I 'm using an Imax B6 Lipo charger - can I wire up a cigarette-lighter adapter for it to charge ...

[G+_Michael Heinz]

I'm using an Imax B6 Lipo charger - can I wire up a cigarette-lighter adapter for it to charge batteries while I'm driving, or would that be a bad idea?

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

I actually already have one of those, even tho I don't have anything else for a custom built quad yet (found one of those deals you just can't pass up.)  So I'd like to know the same thing.

 

According to the label and documentation it should be ok (11V to 16V input), so we should only need a cigarette lighter adapter plug for it.

[G+_Eddie Foy]

Current might be an issue.  Most modern day cars don't actually have lighters,  just ports @ 10A (120watts)  A true lighter would be 25amps (300watts)

With the engine running alternator output is (should) be at 13.8 volts.

[G+_Michael Heinz]

Well, I'm also worried about dirty power - half wave, voltage drops during acceleration, etc...

[G+_Eddie Foy]

1/2 wave?  Its DC, no wave.  As for being clean?  Shouldn't be that much an issue, since your car has numerous computers.  Plus the charger should have conditioning filters on the input.  The voltage should be 12.8 on a fully charged car battery and 13.8 with the engine running.  The unlikely voltage drop (~1V) due to accelerator wouldn't be noticed.

 

I wouldn't worry about it at all.

[G+_Michael Heinz]

Eddie Foy "1/2 wave?  Its DC, no wave."

 

But it's being generated by an alternator, not a generator. I would be surprised if it was actually smooth DC. The computers have their own power regulators and caps to smooth things out.

[G+_Eddie Foy]

Rectifiers are diodes.  Caps smooth things out.

[G+_Michael Heinz]

Yeah, I found a couple of threads on rcgroups.com talking about the same question but I didn't find anyone saying they actually did it. Sounds like everyone is cautious.

[G+_Ben Reese]

Even if there is any resulting wave, it should only be that 1v variance between the battery voltage and the alternator voltage. I agree that the fire risk would be the greatest concern and I'm sure you could put a cap on the same circuit if you're concerned about any variance.

[G+_Ben Reese]

Also, if your worried about voltage drop on hard acceleration, I'd suggest a bluetooth odb2 adapter (a few $ on Amazon) and the Torque Pro app which will log your trip. Just make sure it's logging RPM, engine load, and voltage then you can analyze the comparison later. It's possible you'll have 2 options for voltage - one from the computer and one from the adapter. One updates faster than the other but I don't remember which.

[G+_Daniel Armstrong]

The alternator is 3 phase AC rectified to DC with 6 or sometimes 8 diodes in a full wave bridge configuration. The output isn't pure DC but it is close.

 

As for voltage drop during acceleration, this is only possible if the alternator is controlled by the PCM as it has been since the '80s for Chrysler products and since the mid 2000s for GM, I don't know about others.

 

As said don't try to draw >10 amps from any lighter socket type power socket. If you want more install an Anderson PowerPole connector via a good ground and a fused lead to the main B+ terminal, which usually isn't the battery itself. Also do the "big 3" upgrade.