12V accessory outlet not working.

[Lothsahn]

My 12V fuse was blown for the accessory port when I bought my car. I replaced it and have had no problems since.

If you repeatedly blow fuses, that's not good. 10A should provide 120W. Given phone adapters are typically <15W (although some are up to 50W), they should *never* blow the fuse. If you're blowing the fuse repeatedly, you should definitely inspect the wiring for that circuit as there's a problem--possibly one that could cause a fire.

[mwalsh]

Somehow a fairly highly rated tire pump air compressor my relative purchased from Amazon caused both her non-EV vehicle and my 18 LEAF to both blow their 12V accessory outlet fuses! Needless to say that compressor will be returned and a terrible review left: https://www.amazon.com/Lifeline-AAA-300 ... 401&sr=8-3

The crazy thing is I've been using an old Continental OEM pump that came with an older gen LEAF for 5+ years in different vehicles pumping air without ever blowing a fuse!

I use the GM branded inflater that came with our Volt all the time. No issues. Made in China by a company called FixandGo, if the label on the bottom is to be believed.

[jjeff]

For a while my mother needed an oxygen making machine, unfortunately it drew 12a. Unfortunately she tried it in her Leaf and my brothers(both '13's) but the good news is, while neither Leaf powered the machine, it didn't blow the fuse in either.....not sure why(maybe the oxygen machine shut off on a low voltage situation?) but when they told me it drew 12a I said NO, don't even plug it in. They did say the oxygen machine errored out so thats probably why it didn't actually blow the Leaf fuse.

[coulomb]

... it drew 12a. ... while neither Leaf powered the machine, it didn't blow the fuse in either.....not sure why

I wondered about that, until I dug out the schematic for it:



Adapted from the PDF on this page, from this handy page with many user and repair manuals, (for the 2012; they have other model years as well).

Note the mysterious "resistor" that seems to be integral; I'd say it's an NTC resistor [ edit: as pointed out below, it would be PTC ] that starts severely reducing power output above about 10A. I doubt I'll be able to run my tire pump from it (there is a warning tag in it that states that it draws 14A).

How nanny is that?

[LeftieBiker]

If the wiring is cheap, it's just nanny enough.

[GerryAZ]

You are probably right about the resistor being NTC to protect against overheating of the socket (due to loose contact with plug) or overloading. Notice the fuse in the negative (ground) side of the socket. This is common on modern cars so you can ruin the socket without blowing the supply fuse.

[lorenfb]

You are probably right about the resistor being NTC to protect against overheating of the socket (due to loose contact with plug) or overloading. Notice the fuse in the negative (ground) side of the socket. This is common on modern cars so you can ruin the socket without blowing the supply fuse.

Most likely a thermistor to reduce the inrush of current, e.g. from a capacitive load, incandescent bulb. To reduce increasing current,
the device would need to be PTC (positive temp coefficient) device.

[GerryAZ]

You are right, probably a thermistor or PTC resistor, I was replying to a previous post that mentioned NTC resistor without thinking about it. At any rate, the fuse and resistor built-in to the negative side of the socket with the fuse not being a normal user-replaceable item means the socket may fail if it is overloaded.

[Learjet]

or a safety device in case someone puts a real cigarette light in there

[coulomb]

To reduce increasing current,
the device would need to be PTC (positive temp coefficient) device.

Duh, of course, my bad.

I was pleasantly surprised however that it ran my supposedly 14A tire pump without problems.