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josie
Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2005
Posts: 127
Location: Leesburg, VA
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 Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 11:16 am Post subject: 6V cigarette lighter to power a GPS / phone in a 66 Ghia |
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Hi VW fans,
I did a search and I didn't find anything, so here it goes - please help me problem solve.
I'm in the process of purchasing a 66 Ghia Coupe. How would one go about installing a cigarette lighter in the 6V system so I can charge my cell phone and GPS?
I saw in the classifieds here that someone is selling 6V cigarette lighters. Is there an adaptor or something so that my chargers will get the power they need?
Thanks so much for your help!
Josie |
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70coupyel
Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2006
Posts: 1657
Location: So.Cal
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josie
Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2005
Posts: 127
Location: Leesburg, VA
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| Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you!
Also, I looked at some of the other forums on this site and it looks like if the phone / GPS charger only requires 6V or less, then it's ok if I use a 6V cigarette lighter/outlet. I checked both labels on the chargers and each requires less than 6V, so I should be set!
Josie |
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John Moxon 
Samba Moderator
Joined: March 07, 2004
Posts: 13957
Location: Southampton U.K.
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Altema
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:59 am Post subject: |
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| John Moxon wrote: |
| josie wrote: |
Thank you!
Also, I looked at some of the other forums on this site and it looks like if the phone / GPS charger only requires 6V or less, then it's ok if I use a 6V cigarette lighter/outlet. I checked both labels on the chargers and each requires less than 6V, so I should be set!
Josie |
Yes I run a Garmin GPS from a cigarette socket hidden away under the dash of my 6v Ghia although it does switch the GPS to battery use when standing in traffic. |
Does it work better when you follow another 6v Ghia in series?  |
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John Moxon
Samba Moderator
Joined: March 07, 2004
Posts: 13957
Location: Southampton U.K.
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josie
Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2005
Posts: 127
Location: Leesburg, VA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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Haha...thanks guys, good to know!
I'll use the six volt cigarette lighter when I pick up the car/for now and then eventually, I'd like to convert over to a 12V system.
Josie |
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carlk3
Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2009
Posts: 201
Location: Longmont, CO
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| Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 11:23 pm Post subject: Re: 6V cigarette lighter to power a GPS / phone in a 66 Ghia |
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I should have looked at thesamba first...
I like to use a cell phone for navigation (& etc.) and I needed a way to keep it charged on long trips (especially when camping). And my Ghia is 6v.
Years ago I bought a big clunky 6v to 12v converter and wired that to a cigarette lighter jack. It worked to charge the phone, but it put a constant drain on the battery while in use. Not good on long trips. The charging system just couldn't keep up.
Anyway, that seemed very inefficient; going from 6v to 12v and back down to 5v. (There was a time that I used a stand-alone GPS that wanted 12v. but that has fallen by the wayside, so all I really need is a USB power jack.) So, I picked up one of these: UBEC DC/DC Step-Down (Buck) Converter - 5V @ 3A output and wired it to a USB jack placed unobtrusively under the dash. So far, I have confirmed that it does charge the phone. I am getting 5.26 volts out with a fully charged battery. (I believe USB is supposed to be 5.3.) I haven't taken any long trips yet, but plan to soon, so we'll see how it goes.
Anyway, now that I have crafted my own solution I find the ready-made units in the classifieds. I'd bet they are electronically very similar. |
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sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3916
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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| Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 3:15 am Post subject: Re: 6V cigarette lighter to power a GPS / phone in a 66 Ghia |
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| carlk3 wrote: |
Anyway, now that I have crafted my own solution I find the ready-made units in the classifieds. I'd bet they are electronically very similar. |
What you've done is way craftier and probably a whole lot more satisfying. The website you've linked has another link to the application note for the regulator chip. In that paper is a section about setting the output volts. So if you really need to bump it up to 5.3 volts it'd be just a matter of changing the ratio between R1 & R2. The app note shows the formula.
Main point though is you've done a nice job.
Nicholas
_________________
'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
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carlk3
Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2009
Posts: 201
Location: Longmont, CO
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:08 pm Post subject: Re: 6V cigarette lighter to power a GPS / phone in a 66 Ghia |
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| sputnick60 wrote: |
| carlk3 wrote: |
Anyway, now that I have crafted my own solution I find the ready-made units in the classifieds. I'd bet they are electronically very similar. |
What you've done is way craftier and probably a whole lot more satisfying. The website you've linked has another link to the application note for the regulator chip. In that paper is a section about setting the output volts. So if you really need to bump it up to 5.3 volts it'd be just a matter of changing the ratio between R1 & R2. The app note shows the formula.
Main point though is you've done a nice job.
Nicholas |
Thanks, Nicholas. I'll have to rig up something so I can see what it puts out at highway speeds. I really just want to trickle charge the phone. As I was putting things away, I noticed (and remembered) that the cigarette lighter adapter I had been using was one of those super duper Quick Charge 3.0 units, which might have had something to do with the current drain.
Anyway, I took a trip up to the mountains; a couple hundred miles over two days, running/parking lights on most of the time, headlights on for the last half hour or so, and when I got home, the battery voltage was still just over six; same as before I left. I'm happy! |
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carlk3
Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2009
Posts: 201
Location: Longmont, CO
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:44 pm Post subject: Re: 6V cigarette lighter to power a GPS / phone in a 66 Ghia |
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| I looked up Vbus in the USB 3.2 spec. and it looks like the nominal 5V source is 4.75 - 5.50 volts. |
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carlk3
Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2009
Posts: 201
Location: Longmont, CO
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| Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 6:30 pm Post subject: Re: 6V cigarette lighter to power a GPS / phone in a 66 Ghia |
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I've had a little more experience with this setup, now. The Step-Down (Buck) Converter has a minimum drop of around 1.5 - 2.0 volts. So, the output is too low to charge the phone unless you're moving and the generator is putting something out. (I can also barely get it to charge at idle when the car battery is 100% full.) I guess this is really a feature, since charging the phone is generally of secondary importance compared to charging the car battery.
However, this caught my eye, for $16: Boost Buck Converter, DROK DC 5.5-30V to 0.5-30V 5V 12V 24V Adjustable Power Supply Regulator Module, 4A 35W High Power Voltage Step Up Down Converter Board with Case LCD Display. With that, you could charge the phone all the time. But again, that might not be a good idea. The LCD readout is cool, though. |
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