I've never actually owned a mobile phone before, so this will be a stupider question than most.<br><br>If I leave my phone charger plugged into my car's cigarette lighter 24/7, will it be drawing power from the car battery all that time, even when the car is off and the phone is not connected to it?<br><br>If I'm supposed to pull it out of the lighter when I leave the car, I want to be sure to do so.<br><br>I worry because my cigarette lighter WILL power accessories without the key in the ignition--I tried.<br><br>Maybe it depends on the charger.<br><br>This paragraph is just to make the question even more needlessly long.<br><br>Ditto for this one.<br><br>TIA!<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

My understanding the cig lighter or any device meeds to have a completed circuit then no - the phone in this case completes the circuit so as long as your phone is plugged in it will draw power.<br><br>Now<br>If the charger has a little power indicator light thats always on even when the phone is not plugged in then yes<br><br>

Thanks. I think it DOES have a power light, so I'll have to unplug manually. Good to be warned! I hope I never have to find out how long a car battery can drive an LED before it's dead (I leave my car alone for 2-3 days at a time so better safe than sorry.)<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>I hope I never have to find out how long a car battery can drive an LED before it's dead <p><hr></blockquote><p><br>The car battery would die on it's own from being unused before an LED would ever drain it. Your car's computer and stereo are constantly drawing power.<br><br>For reference I have a cheap-o USB charger for my phone and GPS that I never unplug, and my car was sitting for over two weeks when I was on vacation.<br><br><br>Hey I'm an F'n Jerk!®

Good to know. I'll inquire of other iTrip Autopilot users once it's been out longer, but if I leave it plugged in I won't panic :)<br><br>Which I might be prone to do, after having a battery die on me (corrosion-related) in a bad neighborhood.<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

Yes LEDs draw a ridicules amount of low power compared to even transistor or CFL powered light. In construction the designers are now thinking about using LEDs for accent lighting , its low energy cost is supportive and low profile makes LED lighting for architects a giant boom in design<br><br>However - the cost at 40 bucks a foot for the cheap LED strands , is sorta a choker . Still you have the construction cost of traditional lighting you save some big bucks, even if the product is expensive <-- savings shows up in long term.<br><br>[color:blue]having a battery die on me (corrosion-related) in a bad neighborhood.</font color=blue> <-- super bummer , I had that happen in a good hood and no one helped - but yes check on battery corrosion from time to time and first signs bring it back for warranty and then get a prorated value for a new one.<br><br><br>

Luckily the police found me shortly and hung around for a long time, until they were called away. And loaned me a phone to get a tow, since I didn't (and still don't) have a mobile phone I didn't really know it was a dangerous spot--I drive through there all the time, and it's fine in the daytime. Not at night, I guess!<br><br>PS, my room is currently lit (in part) by semi-concealed strands of white LED Christmas lights. A little too bluish, but I like them.<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p> I hope I never have to find out how long a car battery can drive an LED before it's dead (I leave my car alone for 2-3 days at a time so better safe than sorry.)<p><hr></blockquote><p>You may find that the phone is pulling a lot more power than a simple LED light. If you leave the phone connected doesn't the back of the phone get warm? That means it is using a chunk of juice to charge and top off the battery. If it is on then it is also seeking a cell phone signal which if it has to roam uses a lot of electricity.<br><br>If you worry about dead car batteries (I do) go to your local car place and get an electric digital readout that plugs into your extra cigarette lighter receptacle. When the car is running it will read 13.8 volts or so. When you turn your car off it will settle in at a certain voltage then tail off a bit. Say it hangs at 12.4 volts. A healthy battery if when you come back after a day and it still reads 12.2-12.4 volts. If it reads 9.6 you have a short or something is eating up electrons. Do that with and without your phone and then you know if you may have a problem later.<br><br>If you do that and run an electric cooler in the back you will watch the voltage slowly drop and your battery will be dead in the morning. I did that in the middle of the Utah desert. Oops.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

Oops!<br><br>I may try that, although I only have the one outlet.<br><br>Luckily, I don't have to worry about what the phone draws: I will leave the iTrip Autopilot in the car, but not the phone.<br><br>PS: I am posting this from my Air.. operated remotely via Jaadu on my iPhone. Why? Because it's there <br><br>Just be glad I'm not also doing it via Win XP on VMware. Two OS's chained together is enough. I don't need three!<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

The power that a phone pulls from a car battery is miniscule, you could run headlights for a few hours and they eat up a lot. A cell phone battery is around 750mAh, which means it can deliver 750 milli amps for approximately an hour before dying. It can power your phone for days, lets say 3 days, that means the phone is drawing around 10mA an hour in standby.<br><br>In contrast, car batteries are rated at about 80 Ah, you could pull one amp per hour for 80 hours before it discharges. 80Ah = 80,000 mAh. 80,000/10mAh equals about 8000 hours the phone could run off the battery, about a year. A battery won't hold a full charge on its own that long anyway, but by the numbers you get the picture. Plug it in and forget it, if it discharges in a few days the battery was too weak to even crank the engine anyway.<br><br>The numbers aren't exact, but close enough.<br><br>------>#1 - JD's Trivia game<br><br>------>#2 - MM-MCF Trivia game