I just bought a Kensington PowerBolt Micro car charger for my iPhone. Here is a link to the product http://www.kensington.com/kensington/us/us/p/1411/K39224US/powerbolt™-micro-car-charger.aspx The question that I have is about the amperage draw of the LED on the charger. As you know, the 2 front 12V receptacles are constantly powered even with the truck off. This leaves the LED on the charger illuminated even while the truck is parked for sometimes a few days at a time. Will the amperage draw of this LED be enough to drain the battery? The reason I ask is because the charger is very small and sits nearly flush in the receptacle so removing it every time I leave the car would be a hassle. Thanks in advance for any information.
iPhone Charger LED Draw
- Thread starter Up And Down
- Start date
xOgrex
Member
- Sep 17, 2012
- 38
I'm no electrical engineer or anything but I thought the whole point of LED lights was that they are more energy efficient. I don't think it would be a problem, but if you're worried about it and can return it, I'd recommend the Griffin Powerjolt Dual Universal USB Micro. Like yours, they go in flush. No LED to draw power when the vehicle is not running or distract you at night, and an extra USB port for another device. Each port puts out 1 amp so it chargers your phone as fast (if not faster) than a wall outlet and there are photos/instructions on Amazon about how to hack it so that one port can output 2 amps (which happens to be enough to charge an iPad). I have had 2 for a few months now and they both work great.
AV8ER
Member
- Apr 19, 2012
- 260
I have a 99 cent cheepo charger that has a very bright led. Ive wondered how much it draws but i can say its not significant at all. Way less than an alarm or something that a lot of people have and never think about. I also have the griffin dual usb one that was mentioned earlier. Only reason i use the cheepo is because the led lights up the cupholders at night and looks cool.
I am an electrical engineer who designs with LEDs, and a typical LED draws 5-10mA (0.005-0.010 Amps). A typical battery might have 50-100 Amp-hours of storage capacity, so even a 50mA charger (there are other possible power-wasting circuit elements than just the LED) wouldn't drain your battery for hundreds of hours. How often do you start the truck?
blazinlow89
Member
- Jan 25, 2012
- 2,088
Thanks for the reply Roadie. The truck is a daily driver, but often sits untouched during the weekends and on holidays as well as vacations. How long can I safely, in your best estimation, leave it without worry? As far as being a spammer goes, I am not. I am a longtime member of that "other" site under a different screen name with hundreds of posts.
blazinlow89
Member
- Jan 25, 2012
- 2,088
Up And Down said:
Glad to see you made it over then. Only reason I said spammer was because you rarely see a first post with a link straight to a product. The things that made me think you are not one was the fact that you had everything in your truck profile labeled. Sort of like the last one Roadie booted had an off the wall make, model engine combo.
As for the charger just leave it in, I have a duracell one that stays plugged in always with a spare phone battery on charge. Even better that I can charge stuff with the truck off. I have ran a 150 watt power inverter for 6 hours to charge a laptop with no ill effect too.
Uncle Blazer
Member
- Dec 8, 2011
- 263
What about the draw from other small electronics, such as a radar detector? I assume there is more of a draw than a charger's LED. Anyone leave theirs plugged in around the clock?
blazinlow89
Member
- Jan 25, 2012
- 2,088
Uncle Blazer said:
Not sure I though most of those went into some sort of stand by mode if not active for a while. I personally do not have one, only because by the time most of the ones I have used only go off after the cop has tagged you. I would assume the power draw is insignificant if the vehicle is parked over night or for a couple days, but any longer than that may cause issues.