Car Outlet Remote Switch?

[Jason Betts]

Hi guys, does anyone know of a gadget I can plug into a car power outlet that will allow me to turn on or off the accessory plugged in from a short distance? 

 

I have an accessory in the back of my SUV plugged into the back outlet, and it's a bit of a power hog. I'd rather not have to unplug and replug it every time I want to leave my phone in the car to charge, it would be so nice if there was some gadget that would let me press a button from the front seat to turn off the back outlet. I don't care if it's wireless or has a cord, but if the remote switch does have a cord it would need to be long enough for me to run it from the back to the front. 

 

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!

 

P.S: to anyone thinking I could use some sort of fuse box trick, like maybe a 3rd party fuse that has a short cable with a on/off switch, the front and back outlets in my car are on the same fuse, so I'd have to plug my phone into the back seat outlet...

[dalekphalm]

9 hours ago, Jason Betts said:

Hi guys, does anyone know of a gadget I can plug into a car power outlet that will allow me to turn on or off the accessory plugged in from a short distance? 

 

I have an accessory in the back of my SUV plugged into the back outlet, and it's a bit of a power hog. I'd rather not have to unplug and replug it every time I want to leave my phone in the car to charge, it would be so nice if there was some gadget that would let me press a button from the front seat to turn off the back outlet. I don't care if it's wireless or has a cord, but if the remote switch does have a cord it would need to be long enough for me to run it from the back to the front. 

 

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!

 

P.S: to anyone thinking I could use some sort of fuse box trick, like maybe a 3rd party fuse that has a short cable with a on/off switch, the front and back outlets in my car are on the same fuse, so I'd have to plug my phone into the back seat outlet...

Are you handy with wire cutters, strippers, and a soldering iron?

 

If so, you could EASILY wire a simple switch into the circuit.

 

You need the following items for the most basic approach:

Car DC extension cable ("cigarette lighter" plug)

Several feet of 2-conductor wire - use appropriate gauge for the powerdraw you need

Standard 2-pole switch (Any will do, as long as it has a positive and negative contact)

 

Basically, go to RadioShack (or whatever), and buy a Car DC extension (Basically it has the Male "plug" on one end, a short cord, connecting to a female "socket" on the other end.

 

Then, you cut the cable connecting the two ends in half. This cable will be a 2-conductor wire. One of the conductors, you essentially just want to reconnect the way it was before you cut it in half. You then take the OTHER conductor (Positive or negative, doesn't matter in this simple setup), and add in extra wire that feeds up to your dash or front seat (or wherever you want), and connects to a simple on/off toggle switch.

 

You can buy all the parts for this for a few bucks, assuming you have the necessary tools. You can do it without soldering, by using Marrettes or electrical tape, but it's messier and doesn't look as good.

 

See my diagram below for a rough idea of what I'm talking about.

 

The two black lines leaving the left connector are the 2 conductors in the wire. The top red line represents simply "reconnecting" the two ends of one of the conductors. The two bottom red lines represent a second 2-conductor wire, connecting to either side of the "cut", and feeding into the switch.

 

This is fairly basic electrical diagram stuff.

[Jason Betts]

11 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Are you handy with wire cutters, strippers, and a soldering iron?

 

If so, you could EASILY wire a simple switch into the circuit.

 

You need the following items for the most basic approach:

Car DC extension cable ("cigarette lighter" plug)

Several feet of 2-conductor wire - use appropriate gauge for the powerdraw you need

Standard 2-pole switch (Any will do, as long as it has a positive and negative contact)

 

Basically, go to RadioShack (or whatever), and buy a Car DC extension (Basically it has the Male "plug" on one end, a short cord, connecting to a female "socket" on the other end.

 

Then, you cut the cable connecting the two ends in half. This cable will be a 2-conductor wire. One of the conductors, you essentially just want to reconnect the way it was before you cut it in half. You then take the OTHER conductor (Positive or negative, doesn't matter in this simple setup), and add in extra wire that feeds up to your dash or front seat (or wherever you want), and connects to a simple on/off toggle switch.

 

You can buy all the parts for this for a few bucks, assuming you have the necessary tools. You can do it without soldering, by using Marrettes or electrical tape, but it's messier and doesn't look as good.

 

See my diagram below for a rough idea of what I'm talking about.

 

The two black lines leaving the left connector are the 2 conductors in the wire. The top red line represents simply "reconnecting" the two ends of one of the conductors. The two bottom red lines represent a second 2-conductor wire, connecting to either side of the "cut", and feeding into the switch.

 

This is fairly basic electrical diagram stuff.

That's brilliant! I have a Radioshack closing nearby, I can get all the parts and tools for cheap  Thanks for the diagram! 

[dalekphalm]

8 hours ago, Jason Betts said:

That's brilliant! I have a Radioshack closing nearby, I can get all the parts and tools for cheap  Thanks for the diagram! 

No problem It's not a proper electrical diagram, but if you've taken any electrical theory before, this should be a piece of cake.