Hi all - start my new job in two weeks and im going to be out for 3 nights at a time - a few questions for you and youll have to fogive my naivety as i learned in quite an old truck and fortunately will be driving new-ish trucks when i start .
Is there 12v and 24v sockets in a modern unit, and if so, how do i tell the difference??
Are they just normal lighter socket connections ?
Do i need any attachments to change voltages etc for charging things like my phone or shaver ?
What is a hella socket ■■
Does anyone have any advice with regards to any electrical - related items i should really not be forgetting to take with me ■■
I apologise if i sound a bit thick but i`m not very technical minded and any help would be appreciated.
I am only interested in the basics at the moment as i`m not planning to do the laptops/telly stuff till i get into the job more - plenty of reading !!!
Most trucks have 12v and 24v sockets, not many that don’t have both. Most will be labelled up on the dash, if not and they have a cigarette lighter in them, pull it out and read the writing on the metal ring, it’ll say 12/24v. Only other way to find out is use a voltmeter or isolate the socket you want by pulling the socket fuses as they are usually labeled with the voltage.
Hella plugs are like a normal cigarette socket but thinner, you can get adaptors or replacement dual hella/cigar plugs with a removeable collar to fit to your devices, just make sure the fuse is correct. Only truck i’ve seen with Hella sockets are the Scania R serie, most just use normal cigar plugs…
You’ll only need a voltage dropper if you only have 24v sockets and need to run 12v stuff, unlikely unless the truck is ancient i’d of though.
Take a phone charger, all you really need I’d guess.
If you do decide to run anything else off the sockets just make sure you don’t exceed the power rating on the socket. General rule is nothing over 120watts on 12v sockets, 240watts on 24v as most are on 10a fuses, but can be as low as 5a, so check. You can work out the rating on each socket by finding the fuse and multiplying that by the voltage, so a 10a fuse on a 12v socket allows 120w. If you exceed this you’ll usually just blow the fuse but you do risk burning out the truck wiring or worse, a fire, never ‘upgrade’ the fuse to a higher rating.
A good quality phone charger is usually 12 / 24 v, the same with most other items that come with a carcharger.
Check with the manufacturer first, if you’re at all worried about it.
e-mail is a pretty quick way of doing that.
If you buy a cheap aftermarket charger, they are likely to blow up if you plug them into a 24v socket. They might let your item fry before they blow up though.
