Two 12V questions

[NuggyBuggy]

1) I was checking out some 12V heated gear that has a a fused pigtail with ring terminals (only). We tried to test it by connecting the terminals to my car battery. The gear didn't turn on. Seller thought the problem was using a car battery and not a bike battery; I assumed 12V is 12V. Should I be able to power such gear from a car battery?

2) I have a Noco GB70 boost pack. Can one power 12V gear with ring terminals by clamping the clamps directly onto the terminals for the gear? This would just be to test... not for more than a few minutes, and care would be taken to make sure the terminals don't short out.

thanks !

 

[MCT]

Should I be able to power such gear from a car battery?

Of course. You can also measure the resistance of the wiring in the heated gear. I am assuming it is a vest or jacket. If there is a break in the wiring, you won't measure anything and you will not get it to heat up.

 

[TwistedKestrel]

The GB70 specifically can power 12V devices, but I don't know if you can do it through the clamps - the manual wants you to use the 12V out port (cigarette lighter adapter, basically)

 

[NuggyBuggy]

The GB70 specifically can power 12V devices, but I don't know if you can do it through the clamps - the manual wants you to use the 12V out port (cigarette lighter adapter, basically)

Thanks ! .. two problems. 1) I can't find the cigarette lighter adapter bit for my Noco, and 2) the seller doesn't have the cigarette lighter to coax bit. If I could find 1), I know you can buy a thing that goes from cigarette lighter plug to posts for ring terminals.... or I could buy the lighter plug to coax.

I googled quite a bit and don't see anybody talking about using the clamps to connect to ring terminals - but maybe that's because I'm the only dummy who lost his cigarette lighter adapter.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

Of course. You can also measure the resistance of the wiring in the heated gear. I am assuming it is a vest or jacket. If there is a break in the wiring, you won't measure anything and you will not get it to heat up.

That's what I figured... but I'm pretty bad with electrical stuff, and he was pretty confident he knew what the issue was, so I deferred to him. If I meet up with him again I will bring a multimeter.

 

[GreyGhost]

1) I was checking out some 12V heated gear that has a a fused pigtail with ring terminals (only). We tried to test it by connecting the terminals to my car battery. The gear didn't turn on. Seller thought the problem was using a car battery and not a bike battery; I assumed 12V is 12V. Should I be able to power such gear from a car battery?

2) I have a Noco GB70 boost pack. Can one power 12V gear with ring terminals by clamping the clamps directly onto the terminals for the gear? This would just be to test... not for more than a few minutes, and care would be taken to make sure the terminals don't short out.

thanks !

1) car battery or bike battery does not matter. Both will work. Was fuse good?

2) I have no idea about that one. Some are smart and may not behave well when presented with loads they do not expect (eg a resistive 50 watt load).

What is the switch like for the gear? The ones I have run battery power to an IC/switch that changes colours depending on setting. Measuring at the leads to the battery is probing the brain box and not the heat wire. I don't think I could measure the heat wire on the anything I have without snipping liners to gain access (and then the wire is probably shielded so I'd need to puncture or strip to get a reading).

 

[MCT]

That's what I figured... but I'm pretty bad with electrical stuff, and he was pretty confident he knew what the issue was, so I deferred to him. If I meet up with him again I will bring a multimeter.

If this is a vest or jacket, R = V^2/W (wattage of the heated device). For a vest or jacket, 50W to 75W. So about 2 to 3 ohms.

 

[Relax]

I've used my car battery to test heated gear before. If the pigtail fuse is good and the leads are attached to the correct polarity, there's not much else to rule out than the gear itself.

 

[MCT]

I've used my car battery to test heated gear before. If the pigtail fuse is good and the leads are attached to the correct polarity, there's not much else to rule out than the gear itself.

Polarity makes no difference unless you are using a temperature controller that is polarity sensitive.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

1) car battery or bike battery does not matter. Both will work. Was fuse good?

2) I have no idea about that one. Some are smart and may not behave well when presented with loads they do not expect (eg a resistive 50 watt load).

What is the switch like for the gear? The ones I have run battery power to an IC/switch that changes colours depending on setting. Measuring at the leads to the battery is probing the brain box and not the heat wire. I don't think I could measure the heat wire on the anything I have without snipping liners to gain access (and then the wire is probably shielded so I'd need to puncture or strip to get a reading).

