Adding cigarette lighter power outlet

Fearless Tower

Fearless Tower

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Fearless Tower
Anyone done this or have an idea how much is involved in adding a cigarette lighter power outlet to an aircraft that has not previously had one installed?

Is it a relatively simple thing for an A&P to do?
 
Fearless Tower said:
Anyone done this or have an idea how much is involved in adding a cigarette lighter power outlet to an aircraft that has not previously had one installed?

Is it a relatively simple thing for an A&P to do?
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While you may find a few shops that disagree, all this requires is a signoff by an A&P as a minor modification.
 
bartmc said:
and spend the bucks for the TSOed one, I wouldn't trust a National Aerospace Parts Association one. Yip, 90 bucks for a cigarette lighter, the up side is after you buy it, you won't be able to afford to smoke :)

http://www.lonestaraviation.com/Cigarette-Lighter-Receptacle-DC-Power-Adapter.html
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I agree but you might find a less expensive option to be one removed from a certified airplane of the same make/model as the one it's being installed in.

I wish the OEM lighter socket in my Baron was as nice as the one listed in your link.
 
gismo said:
I agree but you might find a less expensive option to be one removed from a certified airplane of the same make/model as the one it's being installed in.
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I don't think the cigaretter lighter was a factory option for the particular aircraft in question....
 
My 152 has an aftermarket cig lighter installed. is yours 24v? what will you be running with it?

I think the older cessnas are 12V but not sure...

Minor modification, the wiring on mine is simple. It goes through a breaker mounted under the panel, but i'd think you could use an in line fuse if you wanted. Just make sure its protected by a fuse or breaker, and you're all set.
 
dell30rb said:
My 152 has an aftermarket cig lighter installed. is yours 24v? what will you be running with it?
Click to expand...

I believe (but need to verify - I haven't purchased the plane yet) that it is currently 12v. TCDS has it listed as 12v, but there is an option to convert to 24v.

I'll be using it for Garmin GPS and iPad

dell30rb said:
I think the older cessnas are 12V but not sure...
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Correct - at least my 170 is 12v....but this is no 170...
 
Why do we believe this is a Cessna?
Does this aircraft have an electrical system ?
It's not going to be a minor mod if it doesn't.
 
Tom-D said:
Why do we believe this is a Cessna?
Does this aircraft have an electrical system ?
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Perhaps he was thinking I was talking about adding it to my 170, but it already has it.

This plane does indeed have an electrical system with a generator, but the original design did not give much thought to a convenience like a cigaretter lighter.
 
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/12vreceptacle.php

If it's 12vdc your're good to go (part 91) without the TSO'ed piece.
Proper wire, CB (or in-line fuse) and terminals and your're good to go.

Paperwork trail can occur one of three ways:
A) AP/IA install and blessing. 337 and lots of official paperwork. Done more than right.
2) AP logbook entry. Times, dates and part numbers. Done to standards exceptable to the Administrator.
C) Put it in and tell everyone "it's been there for years...". Done so it's safe and it works. Spend the money saved on fuel.

Chris
 
Another option: Our plane already had the lighter in the panel, but it was already in use (for the handheld radio, etc.) and I wanted an extension cord running to the back seat to power our kids' DVD players.

My avionics guy wired in a very stout plug (not a lighter plug, but a more modern male/female connector) at the end of a 2' pigtail that hangs down beneath the panel, and can be coiled and stowed when not in use. The extension cord to the back seat has the reverse male/female mating plugs on one end, and terminates in a regular cigarette lighter outlet where the DVD players could be plugged in.

Haven't used it for years -- my kids are grown -- but it worked great.
 
Hiperbiper said:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/12vreceptacle.php

If it's 12vdc your're good to go (part 91) without the TSO'ed piece.
Proper wire, CB (or in-line fuse) and terminals and your're good to go.

Paperwork trail can occur one of three ways:
A) AP/IA install and blessing. 337 and lots of official paperwork. Done more than right.
2) AP logbook entry. Times, dates and part numbers. Done to standards exceptable to the Administrator.
C) Put it in and tell everyone "it's been there for years...". Done so it's safe and it works. Spend the money saved on fuel.

Chris
Click to expand...

Good link, I thought there was the TSO 90 buck one and NAPA crap. I'd pay 90 bucks for the TSO one before I stuck a NAPA one in my plane.
 
There is another option... Install some sort of real electrical connector (that locks in place) and have cables made up for your devices.

Or a cable with a cigar plug on the end of it. ;)

I'd like to do that. I don't find cigar plugs to be all that smart/safe as electrical connectors but we all use them out of mostly... Habit.
 
bartmc said:
Good link, I thought there was the TSO 90 buck one and NAPA crap. I'd pay 90 bucks for the TSO one before I stuck a NAPA one in my plane.
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I wouldn't be surprised if both items you described are built in the same shop...

