Installing a 125v plug (replace the cigarette lighter outlet with an 110 outlet?)

[gtstang462002]

Unless it’s dc, as in usb. Yes acknowledged redundant, but some have a distributed pass through. I wouldn’t necessarily power a dorm room fridge but a laptop not a problem. But dunno what op wants to power.

Most of the built in inverters were intended to power a laptop or battery charger at best. Not refrigerators, lol.

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[Zig]

Sorry guys, I should have been clearer on everything.
Let me start with, I hate electrical shit….
When I was 17 I was working at a Tyson’s plant and was wiring up a new machine and someone flipped the power back on. I had my grubby lil dick beaters on a 480 line at that time and the only thing that saved me was when I went rigid I kicked the ladder out from under me and fell off the line.
I have pretended everything runs on unicorn farts and beer ever since.
So I know zilch about anything electrical.
My use for this is to power a laptop and camera batteries.
But I absolutely hate the cigarette lighter plugs for converters. Space is already at a premium in these cabins.
So what I was hoping for was a fairly straightforward, remove this, add that, slot this in and viola! You have a grounded plug for your laptop. Which I would be comfortable doing myself.
But I am also ok with terminating the cig plug outlet, installing an inverter in trunk and putting the plug where the cig outlet was and paying someone who know what they are doing to do it.
I know some of yall are pretty damn crafty and have been doing stuff like this your whole lives.
So I figured I’d ask the people who are passionate about these cars before I go ask someone who doesn’t know about these cars and is excited to take my money if they can do it.

This version is the least intrusive least expensive lowest restriction (as in won’t be confused when used) for the specific requirement. The plug in cord is long enough that the power strip will sit on the floor near the laptop transformer. If you install a 110 plug don’t forget the the warning sticker telling the next dude there aint enough juice in that box for that big fridge and the coffee pot.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Sounds like a proposal for a "Just Rolled In" video to me. Don't try this at home!

 

[Alan Applegate]

The standard is the USA is 120 VAC. Yes, a few places (shouldn't be any this late of a date) 115 VAC, and I can't imagine 110 VAC these days. My unloaded wall out lets are 126 VAC, and 123 VAC at their rated 15 amp draw. But we're not speaking about vehicles!

Nominal 12 VDC vehicle electrical systems, with the engine running, are closer to 14.0 VDC to 14.6 VDC, unless the battery is located in the trunk, where voltages are close to ±15 VDC. Temperature also plays a part as do BMS activities. But the actual voltage is still not the issue! The load current is!

As I stated before, most accessory sockets are wired with #14 AWG, and in some cases, #16 AWG. In open air, a 5 foot length of #14 AWG, at 14 VDC has a max rating of ≈5 amps. The wiring to these sockets is not open air—they're bundled along with a host of other wiring, which degrades their maximum load,

People say things like... Well the fuse is rated at 15 amps, so it must be safe! Really? A 15 amp fuse will carry somewhat over 15 amps for several minutes. Engineers call this I squared T, and there are graphs for just about any fuse type on both Buss and Littelfuse's sites. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the problem.

You can do what you will, but using accessor sockets for loads even at half their rated fuse size is asking for trouble.

 

[roket]

you are not alone on wanting to add some additional power, i want to add an inverter to my Mustang too. but there are some major things you should know. firstly, just completely forget the idea of swapping the 12V outlets for a 120V. the space is not there for an inverter and the wires are too thin plus a too low rated fuse. adding an inverter is going to be an add-on and not replace anything. secondly, be sure you know what kind of power the inverter you want is going to take. the factory alternator is around 190A, so at 12V that gives you a power budget of 2280 watts to be on the safe side. if you have the B&O system, set aside 900W for that, and i have no idea what kind of power everything else in the vehicle takes, but just set aside another 900W, leaving you a remainder of 480W.

now, this assumes a worst-case scenario that your alternator is only putting out 12V for some reason and you have every single thing in the vehicle running, audio on full blast, all that. its overkill, but a safer assumption. none of this is to say the electrical system magically fails when you go over that 480W, either, but you will start to drain the battery faster than it can charge. if we assume your alternator is only putting out 13V - which would still be on the lower side of normal - your budget jumps to 2470W total and 670W safely usable.

if you are willing to do some experimenting and take a risk, the fuse for the alternator is actually 275A, much more than the factory alternator's 190A rating, and implies that the wires are rated for even more than that. but also remember that 190A is the peak output, not all the time. you may be able to install something like a 250A alternator, but you will need to use FORScan to tell the PCM about the new alternator rating, plus some other possible unknown issues that may pop up. you would also be reducing the safety margin on the fuse and the wires.

you will also need to run an independent fuse from the battery instead of tapping into anything. it makes things easier and reduces the chance of problems. i dont recommend an inverter over 500W, meaning you should put a 40A fuse between it. also be sure that the wires you are running for the inverter are appropriately sized, a 500W inverter drawing 40A for example would need 4AWG if it uses copper or 2AWG if it uses aluminum. lastly, there is the issue of battery drain. you simply cannot use the inverter unless the vehicle is running; there's no two ways about it. you can police this one of two ways. you can either remember and build up muscle memory for it, or you can disconnect power to the inverter with a relay which is closed when the engine is running. a final note is that you want to be careful what inverter you get, and get one that says it is a "pure sine wave" inverter. "modified sine wave" inverters are actually square wave morphed into a rough, stepped sine wave, which can cause problems for electronics.

hopefully this was helpful!

