plug pc into cigarette lighter

madazskunk

New member
Does anyone know if I can run a pc with a power invertor plugged into my cigarette lighter. I saw one invertor at home depot that converted 12volts into 120, and up to 7.5 amps. does anyone know if this is enough to run the pc. I live in an apartment and wash my car at the do it yourself carwash but want to get a pc.
 
Redcar GUY said:
I think that your battey would be dead before you got one side of the car done.....:nixweiss



not if you use it while the car is turned on... (the alternator recharges the battery as you go)
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:




not if you use it while the car is turned on... (the alternator recharges the battery as you go)



I guess that when I PC a car it takes a long time, and I dont think that I want my car running for an hour or so........:nixweiss





I think that I would go with samiam513's Idea....:xyxthumbs
 
yeah Bill - I agree, I was just offering it as a suggestion if he wanted to do a pannel at a time, then take a break (hate doing that personally, but thats just me)
 
I agree with the thinking that it's not the greatest idea....



That said, the 7424SP is rated at 3.7A, so in theory, you are ok. However, I'd read the fine print on that inverter. That 7A rating is probably the peak (ie a couple of seconds or less), not sustained amps that it can handle. Hopefully there is a nominal (or sustained) rating on the package. If it's 4 or greater, you should be ok.



Like others have said, run the car, and also turn off any other accessories that would normally draw power like lights, stereos, a/c, etc.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I was just trying to find a way out of running a long extension cord from my apt. because there is really no shade and I didn't want to wax in the sun, but I think that is what I'm gonna have to do. Too much wishful thinking I guess.
 
Ive done it and it works fine...Dont need to turn the car on either...I ran it for like 40 minutes and all was well. But....Check the inverter power.....I have a 500 watt inverter, and at these power levels and higher, you usually need to attach them directly to the battery and the lighter type recepticle is usually insufficient.
 
Back
Top