cargo bay cigarette lighter socket

[Johnmostyn Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Johnmostyn]

Hi All,

We have just gotten our first Prado, a 2005 GXL.
We have a Stirling 40l fridge freezer and was wondering if the cigarette lighter socket in the cargo bay will power the fridge.
I was reading somewhere that the power leads to the cigarette lighter socket in the cargo bay is too small for a fridge. is this true?
We don't have duel battery, but looking at getting that sorted soon.
we also have a 800 watt inverter fitted in the front.

thanks in advance
John and Tina

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

It will power your fridge no probs. I've got a 50L fridge and my cigarette lighter socket powered it. From memory it powers up to 10A. Your fridge will draw a max of 4 amps an hour so the cabling will more than handle it.

[Guest Close Guest]

It may or may not work 100%. The fridge's current draw may not be constant. There may be an in rush current when the compressor starts which may trip the fuse. Especially if there is something else running on the same circuit.

Also due to the thin wires, voltage drop may be an issue with the early shut down of the fridge if the voltage gets too low under load.

[Rhetly Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rhetly]

I'm assuming that because you don't currently have a dual battery, you'll only be using the fridge when you are driving and not leaving it drawing off your start battery for long periods when the motor isn't running? In that case, it will be fine.
The problem will be the voltage drop as mentioned, once you are relying on the dual battery for long term use in the future.

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

OR run a fused heavier wire direct from the battery to a new power point in the back to solve the problems mentioned. BUT if you leave fridge on overnight on the starting battery you may not start!

[Johnmostyn Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Johnmostyn]

thanks for your input guys, we will be putting in a duel battery soon, but until then we will precook the fridge on 240 at home before we go away, run the fridge in the car while driving and when camping we have a generator inverter.
thanks guys
cheers
John and Tina

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

The sticker on the flap say max 120 watts = 10 amps, your fridge should only draw 3 - 7 max depending on setting. When I had my 90 series, and prior to installing aux battery, I had this plug modified to supply power all the time independent of the ignition key and it ran for a couple of years that way without drama.