have one' I mean, of course, that I have one fitted to the rear offside interior panel of my Bongo. Thought it was a regular 12v outlet and wondered why it made my tyre compressor behave very strangely.

So do you have 2 outlets on the nearside rear wheel arch? Because there should be just a 12v one there already.

[TerryG]

So do you have 2 outlets on the nearside rear wheel arch? Because there should be just a 12v one there already.[/quote]


Ah, well someone told me that if it had a cap on it (which it does) it was a 110v inverter, so when my compressor started behaving strangely I assumed that was the reason. I've just put a multimeter on it and it is, as you suggest, 12v.
Odd, though, that the compressor wouldn't perform when plugged into it, but was absolutely fine running off the 12v socket on the dash.

[missfixit70]

Is the polarity right?

[TerryG]

Is the polarity right?

How would I tell?

[missfixit70]

How did you measure the voltage? one terminal should be positive & one negative (can never remember which way round on a lighter socket)

[rita]

Hi TerryG,

These 12v sockets are a bit crappy,you often have to turn (wiggle)the plugs to get a decent contact.To check the polarity the centre contact is the positive and the outer casing is earth.I doubt if its the wrong way round for obvious reasons.

Cheers.

[missfixit70]

What are the obvious reasons?

[g8dhe]

The small plate / pin at the bottom should be +ve and the shroud is earth or -ve.
The connectors at the rear for the +ve and -ve should be different sizes to make sure you get it right, however that was in the original "spec" (or what passed as a specification) for the sockets, I don't recall seeing that continued in many cases at all however so its quite possible to reverse them in lots of cases!!

[scanner]

So do you have 2 outlets on the nearside rear wheel arch? Because there should be just a 12v one there already.

Ah, well someone told me that if it had a cap on it (which it does) it was a 110v inverter, so when my compressor started behaving strangely I assumed that was the reason. I've just put a multimeter on it and it is, as you suggest, 12v.
Odd, though, that the compressor wouldn't perform when plugged into it, but was absolutely fine running off the 12v socket on the dash.[/quote]

Crap wiring and big voltage drop = not enough ooomph to run the compressor.

[missfixit70]

The cap thing is a load of rubbish, I'd say that's just to stop inquisitive passengers fingers etc ending up in it Mine had one -til I lost it, I'd be surprised (& slightly worried) if they'd put 110v through a ciggy socket, it's usually a 2 pin socket for any 110v sockets I've seen.

[TerryG]

I can confirm that the centre is +ive and the casing -ive. I got a reading of 12.4v - is that enough? At the moment the socket runs off the starter battery.

[scanner]

I can confirm that the centre is +ive and the casing -ive. I got a reading of 12.4v - is that enough? At the moment the socket runs off the starter battery.

It's not actually the voltage that matters so much as the current it can draw without turning the wiring into a toaster.

Try again with the engine running, see if the compressor works better then.