Prorietory Sat-Nav

[cartoonist.ron 0]

Hi all,

The backlight of the inbuilt sat-nav in my 2005 Avensis TS-3 stopped working and the chief mechanic at my dealership told me it is not repairable. Instead, he recommended I buy a well known model of sat-nav on the market, which I did, but now the cigar lighter which powers it has stopped working.

I took the car in to have the lighter fixed but NOW the chief engineer tells me that my vehicle doesn't have the correct voltage system to allow the use of this particular sat-nav and that the fuse blows if you attempt to use one - in which case, I've just spent £110 for nothing!

Does anyone know of a way round this? Is there a booster kit I can buy?

Would appreciate any advice,

Cheers,

Ron

[cooper12000 2]

i take it u mean u bought one that isnt built into the car and u plug it into the cigerette lighter to power it??? if thats the case any satnav for the british market will work . all car electrics r 12 volt end of argument. I susspect there is a short or electrical fault somewhere on the circuit and when u plug it in it energises the circuit and blowes the fuse have u tried useing the cigerette lighter its self and see if that blows the fuse.

coop

[cartoonist.ron 0]

Hi Coop,

Thanks for the reply. The mechanic said my car has a 2amp fuse on the cigar lighter but the sat-nav I bought needs a larger one and that's why the fuse is blowing. (I'm not technically minded unfortunately so don't know whether he's telling me the truth).

I haven't yet tried the lighter as I can't seem to find the fuse!

Cheers,

Ronmac

[cooper12000 2]

have a look on the satnav to see what the consumption is it should be a figgure followed by either mA or A to be honest im thinking its mA and the nechanic doesnt want to bother looking any further and is just blaming ur satnav. As long as u bought one that was intended for the british market and not a chinese/mexican copy i would bet on it not being the satnav.

coop

[cartoonist.ron 0]

Thanks again, Coop.

I don't know whether I'm allowed to name the satnav that I bought (which is why I haven't) but it's a very well known brand and is definitely for the UK market.

The satnav charger that goes into the cigarette lighter shows the following:

Input 12v/24v

Output: 5v/1.2A

Fuse: 250v/1.6A

Cheers,

Ron

[cooper12000 2]

ok so one would assume that the satnav draws 1.2 amps while im supprised its that high (i have never peronaly looked to see what one takes) its well with in the 2 amp limit. my advice is to either go back to ur mechnaic and ask how somthing that draws less than 1.5 amps blows a 2 amp fuse... or cut out the middle man and go to an auto electritian.

sorry if thats not the answer u were hoping for

coop

[cartoonist.ron 0]

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I've been messed around by this particular garage on several occasions and it is obvious to me that they really can't be bothered with this.

I'll get an expert to look at it.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Ron

[cooper12000 2]

hope ya get it sorted

coop

[zulu 2]

I had a similar problem with cig lighter.

The problem was with the sat nav charger adapter which was creating a short circuit and was blowing the fuse.

[cooper12000 2]

thats why i suggested he plug the cig lighter in to see if that blows it.

[cartoonist.ron 0]

Hi Coop/Zulu,

It seems you are both right with regard the charger blowing the fuse. I spoke to an auto electrician yesterday who said this is quite common. I'm having some work done by the garage today and they will investigate this for me.

Zulu: how did you get round the problem?

Cheers,

Ron

[cooper12000 2]

i would be susspect that the charger could draw enough current to blow a 2 amp fuse especialy as it is fused at 1.6 its self by the look of the data u provided. i think zulu said that his was causeing a short which is why it was blowing the fuse. in wich case i personaly would take the satnav back and get my money back as it isnt fit for purpose. no way should a brand new satnav be causing a short#

just my pennys worth

coop