Power Outlet = fuse issue

[Sammyantha]

Hi,

2004 Liberty KJ, blown heater matrix and because nobody near me in the UK wants to do the job I have had to have the coolant pipes re-routed.

Anyway, it is starting to get cold outside now so I went and purchased a 12V (150w) in-car heater to try and take the edge off a bit. It worked surprisingly well for about 10 seconds then it turned off and the power outlet no longer works.

I assume I have blown a fuse however shouldn't this outlet be able to handle a portable heater?

 

[kejobe]

Yes, probably a blown fuse, start by checking them. And no, depending on the amps being pulled by the heater, it could have easily blew the fuse.

Without looking it up to verify, there are usually other things in the vehicle that will pull power from the same circuit as the 12v outlet.

Therefore, IF for example, you have a 15 amp fuse, and there is 7 amps being pulled threw the fuse already, and the heater uses 10, that's 17 amps and the fuse will blow.

DO NOT INSTALL A LARGER FUSE. Replace with the same amp fuse that is recommended.

 

[Sammyantha]

Thanks for the response. I have not checked the fuses myself but just had a quick look at the manual and it states the front power outlet should have a 20amp fuse and the heater I have apparently requires 12.5 amps.

This is possibly a stupid question but how do I find out if anything else is using it? Nothing seems to have stopped working now it is blown except the outlet itself.

I am just concerned that if nothing else is using it and this heater is blowing the fuse it means something else is wrong somewhere? or I guess it is a potentially dodgy heater, the outlet has never had any issues with sat navs, phones or dash cams being plugged in previously.

 

[RenKJ]

Thanks for the response. I have not checked the fuses myself but just had a quick look at the manual and it states the front power outlet should have a 20amp fuse and the heater I have apparently requires 12.5 amps.

This is possibly a stupid question but how do I find out if anything else is using it? Nothing seems to have stopped working now it is blown except the outlet itself.

I am just concerned that if nothing else is using it and this heater is blowing the fuse it means something else is wrong somewhere? or I guess it is a potentially dodgy heater, the outlet has never had any issues with sat navs, phones or dash cams being plugged in previously.

Heaters use a lot of amperage compared to electronics, i think it's likely the heater amperage spikes at start up and that's going over amperage limit, as the heater gets up to temp the amperage draw would drop i think

PS: if this is going to be a permanent solution i would recommend running a new set of heavier wires into the cab with an inline fuse, heater will run better and no more worries, plus frees up your aux slot for electronics again, also id recommend putting your batt on a trickle charger /tender during winters if running this

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