I have been using a Brodit holder to charge/power my PDA (SatNav) for about six months, but it has now failed (the PDA is OK). The vendor says that the holder should not be plugged-in to the cigarette lighter socket when the car is being started, because it may be damaged by a voltage spike. Usually I set-up the PDA before I start the car, and leave it plugged-in when I stop at a petrol station.

The car is a Skoda Octavia vRS.

Neither the car's handbook, nor the Brodit guide mention this potential problem.

Is the vendor correct, or is he trying to wriggle out of supplying a replacement?

Regards,

Tony

If it's anything to do with an excessive electrical load, then any damage to the charger should really be prevented by the fuse...so if it's not working, is it possible that the fuse in the plug has gone?

Usually on "cigarette lighter plugs" you just unscrew the top and the fuse is in there - easy enough to replace if this is the problem!

Rob.

Depends on wether the ciggy lighter is isolated/regulated or smotthed from startup voltages.

Can't see that it would be, but who knows. I'd think that it is certainly possible to damage the electronics this way, same as a mains surge at home.

You do have to ask though, about the quality of something that doesn't have a small circuit in it to protect against these sort of things, when it is designed to be used in a car.

MBF I think; the voltage from the battery drops when the starter motor is turning, and the alternator is controlled as to its peak voltage at something like 14.5v. If the regulator goes, it'll fry more than just a sat-nav unit!

I was thinking more along the lines of the voltage going down in voltage so the unit pulling more current than it should, or a load of noise on the line from the starter motor.

Anyway, as Dr Z said check the fuse first

The fuse did not fail.

This afternoon, I mentioned the problem to a computer engineer.

He said that if the socket remains 'live' while the engine is being cranked, the voltage will drop, and then recover when the engine starts. He also said that the PDA holder should be able to cope with this effect.

I think that some of the car's electrical circuits are 'disconnected' when the engine is being started. I don't know about the cigarette lighter.

Regards,

Tony

Can you try the thing in another car or something like a car phone charger in the socket.

You see i'm comming at it from the same angle as your mate, who said it should be able to cope with the starting. However since it specifically says otherwise I don't really believe it can cope with it and think the BDA holder/charger has been built on the cheap.

It would only take a few capacitors etc to smooth things out for the few seconds that the engine starts for.

I have successfully run the charger for my GPS receiver from the cigarette lighter socket.

Brodit's holder/chargers are supposed to be high quality products.

Regards,

Tony

I have successfully run the charger for my GPS receiver from the cigarette lighter socket.

Brodit's holder/chargers are supposed to be high quality products.

Regards,

Tony

Are you saying you have tried the 'defective' item in another vehicle?

Also supposed to be, the fact that it said don't have it plugged in when starting the car implies that the smoothing circuit isn't there.

Wasn't it the vendor who said it couldn't cope with the starter motor cycle, rather than the OP's mate? I'm struggling to see any way that you can get more voltage than the alternator regulator delivers through any standard car system.

More voltage for really brief periods would be caused by noise from the starter motor possibly.

I'm more thinking of voltage drop means current increase and without a smoothing circuit it will up the current and cook IC or other chips.

Ken, Yes "It" said don't do it and his mate thinks it should be able to cope. If the manual said don't do it, then i'd suggest that a smoothinig cicruit isn't there.

Brodit's installation guide does not say that the PDA holder should be unplugged when the car is being started. It is the UK seller that is saying this. I think he is reluctant to supply a replacement, and is implying that I have misused the product.

Skoda and in fact VAG use a system called x-relief. Its a relay the is live except when cranking. This relay powers just about everything in the car so when your cranking to start the engine this relay trips out meaning the starter gets full voltage.

Try it, start your car up with the radio or wipers on, as you start they will stop working for a couple of seconds then resume working when the engine is running.

So to conclude no the starting of the car wouldnt have damaged it.

Woo, well in that case go hit the supplier with a stick and if he kicks up point out what ross just said

as the man rightly said, everything stops when you start the car. can be annoying as i listen to mp3's in the car that revert to the start of the track rather than continue if the stereo restarts like when starting.

I have my pda cradle attached to my lighter permenantly.

Also have my Bluetooth GPS receiver permenantly connected through the cradle.

Powered up constantly (I removed the battery) and it doesn't cut out when I start the car.

Mine was a cheap one from eBay and I've used it like this for over a year with no problems.

I think the seller is trying to pull a fast one, and unless you were told in the manual to unplug it when starting the car, you would not be expected to.

If you can get hold of a multimeter, check the voltage across your lighter socket as you start the car.

My position on this would be:

If the manual does not specifically state that the device should be disconnected when starting the car then it is not your liability.