Car battery USB Charger
The 12V jack in a car (once the cigarette lighter) is a pretty common place for many of us to put a USB charger these days. In a lot of car models, that 12V jack doesn’t stop getting power, which means it’s technically draining your battery even when the car’s off. How much? Big Mess O’ Wire decided to figure that out.
Using some alligator clamps and a multimeter, Big Mess o’ Wires figured out much the USB charger draws in standby mode, then figured out what effect, if any, it’d have on a car’s battery:
Is a constant 14.2 mA draw enough to worry about discharging the car’s battery? Probably not. From a few quick searches, I learned that a typical car battery has a capacity of around 40 ampere hours. At 14.2 mA, it would take 2817 hours or 117 days to completely discharge the car’s battery. Assuming I drive the car every day, then, it’s not a concern. Even parking the car for a week or two should be fine. But if I ever need to leave the car in storage for an extended period of time, that 14.2 mA could add up. Of course the car itself has its own standby current draw for the anti-theft system and keyless entry, so the USB charger may not even be the largest concern. For typical driving, at least, it appears the USB charger’s standby current draw won’t be a problem.
So, not much, really. Which means you can freely leave that USB charger plugged into the car’s 12V jack if you want, provided you don’t plan on putting the car in storage for around 117 days, that is.
VINSIC Car Charger, Quick Charge Mini USB Car Charger for iPhone 7 / 6s / Plus, iPad Pro / Air 2 / mini, Samsung Galaxy S7 / S6 / Edge / Plus, Note 5 / 4, LG, Nexus, HTC, Android phone and More Wireless (VINSIC)
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Car Charger Adapter, Car USB Charger 50W/10A 6-port Fast Smart Car Phone Charger with 2Ft DC Power Cord for Backseat Passenger+ Built-in Fuse for iPhone, iPad, Galaxy, Nexus, HTC, Blackberry and More Wireless (Hunda Technology)
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Car Charger, Maxboost 4.8A/24W 2 Smart Port Car Charger [Black] for iPhone 7 6S Plus 6 Plus 6 5SE 5S 5 5C 4S, Samsung Galaxy S7 S6 Edge, Note 7 5 4 S5 Tab S,LG G5 G4,HTC,Nexus 5X 6P,iPads Pro Portable Wireless (Maxboost)
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PowerBear Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Car Charger | 2-Port USB Car Charger [45W] Dual-USB Ultra Fast Car Charger USB [Qualcomm 3.0 Certified] - Black [24 Month Warranty] Wireless (PowerBear LLC)
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Jebsens 4.8A 24W Dual USB Car Charger Volt Meter Car Battery Monitor with LED Voltage & Amps Display, for iPhone 7 / 6s / Plus, iPad Pro / Air 2 / mini, Galaxy S7 / S6 / Edge / Plus, Note 5 / 4 Wireless (JEBSENS)
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