Chris
 
denverpilot said:
There is another option... Install some sort of real electrical connector (that locks in place) and have cables made up for your devices.

Or a cable with a cigar plug on the end of it. ;)

I'd like to do that. I don't find cigar plugs to be all that smart/safe as electrical connectors but we all use them out of mostly... Habit.
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Cigarette lighter plugs work. They interface with most manufactures products. They work. They go from airplane powered to car powered. They work.

They work today and have worked for a long time.

Don't solve problems that aren't there. Dick Rutan said that.

Chris
 
Hiperbiper said:
Cigarette lighter plugs work. They interface with most manufactures products. They work. They go from airplane powered to car powered. They work.

They work today and have worked for a long time.

Don't solve problems that aren't there. Dick Rutan said that.

Chris
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Should I post the photo of the melted tip of a cigar plug male end that was powering a radio in my truck?

The connector got crooked in the socket somehow and neither the fuse in the vehicle nor the fuse in the tip blew. The short was across the outer ring and the feed at the bottom of the female connector through the crooked tip of the male plug, and as it melted this angle became worse. Classic cascading failure. Strangely it wasn't enough current to pop the 15A fuse in the vehicle. 15A @ 13.8VDC is plenty of heat in the tip of a plastic male plug to melt it completely though. The only thing that tipped me off to it occurring was the smell of melting plastic.

I'm not backing off of the fact that they're not safe *electrical* connectors. I have one and use one in my aircraft but that doesn't = safe or designed for the job of delivering power. They were designed to hold a cigar lighter.

If we didn't have one already I wouldn't *install* one. And I keep a close eye on stuff plugged into ours. I'm always reaching over and "re-seating" the plug. They slide out with vibration.
 
Hiperbiper said:
Cigarette lighter plugs work. They interface with most manufactures products. They work. They go from airplane powered to car powered. They work.

They work today and have worked for a long time.

Don't solve problems that aren't there. Dick Rutan said that.

Chris
Click to expand...
They aren't without problems but they are the ubiquitous method for delivering 12DC in vehicles and boats. The problems I've had with them:

1) The rely on friction between plug and socket to maintain engagement with no detenting whatsoever and no standards for diameters that are consistently adhered to. In addition, some plugs have a solid center tip which cannot maintain consistent contact without significant insertion friction. The result is that plugs often become loose during use with effects ranging from a total loss of device power to arcing and/or meltdown of the plug.

2) The offer no protection against the intentional or inadvertent insertion of improper objects. For sockets mounted vertically facing up it's pretty much guaranteed that something will end up in the socket that doesn't belong there. If it's conductive the result is usually a blown fuse or tripped CB but I've seen fires started that way. And even if it's non-conductive the object can be tough to extract and if one is foolish enough to use a conductive tool to assist in the extraction, well you get the picture.

3) The same exact receptacle is used for 12 and 24 volts, often without even a label to indicate the voltage.

4) Available current and associated overcurrent protection also varies considerably, again with no labeling to indicate same.

All that said, I do have one in my airplane and it's mounted facing up (it came from the factory that way). As much as I hate them, they are handy and I'm too lazy to make any changes.
 
bartmc said:
and spend the bucks for the TSOed one, I wouldn't trust a National Aerospace Parts Association one. Yip, 90 bucks for a cigarette lighter, the up side is after you buy it, you won't be able to afford to smoke :)

http://www.lonestaraviation.com/Cigarette-Lighter-Receptacle-DC-Power-Adapter.html
Click to expand...


If you can afford to smoke you can afford $90. I quit smoking when I got out of the Army in 1971 and found out I wouldn't be able to buy cigarettes for $1.70 a carton any more. I almost passed out a few months ago when I saw that $1.70 would only buy about a third of a pack.:dunno:

If I was still smoking, I probably wouldn't have enough money left over to fly.:rolleyes:

All this said, I think we all know why the OP wants a cigarette lighter in the plane. I solved the problem with a rechargable battery pack. That thing will run however many GPS's, IPhones, IPads, and whatever other gadgets you want to hook up for probably weeks. It weighs six pounds and gets the job done.
 
MBDiagMan said:
All this said, I think we all know why the OP wants a cigarette lighter in the plane. I solved the problem with a rechargable battery pack. That thing will run however many GPS's, IPhones, IPads, and whatever other gadgets you want to hook up for probably weeks. It weighs six pounds and gets the job done.
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How long does the battery pack last when drawing juice off it continuously...say for 7-8 hrs a day?

