2001 F150 . I use the cigarette lighter to power my phone charger, GPS unit, and a cheap camera. The lighter is not switched with the ignition , it is always on so I need to remember to unplug in when I stop. I occasionally forget and need to jump the battery to get it running.

This time after fo doing so I was riding along and after a whjile heard a warning beep, the monitor screen said check gauges. The Battery light, the tool symbol light, the check engine light were all on. I think there were four symbols lit up. But the engine kept running smoothly, I was on the way home so kept going with hopes. .I I had that plug in, then removed it.. Then the lights went out, Went they did light up, the tachometer, speedometer, and water temperature gauges all went to zero. When the lights went out, the gauges went back to normal. I checked the cops when I got home--nothing..

Then I was driving s shirt distance today and the same thudding occurred. tThe lights cam on for a little while then went off. Again non codes showed. Not sure what to look for. I guess maybe the alternator may be tired of the battery being drained. I looked briefly under the hood and saw nothing evident wrong.

 

if youve drained your battery multiple times theres a good chance your battery is going bad. They dont like being drained over and over.

 

Yup, your symptoms are of a low battery. Probably bad.
You need to set up a switched plug to prevent this. I have a dash cam that I tapped into the radio fuse so it is powered with the ignition.

 

While it is obvious that the battery has been drained, may I also suggest that the alternator could be bad? In my experience, once you jump start a dead battery (drained as described by Jayeffel or dead in extremely cold weather) the alternator should charge it as you are driving and you should not have the symptoms described. So I would check the alternator before swapping out the battery.

 

It sounds like hes drained the battery multiple times by leaving these electronics running. Not that he drained it once and now has to jump it every time. If it was the latter I would agree check the alt. But its his electronics that keep draining the battery and draining the battery multiple times is not good for its overall health. Bad/dying batteries do crazy things (which would explain his random lights gauges issue). But also if you want to be thorough, yes its never a bad idea to double check everything, alt included.

 

Those electronics wont drain a good battery.....except gps over several
days.

 

Advance Auto has a meter that will tell if it iis the battery or alternator bad or headed that way. I guess it wii know if both are going bad, not just one.

And for the suggestion a to make it switched, I agree. But where do I make that connection? Tap into the power to the radio,or other already switched item, if I can identify the power wire? Go to the fuse panel and hope there is an open connection that is switched? The only switched item I can think of is the radio, everything else is unswitched but has a on/off control-- lights etc, or else is controlled by the ignition switch assembly somehow.

I can always put an inline switch in the power cord to the charger (between the lighter and the charger) but if I forget to unplug it now, I will forget to use that switch!

Thanks for response.

 

You also need to realize power points and cigarette lighters are not the same thing with a difference. You can find a lot of information saying they are but they are not. Cigarette lighters use a higher amp fuse. You are putting more power to the device than it's designed for. Cigarette lighters also use a standard chassis ground and power points, because they are typically for electronic devices use filtered circuits with relays to protect both the device and the vehicle. This goes beyond my electrical circuit understanding but there is plenty of information available about the problems this can cause. Something to consider.

 

I think you are confused, or I am not understanding your post. Just because you are on a higher amp circuit doesn't mean you are applying more power to it. It is only means that it is available. A cell charger, etc is not going to use any more power out of either port.... if it needs 1.2 amps to run, that's all it will use no matter which port it is in. Same principal of a 15 vs 20 amp circuit in your home. Your vacuum won't use more power on the 20 amp circuit.... but what it does allow is for more things to be plugged in to that circuit, as it should have the appropriately sized wire to handle the extra load.

 

exactly my point lol... I think his battery is bad.

I am also under the assumption this wasnt a brand new battery to begin with. Older battery + draining it completely several times = bad battery lol