I just got a new car that has everything you could want, but of course no household-type 110/220 volt alternating current outlet. I am always wanting to plug things into my car, and it got me wondering: howcome this isn’t offered?
Of course I know car electric systems run on DC; that’s why you can’t just use an ordinary adapter and plug your appliances into the cigarette lighter. But converters are sold that will plug into your lighter, convert the DC to AC and give you a two-pronged socket. Why aren’t these standard - or at least optional - on cars?
Is it just that nobody wants this except me, or is it that it’s bad for the electrical system in the long run?
I thought the main reason for using AC in households was to sustain the ampage across the huge distances that the power lines had to travel. Following this logic, maybe DC is used in cars because the circuit from the power source to the outlet is so short.
If you really want 120 vac 60 cycles, get an inverter.
Outside RV’s, there’s not much call for them - what would you want to operate (while the car is running - turn off the engine, and your battery is going to be dead real quick)?
Ac outlets are slowly starting to appear in vehicles. I believe one of the Big Three is now offering a pickup and SUV with AC outlets built in. This is supposedly a popular option for building contractors.
As for why it’s never been offered, that’s a different issue. Car makers do some strange things. (See The Master’s column on headlights, for example.) It could simply be that there hasn’t been much of a demand for one, or it could be a technical problem. I’ve seen plans on how to convert your car’s alternator to put out 120 V AC, but the problem was it didn’t put any juice into running the car, so it drained your battery. One could slap a second alternator on the car, I suppose, but that’s kind of complicated.
There’s talk of putting AC outlets into cars when they switch over to 42 Volt systems, and I think that the current system they’re using has a generator built into the flywheel.
You must not have kids. I bought an inverter this summer, at the same time I bought the videocasette player/monitor that plugs into the cigarette lighter. My van has two of the lighter sockets- front and back. Plugged the monitor into one, the inverter into the other and the PS2 into the inverter. Best 8 hour car ride I ever took.
Mainly because until recently car electrical systems and their generators really weren’t up to delivering the kind of power AC devices require. As car electical systems became more robust to meet onboard electronic requirements adding AC/DC inverter capability was less challenging.
The engine starts “instantly” when the accelerator is depressed? That would be impressive technology - and useful if/when driving across a desert - how would that work in city driving? (We really need a “bemused” smiley).
Since they call it a “hybrid,” I’d guess that the electric motor propels the car until the engine is up and running. Some of the current hybrid cars already work that way. And hybrid cars tend to be better suited for city driving than highway, because the frequent acceleration/deceleration is not an efficient way to run an internal combustion engine. Electric motors have high torque at low RPMs.
Many city buses in Japan are labeled “no idle” and stop the engine while the bus is not moving (red lights and bus stops). I don’t know if the engine shutoff is automatic, but the engine has to be started first before the bus can move. So I take it it’s just a regular engine with a more durable starter motor and a heavy duty electrical system.
I know one of the things ‘they’ say is necessary for Hybrids to really take off is the consolidation of the alternator/starter into one very lightweight but powerful unit. This is what’s supposedly required for instant-on engines (fast, heavy cranking action) , although I am a little skeptical how well this will work after, say 6 hard years down the road.
Oddly, I haven’t seen anything on using the Battery power to get the vehicle moving while the engine cranks up, but maybe I just wasn’t looking in the right places…
The Honda Insight and Civic hybrids already have this feature. The engine shuts off after idling for a few seconds – at stoplights, etc. It starts back up when the accelerator pedal is depressed. From Edmund’s:
Re: The new 42V system: There are many benefits by going to 42V. Some of them are:
Higher voltage means less current for the same wattage. So the wiring can be made thinner = saved weight & money.
With 42V electric power steering is possible, as well as waterpump, oil pump etc. These would then only run when needed instead of being a parasitic loss on the engine all the time.
42V system will start showing up on new cars very soon. GM is said to start switching over in 2004 or 2005.
Why 42 V? 48 is used commonly in a lot of other electrical (DC/battery) systems. How did they pick 42? Also, 48’s an integer multiple of 12, and 42 isn’t, and multiples are often popular.
It seems to me that a live 120V wire in an automobile would be a safety issue in the event of a collision. Not only would the driver/passengers in the vehicle be at risk if the wiring became exposed but, if rescue workers need to use a chainsaw or ‘jaws of life’ type device, there would be some risk of electrocution.
Secondly, for U.S. cars, Detroit might realize that Americans are driving idiots and would be tooling around with hair driers and George Foreman FatBuster grills going full bore.
Having said all that though, I bet the real reason is that no one ever asked for it before.
I’d bet that not to many cars are actually running when rescuers are cutting through it with saws… let alone in running condition. Either way, I don’t think that would be much of a problem.
I don’t think thats it. High amperage (80+) alternators have been for decades. Usually only the most basic, bare bones vehicles with no options had the smallest available ones.
It’s misleading to compare the 42 volt sysytem to a 12 volt battery. The current (heh!) car battery delivers 12 volts, but when the car is running, it runs at 14 volts. Similarly, the new sysytem runs at 42 volts, but includes a 36 volt battery.