 

[Decio]

I understand the question, but I'm wondering if a portable power bank wouldn't be more practical here? If this is for a laptop, the 120V plug is going into an AC adapter anyway. Why convert from DC to AC to DC (unless you're on the highway to hell)? Newer power banks are rated at 20,000 mAh+ and will charge a laptop more than once.

Personally, I wouldn't touch anything on the Mustang's electrical system and have the potential of unintended consequences or voiding a warranty. I wouldn't want a car-be-que in my garage or on the road from a compromised electrical system.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

 

[Danish]

I understand the question, but I'm wondering if a portable power bank wouldn't be more practical here? If this is for a laptop, the 120V plug is going into an AC adapter anyway. Why convert from DC to AC to DC (unless you're on the highway to hell)? Newer power banks are rated at 20,000 mAh+ and will charge a laptop more than once.

Personally, I wouldn't touch anything on the Mustang's electrical system and have the potential of unintended consequences or voiding a warranty. I wouldn't want a car-be-que in my garage or on the road from a compromised electrical system.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

I could just plop an inverter that plugs into the cig port in there. But space is at a premium. Also they look tacky to me. I like things to be clean and look as oem as possible.
It’s not a necessity, it’s just a want.

 

[Danish]

you are not alone on wanting to add some additional power, i want to add an inverter to my Mustang too. but there are some major things you should know. firstly, just completely forget the idea of swapping the 12V outlets for a 120V. the space is not there for an inverter and the wires are too thin plus a too low rated fuse. adding an inverter is going to be an add-on and not replace anything. secondly, be sure you know what kind of power the inverter you want is going to take. the factory alternator is around 190A, so at 12V that gives you a power budget of 2280 watts to be on the safe side. if you have the B&O system, set aside 900W for that, and i have no idea what kind of power everything else in the vehicle takes, but just set aside another 900W, leaving you a remainder of 480W.

now, this assumes a worst-case scenario that your alternator is only putting out 12V for some reason and you have every single thing in the vehicle running, audio on full blast, all that. its overkill, but a safer assumption. none of this is to say the electrical system magically fails when you go over that 480W, either, but you will start to drain the battery faster than it can charge. if we assume your alternator is only putting out 13V - which would still be on the lower side of normal - your budget jumps to 2470W total and 670W safely usable.

if you are willing to do some experimenting and take a risk, the fuse for the alternator is actually 275A, much more than the factory alternator's 190A rating, and implies that the wires are rated for even more than that. but also remember that 190A is the peak output, not all the time. you may be able to install something like a 250A alternator, but you will need to use FORScan to tell the PCM about the new alternator rating, plus some other possible unknown issues that may pop up. you would also be reducing the safety margin on the fuse and the wires.

you will also need to run an independent fuse from the battery instead of tapping into anything. it makes things easier and reduces the chance of problems. i dont recommend an inverter over 500W, meaning you should put a 40A fuse between it. also be sure that the wires you are running for the inverter are appropriately sized, a 500W inverter drawing 40A for example would need 4AWG if it uses copper or 2AWG if it uses aluminum. lastly, there is the issue of battery drain. you simply cannot use the inverter unless the vehicle is running; there's no two ways about it. you can police this one of two ways. you can either remember and build up muscle memory for it, or you can disconnect power to the inverter with a relay which is closed when the engine is running. a final note is that you want to be careful what inverter you get, and get one that says it is a "pure sine wave" inverter. "modified sine wave" inverters are actually square wave morphed into a rough, stepped sine wave, which can cause problems for electronics.

hopefully this was helpful!

This is exactly the information I needed, thanks Roket!

 

[roket]

This is exactly the information I needed, thanks Roket!

just be sure to do some additional research too, just in case i made a mistake somewhere

 

[Zig]

just be sure to do some additional research too, just in case i made a mistake somewhere

Just to add not to question or counter: if you wanna know about inverters check into solar. Not the power your home solar but the off grid shed solar. The inverter is the same just how it’s powered that is different, either a battery bank or an engine (alternator). It wouldn’t be bad if they did a little 400 watt option like in some of the trucks but i suspect the median need isn’t there to justify the expense for the non-truck vehicles.

 

[Paul's stable]

Unless it’s dc, as in usb. Yes acknowledged redundant, but some have a distributed pass through. I wouldn’t necessarily power a dorm room fridge but a laptop not a problem. But dunno what op wants to power.

Why would you need it for a laptop? You have the USB port. I just wonder what you would need this for? Coffee pot on the passenger seat?

 

[Zig]

Why would you need it for a laptop? You have the USB port. I just wonder what you would need this for? Coffee pot on the passenger seat?

Only if it’s current (bah dah bing -lol), some / most of the older portables still use 110 (i know it’s just a common phrase for use not specifically) but the same question could be applied to the 12v plug, fuzz buster?

 

[Paul's stable]

Only if it’s current (bah dah bing -lol), some / most of the older portables still use 110 (i know it’s just a common phrase for use not specifically) but the same question could be applied to the 12v plug, fuzz buster?

Well first off I'm in my 60's so I guess I'm old. Secondly how did you know I had a Fuzz buster back in 1978. All I'm saying why do you need it. Just curious what people would use it for.

 

[Zig]

Well first off I'm in my 60's so I guess I'm old. Secondly how did you know I had a Fuzz buster back in 1978. All I'm saying why do you need it. Just curious what people would use it for.

I (or i should say we) have actually done the inverter powered laptop work from the road while in motion (driver isn’t working of course but passenger is hotspotting away) version implementation. I just can’t think of any reason for the 12v power port cigarette lighter style other than for that and it’s original use, so dunno. . yeah not gonna power too much until you add a second alternator and what not though.

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