1) That's what I thought - 12V is 12V. Fuse looked good.
2) That makes sense.
3) Each piece has a controller just like the one you're describing. The switch needs to be depressed for several seconds to turn on. So it sounds like I wouldn't be able to test continuity for the gear. But I should be able to check his pigtail (and fuse) is good.

 

[Sunday Rider]

If this is a vest or jacket, R = V^2/W (wattage of the heated device). For a vest or jacket, 50W to 75W. So about 2 to 3 ohms.

I just used the multi-meter to do check this. Electricity is a mystery to me too beyond "+" and "-" for voltage.
On my heated liner (Warm & Safe 90+watts) there is a wire coming into the jacket and another one used to power the gloves. I used the main line in and that was 2.5 ohms but moves up and down then settles back on 2.5. The glove outlet didn't do anything, so for the fun of it, I attached 1 glove and sure enough it started bouncing around from 6.5-16. That is something I've never done, so I learned something today.
Hope that helps with your decision.

 

[GreyGhost]

I just used the multi-meter to do check this. Electricity is a mystery to me too beyond "+" and "-" for voltage.
On my heated liner (Warm & Safe 90+watts) there is a wire coming into the jacket and another one used to power the gloves. I used the main line in and that was 2.5 ohms but moves up and down then settles back on 2.5. The glove outlet didn't do anything, so for the fun of it, I attached 1 glove and sure enough it started bouncing around from 6.5-16. That is something I've never done, so I learned something today.
Hope that helps with your decision.

You were measuring resistance on lines with live voltage? I'm not sure you learned anything from that. If you measured voltage, current or voltage and current in the live circuit, that could provide you some useful information.

 

[Sunday Rider]

You were measuring resistance on lines with live voltage? I'm not sure you learned anything from that. If you measured voltage, current or voltage and current in the live circuit, that could provide you some useful information.

No live voltage. It was the lead coming from liner to be plugged into controller. Point was to make sure there were no breaks in the heated wires. For original poster to help determine if jacket/vest has any breaks in circuitry.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

No live voltage. It was the lead coming from liner to be plugged into controller. Point was to make sure there were no breaks in the heated wires. For original poster to help determine if jacket/vest has any breaks in circuitry.

Thanks for that. @GreyGhost pointed out something I didn't clue into - that gear with a switch built into the gear - like this set has - would likely make it impossible to check continuity. Gear that requires an outboard controller wouldn't pose the same problem.

For me, that realization is a good thing - because I have a heated liner that I thought was toast precisely because it wasn't showing continuity - but it ALSO has a switch built in, so maybe that's my problem !

 

[MCT]

For me, that realization is a good thing - because I have a heated liner that I thought was toast precisely because it wasn't showing continuity - but it ALSO has a switch built in, so maybe that's my problem !

Are you talking about a SWITCH or a TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER?

A switch like the one on your wall at home simply closes a circuit and by closing it you can measure resistance in your heated gear. And if you are not getting a steady reading, it is likely you are not making a good solid contact with the terminals or the probes are dirty.

Now measuring through a temperature controller, you will not be able to measure the resistance.

 

[Relax]

I think he's talking about a built-in temperature controller that presents as a single push-button that you press for cycling through power on, power levels, and off.

 

[Relax]

Thanks for that. @GreyGhost pointed out something I didn't clue into - that gear with a switch built into the gear - like this set has - would likely make it impossible to check continuity. Gear that requires an outboard controller wouldn't pose the same problem.

For me, that realization is a good thing - because I have a heated liner that I thought was toast precisely because it wasn't showing continuity - but it ALSO has a switch built in, so maybe that's my problem !

I have an old FiRed-Up vest that no longer works because one of the heating pad wires broke right at the pad, so difficult to resolder. None of the other pads heat up, so it must be wired in series like old school Christmas light strings that die when a single bulb burns out.

 

[GreyGhost]

Are you talking about a SWITCH or a TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER?

A switch like the one on your wall at home simply closes a circuit and by closing it you can measure resistance in your heated gear. And if you are not getting a steady reading, it is likely you are not making a good solid contact with the terminals or the probes are dirty.

Now measuring through a temperature controller, you will not be able to measure the resistance.

I have never seen heated gear with a dumb switch. All I have seen had a button on the front of an IC that allowed you to pick three power levels and normally also gave you a colored led to tell you which level you had picked. None are probably official temperature controllers. They will just be cycling power to lower average watts which results in lower temps. I would be shocked if any were actually monitoring temperature. The important point is measuring resistance on the input lines tells you nothing about the heat wires as you don't have a direct connection to the heat wires.