I have speakers that require 6V DC current. Will a car’s cigarette lighter provide that or do I need a special adaptor to get that particular kind of current? Aside from a cigarette lighter my car also has an extra adaptor with 12V written on it. Do I need a special adaptor to get a 6V charge out of either of them? Would they give AC or DC current?
There are available either fixed voltage adaptors, or switchable voltage adaptors which you can plug in to your lighter or accessory socket. You’ll need to be sure the maximum current capability of the adaptor is equal to or greater than the device’s requirements. You’ll also need to be sure the polarity of the DC plug matches the input of the device. Most universal type adapters include instructions on doing this.
Plugging a straight DC power cord from the 12 V accessory socket in your car to a device requiring 6 V is a sure-fire way to destroy it. And possibly start a fire, as well.
Both your cigarette lighter and accessory power (that’s what that is, looks just like a cigarette lighter outlet, right?) are connected directly (well, probably fused) to your car battery, giving you (surprise!) 12V DC.
You’ll need an adapter - get a variable output style one - they’re cheap and will fit your mp3 player, AA charger, or whatever other gizmo that takes between 3.6 and 12V you carry in your car.
Speakers are an odd thing to plug in in your car… if you’ve got a cassette deck in your car, you can get something that plugs in to there on one end, and your CD player, Mp3 player, laptop, etc. on the other for in-car sound.
If you have speakers needing a power supply, it sounds like they must have built-in amplifiers. Depending on how powerful they are, the cigarette-plug voltage converters may not have sufficient capacity. I have one onhand, and upon examination it’s rated for 1/2 ampere - enough for smaller speakers, but definitely not enough power for high-output powered speakers.
The power converter devices are a simple inductive transformer (and maybe some resistors). Radio Smack or some other electronics hobby supply may be able to offer you components to make your own high-capacity transformer, or point you to a place that sells them ready-made. If you’re wiring up your own audio system, building a simple DC voltage converter is probably within your electronic capabilities.
f memory serves a most 12V DC cigarette lighter adapters sockets are fused to, and rated at, at least 3-5 amps.
He’s talking about lighter socket voltage converters (specifically to 6 VDC as specified in the OP), not a straight 12 DC cord. There are commonly available high-current units which can source 1 or 2 amps, but most are around .5 amp. Additionally most cars have lighter or accessory sockets fused to 10 amps, FYI.
Dude: an inductive transformer doesn’t work at DC. My guess is that most converters use a linear regulator (78XX or LM317, or some varient thereof). A more efficient and more expensive converter would utilize a switching regulator.