Anyone run their fridge (ARB or other) off if a standard 12v lighter socket?

[Redhook]

I have a 50qt ARB installed in my FJ. Ran the beefy ARB factory fused wire harness off of my secondary battery and all is good.

I'm going to be taking a road trip in my daily driver (Nissan Altima) and wouldn't mind taking along the fridge. Just wondering if a factory lighter plug and wiring can handle the load? Certainly don't want to fry something or start a fire.

 

[zelatore]

I'm currently running a 60 qt Dometic off the back seat aux circuit (cig ligher plug w/o lighter) on my LR3 with no problems. I figured I'd need to run a dedicated line and put in an Anderson plug or similar, but it's working fine as-is so I've left it be.
Most cig lighters are fused at 15 amps. They aren't really designed to handle that sort of load continually, but then again I doubt your fridge pulls that much anyway.
Is it ideal? No. But it should be fine for a while, especially as we get into cooler weather where it won't have to work as hard. I would certainly not be worried about starting a fire; more like not getting max performance from the fridge or possibly the plug popping out while your driving and your beer getting warm.

 

[Fireman78]

I have have, on multiple occasions, run my 50 qt ARB fridge off my lighter plug on my Dodge Power Wagon for WEEKS. Never had a problem. At the minimum, I started the truck daily and ran for ten min or so, thats about it.

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tony70]

I have had problems running my ARB off of the cigarette lighter sockets in my 2000 Silverado as well as my 1970 Bronco. In the Bronco I ended up hard wiring it (modified the 12v power cord with a 2 prong weather pack connector). I have three "adapter" cords to run it now with corresponding weatherpack connectors. I can plug the cigarette lighter end back on and use it like the factory intended, I can plug it directly into the dedicated power lead in the Bronco (again with a corresponding weatherpack connector that is always in the bronco), and I can run it off of the trailer wiring harness as it has a 12v charge source in my Silverado.

I could never get the cigarette lighter plug to stay plugged in reliably, and I don't like finding that my fridge has been unplugged in the middle of a trip. My solution has worked very well for me for several years now. I love the ARB fridge and can't imagine going back to an ice chest! If it will fit in the trunk of my Passat (daily driver), I will add another weatherpack power source for it in that car too.

 

[4x4junkie]

It's been hit or miss with my Edgestar in factory-provided cigarette-lighter ports (part of it is the Edgestar's voltage cutoff (~10.8V) isn't adjustable, where I recall the ARB's is adjustable down to 10V I think?). Often it'll run fine for a little while, then the LV shutoff will start kicking in after the battery gets maybe 20-30% discharged.
I've had no issues at all running it from various aux cig lighter ports I've wired in however.

Agreed with zelatore though, nothing's gonna fry or catch fire lol. It just simply won't stay running if there's not enough voltage/current getting to it.

 

[PowerWagner]

Have run my 60 qt. whynter on twelve volt truck outlets for three days with no issue. Usually once the fridgE gets to temp it doesn't need to constantly run.

 

[AML]

I have found if I try to use the turbo function on my Waeco 50 it throws a fit using a standard rear socket. But if I just let it cool down regularly it does just fine.

 

[gearguywb]

I use the stock rear plug in the LC. Never had an issue with it.

 

[lysol]

In my Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, the factory 12V lighter socket handled the fridge no problem. The only issue though was the thin OEM wires caused the voltage to drop at the socket so the fridge's builtin "low battery" safety feature was thinking the battery was dead and would disconnect prematurely resulting in what I call issues. I made my own wiring harness out of 10AWG cable. Works perfect.

EDIT - I can however say that the front 12V lighter socket worked 10X better than the rear cargo area 12V socket. I'm sure that it uses the same thin wiring, but it's a shorter run to the battery than the rear cargo area.

Something to think about as well. The fridge pulls like... what.... 1 amp? My 12V phone charger pulls 2.4 amps. lol.

 

[Martinjmpr]

EDIT - I can however say that the front 12V lighter socket worked 10X better than the rear cargo area 12V socket. I'm sure that it uses the same thin wiring, but it's a shorter run to the battery than the rear cargo area.

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Ha! I noticed the same thing on my 4runner with my older Dometic 19qt fridge. Front 12v power socket worked fine, rear one would sometimes have enough voltage drop to kick in the "automatic cut off" feature. I'm assuming that the wire to the rear cargo compartment was causing the drop in voltage.
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Now I'm running a bigger Indel-B TB-41/Truckfridge TF-41 (they are the same thing) and I haven't even tried the rear plug, I just set it up so it plugs into the front. It actually works better that way as my wife can reach into the fridge to get snacks and drinks while we drive. Nice thing about the Indel-B, it has 3 cutoff levels, high, medium and low. I always set mine to "low" and after I got a new battery, it's worked fine.
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We now use the rear power outlet for things like charging up camera batteries. The front 12v power outlet is dedicated to the fridge and the cigarette lighter (which shuts off when the ignition is turned off) runs my GPS and an auxiliary phone charger.

 

[rabies]

i got excited about how these fridges. only pulling 1amp. cool drinks at all times..etc. then found the price $8xx. :/ oh well

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Heh Heh, yeah I've got my ENGEL run off a 12vdc pwr plug (trailer) battery and no problem-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[Martinjmpr]

i got excited about how these fridges. only pulling 1amp. cool drinks at all times..etc. then found the price $8xx. :/ oh well

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Edgestar's go for around $400 and I paid $500 for my Indel-B/Truckfridge.
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http://www.truckfridge.com
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I know $500 isn't cheap but when you think about how much you spend on ice, on food that you throw away because it spoiled or got soggy, or on gas when you had to make an emergency run to town to get ice, it's not that much.
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And before you say "ice is cheap!", well, yes ice is cheap if you are in the city and every grocery store has it. If you are in the middle of nowhere and you are at the only store within 100 miles that has ice, expect to pay up to $10 for a 7 pound bag.

 

[4x4junkie]

Something to think about as well. The fridge pulls like... what.... 1 amp? My 12V phone charger pulls 2.4 amps. lol.

They draw about 3.5 - 4.5 amps when the compressor is running (and is why some cig-lighter sockets cause trouble with them), and about 0.05 - 0.1 amp when idle. Averaging it out it's probably a total draw of a little under 2 amps but is subject to variation with ambient temperature.

 

[Mushin_Noshin]

Question for you experienced fridge people. I don't have a problem with the power source. My question is w my Whynter 63 (just bought it) the display shows the temp all the time. Not huge power draw, but is there a way to shut it off? Thx