Ok I have decided that charging my laptop just isn't a good idea on the factory outlets. I have a 12v charger for it but still seems to blow fuses. I have replaced both on the dash and the one in the center console already and again they seem to not be working.

Does anyone have a better source than DODGE for these? If I remember correctly they were like $25.00 a piece... I also plan to add another and run a #12 from the battery to it with an inline fuse so I can charge my laptop.

I've debated thrying to crack open the fuse block to tap in the #12 there to a spare fuse location but has anyone ever done that yet?

 

Also just an FYI my laptop charger says its rated at 120 watts and 11 Amps input but still blows the 20Amp fuse for the Cigar lighter...

 

And... it appears the wires in the arm rest are dead. Any ideas where they are powered from?

 

120 watts or 120 volts?

 

120 watts it is 12v made to plug into the aux outlet.

 

are you Sure the computer 12 volt charger/cable is Good. it should NOT blow the fuses.

a 15 amp fuse should last for years ..if only pulling 11 amps.

12 volts times 10 amps equal 120 watts.

and YOU do NOT to get inside the main fuse box. its computer-ized and is big bucks.

 

Yes I am sure the charger works fine. I will test it with test leads tomorrow straight from the battery. I do know the wire going to the outlet is only like 16-18 gauge which is not good for the 20 amp fuse they protect it with.

Does anyone know where the outlet in the armrest gets its power from?

 

you may have burnt up the actual outlet.... it's not hard to overheat them and melt the solder on the inside of them... so if the fuse is 100% good then the issue might be the lighter outlet itself.

I would suggest that you stick with a power inverter and plug a regular a/c outlet into that in order to get power.

With Laptop Car chargers they actually pull a tremendous amount of power upon initial plug in, as they have capacitors that level out the power waves and provide a constant power source, as computers by nature cannot run on constantly fluctuating DC power very well, which is why those giant bricks are in-line on the home chargers. There's a step down transformer in those as well to bring the voltage to a suitable level usually.

Some chargers do invert to DC power but AC is more reliable and allows for less fluctuation when inverted from AC to DC...

So there are a few factors in play that are causing this issue for you... first it's the nature of computer chargers... second it's the fact that you are likely inverting from DC to AC and back to DC and the DC supply from your truck isn't constant due to fluctuating RPM... so best way is to install an inverter and plug an AC charger into that instead.

 

Um, solder melts at around 700 degrees, WAY above the melting point of the plastic around it.

 

Ok it makes 0 sense in my mind to install an inverter to take 13 VDC and step it up to 120 VAC just so a charger can then step it back down to around 5 VDC. I have taken the socket out of the arm rest and have the bare plug with 2 wires on it in my hand. They are dead. My question is does anyone know what fuse feeds the arm rest or have a wiring diagram for it.