Zyroman Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Hi guys, picked up a 4.8 W panel on offer at Maplin online for £30. If I am using it in a Ducato base which cab socket does it go into, the ciggy one or the power outlet one. I know it has to go into one which is permanently live. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Which battery do you want it to charge? The ciggy lighter socket will charge your engine battery, the power sockets will charge the leisure battery. I have 2 panels, 1 going to each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I'm probably remembering wrong..but I didn't think either were permanently live on our previous x250 pug(..although I could very well be mistaken :$ ) Just plug something and see if any thing works withb the ignition off.. Edit: Paul..I presumme the OP means which of the two sockest on the dash... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 The standard wiring is both sockets being fed via relays and the ignition. You need to rewire to make one positive permanently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 ..Or if you don't want to "fidddle",you could always just fit an additional socket fed, via a fuse,from the battery... (..I've done this on a couple of our vans..as I tend to steer clear of messing with the "technical stuff" (lol) ..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 My earlier post was based on my experience with my earlier model Boxer and the cigar lighter being permanently live. I was unaware that the later ones need the ignition on. For the leisure sockets to be live I just switch the panel on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Another alternative is to just use crocodile clips direct to the battery. This is what I do. The cable can run out through the door and under thre bonnet. It is quite safe to securely close both door and bonnet as it does not nip the cable. You do have to ensure that is OK for the first time you do it. My Fiat has enough of a gap (unsurprisingly). :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 paulmold - 2011-02-04 10:19 AM My earlier post was based on my experience with my earlier model Boxer and the cigar lighter being permanently live. I was unaware that the later ones need the ignition on..... Yeah,it is a little odd to have an additional,12v accessory outlet,that still needs the ignition on...even just having it "live" but controled by a switch would be better. There was an extra, Ford fitted, socket under the dash on our '03 Transit and even that was ignition fed. The reason I fitted an extra socket on our current van was because the small solar panel we use has a seperate regulator/control box thingy!..and as that needed fitting somewhere anyway,I mounted them both under the dash. (...having said all of that I expect the panel struggles to even keep pace with what alarm draws...as I thinks it's more "kidology" than anything ;-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 The reason the cig socket and any additional sockets in cab are ignition controlled is because commercial drivers have a habit of leaving accessories plugged in and draining the starter battery. p.s. It does not matter if the panel struggles to keep up, well it does I suppose, but the main thing is it means it extends the time dramatically before you drain the battery. It can mean the difference between two weeks and 2 months (or indefinetly) before the battery starts to sulphate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zyroman Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 Wow, if only the first reply by Paulmold was correct it would have been easy, I always feel like I am throwing a grenade when asking an electrical question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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