Quick question about electric.

[The_blue]

I've got a device that runs off a psu kicking out 12v dc @ 1.5amps.

Could i make a simple lead to plug it into the car battery? Would that work?

 

[Adam_151]

yes

 

[Stinky]

^ what he said

 

[mejinks]

Car batteries aren't 12volt. They give out slightly more than that and when the engine is running, it could be ass much as 14.7volts. It depends on what you mean by 'device'

 

[iSam]

I'd be careful, as mejinks says a car bat will output at more than 12v.

 

[Jonny69]

You need to regulate it to 12V. Like the Mejinkemeister says generally car batteries are nearer 14.5-14.7V when the engine is running. His one is likely to be even higher because he drives a Beemer and we all know what they're like

 

[Adam_151]

He said car battery, not car's electrical system, I was presuming he had a spare one in his shed

 

[GeX]

car battery is 12v, car alternator is 13.8-14.4v.

 

[The_blue]

Its a leisure battery for the camper.

said device is a portable hard drive.

 

[james.miller]

that'd work, and would last for aaaages.

 

[Biohazard]

BMW batteries 4tw. Got one in my renault, the thing cranks over like its injecting cocain instead of fuel.

 

[Justintime]

Know he means battery only, but would'nt a cars electrical system regulate the lighter output?

 

[stevenazari1]

/waits for the "spec me a bmw mechanic" thread

 

[-Laser-]

Know he means battery only, but would'nt a cars electrical system regulate the lighter output?

By that do you mean take it down to 12v? If so, not necessarily, some devices may have, or be connected through, a resistor or voltage regulator - but not everything! As it's not part of a car system in this case, I doubt it would have anything to do that really.

I don't know hard drives too well, but I would guess a higher voltage would likely cause problems. An extra 2v or so through the motor would mean the platters would be spinning faster, maybe leading to read/write errors unless the drive has anything built in to prevent this. Like I said though, I'm not an expert on HDs, so I could be wrong here!

 

[geuben]

Just get one of those things that you plug into the lighter socket on your car and it had a 3 pin plug socket on the other end. Then just wire it straight to the battery. That would work....right?