Change 12Volt lead-acid battery

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Home › ✈️Aircraft › 🚁Helicopter › Helicopter Main Discussion › Change 12Volt lead-acid battery

06-19-2009 01:22 AM 11 years ago

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0Post 1

josephk

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Change 12Volt lead-acid battery

Hi all,

My flight box uses a small 12V motorcycle lead-acid type battery, the battery is used for powering fuel pump and glow plugs. Given this minimal usage, it takes about a month from a fully charged state to below 12V.

Using some spare parts and wire, I made a special cable which has a cigarette lighter socket on one end, alligator clips on the other. I am planning to leave the flight box in the car when I am not flying, hook up the cable from the cigarette socket to the battery.

The question is, will this setup work? will my battery get charged from cigarette socket?

Thanks

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06-19-2009 01:47 AM 11 years ago

0Post 2

Stall_Warning

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NE, Pa. - USA

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You are not using anything to limit the charge current so I'd
recommend a fuse.

What if something happened when you're not around? Do you like
that car?

The only other thing I can think of, is the cigarette lighter
wiring designed to charge a battery?

If it works, let us know!

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06-19-2009 02:02 AM 11 years ago

0Post 3

josephk

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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A Fuse ?

Fuse noted, thanks for the recommendation.

What I really meant was leaving the flight box in the trunk, my cable is long enough to reach from dash (Cigarette socket) all the way to the trunk with the rear seat folded down.

There is no point leaving the hookup around when I am not in the car as the cigarette sock has no power if the key is off. Everything is off slight in the trunk.

Yep, what I wanted to know is if the cigarette socket can be used to charge another battery. Yes I will give this a try but is there anyone try this before?

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06-19-2009 02:43 AM 11 years ago

0Post 4

Peter Wales

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Orlando Fl

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Yes it will work, and the plug you put into your cigarette lighter socket has a fuse in it, usually 10amp.

Unplug it when you aren't driving as it will power other circuits in the car when you turn the ignition off and you could lose all the charge you just put in.Peter Wales
http://scalehelicopters.org

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06-19-2009 02:55 AM 11 years ago

0Post 5

greenboot

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Marblehead, OH

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I tried that a long time ago and it blew the fuse so I gave up. I'm sure there would be some way to make it work however. Now I just use a 12v trickle charger.Tom

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06-19-2009 03:06 AM 11 years ago

0Post 6

kkuehnisr

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braidwood,il,usa

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It can be left hooked up to car battery and left there to charge
The cig lighter could be used and it already has a fuse in the circut
If the flight box battery gets to low it may blow a fuse when hooked back up. A better way would be to find a fuse that looses power when in the start position this will eliminate blown fuses

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06-19-2009 03:11 AM 11 years ago

0Post 7

MagicFingers

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PH, Mi USA

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I'm doing something similar, Battery in the trunk is connected to the battery under the hood, extension cord zipp tied under the vehicle.
Of course there is a fuse inline, alligator clips on the removable
battery, bolted on the vehicle battery
BillEach one, teach one

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06-19-2009 04:07 AM 11 years ago

0Post 8

ShuRugal

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Richmond, VA

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the fuse your cig lighter is on will not like you for doing that. There is a good reason for this, as that socket is not designed to run sufficient amperage to charge a 12-volt battery. As another poster pointed out, if you have the car off with it plugged into your cigarette, lighter, the battery will simply drain out powering things like your stereo.

If you want to use your car to charge your flight box battery, wire it in parallel with your car's battery using full-size battery leads. Find a good out-of-the-way spot for the battery, make a mount for it to hold it, and put it there on the way to/from field.

Of course, any way you attempt to do this, using your car to charge this battery will eventually blow your alternator, as it is not designed to charge two batteries at once. It is not really even designed to charge one battery, only put out enough power to run the car electronics and trickle-charge the battery to keep it topped off between starts.AMA 700159

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06-19-2009 01:38 PM 11 years ago

0Post 9

nocontrol1

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Melbourne, FL, USA

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Of course there is a fuse inline, alligator clips on the removable

Make sure the fuse is as close to the main battery as possible.

Rob D.

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