I'll need to power the Garmin and the iPad for the extended x-country - coast to coast at 140 KTAS. When using ForeFlight, that iPad sucks the battery down pretty quick.

Cigarette lighter is sounding like a pretty simple addition.
 
Where's Troy? He has a very cool big Lithium Ion rechargeable pack I think. I need to pick up one of those.
 
MBDiagMan said:
If you can afford to smoke you can afford $90. I quit smoking when I got out of the Army in 1971 and found out I wouldn't be able to buy cigarettes for $1.70 a carton any more. I almost passed out a few months ago when I saw that $1.70 would only buy about a third of a pack.:dunno:

If I was still smoking, I probably wouldn't have enough money left over to fly.:rolleyes:

All this said, I think we all know why the OP wants a cigarette lighter in the plane. I solved the problem with a rechargable battery pack. That thing will run however many GPS's, IPhones, IPads, and whatever other gadgets you want to hook up for probably weeks. It weighs six pounds and gets the job done.
Click to expand...

As cigarettes went up in price over the years, my parents (heavy smokers) would say, "One day these things are going to cost about what they're worth"
Too bad in the end, they wound up costing my mother more than they were worth, it took a nasty bout of cancer to get them to stop.
 
gismo said:
They aren't without problems but they are the ubiquitous method for delivering 12DC in vehicles and boats. The problems I've had with them:
Click to expand...
Are pretty much due to the fact that they were designed for lighting cigarettes and not as an aux power source.

To install one:

Buy an aircraft that is certificated as Experimental, Amateur built.

Drill a hole

Run a wire

Stick it in.

Make a log entry.

No need to worry about an A&P messing up your airplane.
 
I didn't read all the posts. I have a few thought provocations to share.

Something has to supply the power. If you have an alternator and it's already too small to carry much more of a load without drawing a battery down, you might have a problem.

Yes, this could just affect the starting system, but maybe more.

I'd want to workup some sort of electrical load analysis.

You have an alternator capable of maintaining X volts with a load of Y amps. Any more load than that and voltage drops, the difference is made up by the battery when it dips below battery voltage.

Whats the alternator carrying already? What's the max load you anticipate on the new power connector? Whats the safety factor. What's the battery AH rating. What's the max time you could keep the essentials going on a aged battery? (What are the essentials for that matter?) IFR or VFR? Got things like electrical hydraulic pumps in the system?

Would the battery be continuously able to charge or only charge when there is a reduced load? What's the duty cycle?

Also, wires that are not sized properly or protected by a right sized and breaker can be a fire hazard.

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, I think it's always good to think things through.
 
kontiki said:
I didn't read all the posts. I have a few thought provocations to share.

Something has to supply the power. If you have an alternator and it's already too small to carry much more of a load without drawing a battery down, you might have a problem.

Yes, this could just affect the starting system, but maybe more.

I'd want to workup some sort of electrical load analysis.

You have an alternator capable of maintaining X volts with a load of Y amps. Any more load than that and voltage drops, the difference is made up by the battery when it dips below battery voltage.

Whats the alternator carrying already? What's the max load you anticipate on the new power connector? Whats the safety factor. What's the battery AH rating. What's the max time you could keep the essentials going on a aged battery? (What are the essentials for that matter?) IFR or VFR? Got things like electrical hydraulic pumps in the system?

Would the battery be continuously able to charge or only charge when there is a reduced load? What's the duty cycle?

Also, wires that are not sized properly or protected by a right sized and breaker can be a fire hazard.

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, I think it's always good to think things through.
Click to expand...

Considering the generator on the aircraft in question was designed to supply the load for military equipment that is no longer there, I don't think a portable gps is going to tax it.

If the generator on my 170 can handle the load of both an iPad and Garmin, I think this can probably handle the job.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
I know someone who had to beef up an electrical system in a 206 for some fancy photo gear, but that was lots and lots of Amps. Redesign of the electrical system and 337 for all the crap and a bigger alternator. Not cheap.
 
denverpilot said:
I know someone who had to beef up an electrical system in a 206 for some fancy photo gear, but that was lots and lots of Amps. Redesign of the electrical system and 337 for all the crap and a bigger alternator. Not cheap.
Click to expand...

This is why:
Appendix A to Part 43—Major Alterations, Major Repairs, and Preventive Maintenance
(a) Major alterations —(1) Airframe major alterations. Alterations of the following parts and alterations of the following types, when not listed in the aircraft specifications issued by the FAA, are airframe major alterations:

(xii) Changes to the basic design of the fuel, oil, cooling, heating, cabin pressurization, electrical, hydraulic, de-icing, or exhaust systems.
 
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