Robert Ramos
I have a GPS (sorry, I don't own a smartphone capable of GPS) that you plug into your cigarette lighter and I also have a radar detector that plugs in there too. I also saw some other things I might want to get in the future...but they also plug into the lighter. Is there any product that let's you plug multiple things in at once? Or, if it helps, I also have a USB slot in the car.
Also, would plugging multiple things in reduce the batter life or anything of the car?
Here's a quick breakdown of how things happen in relation to your battery, under the hood.
Your alternator provides a recharge at a set rate for your battery, while the car is running. You engine, and all your electrical goodies (lights, radio, and anything you plug into your 12v outlet and usb port) drain the battery at a specific rate. As long as you're not draining more than you're recharging, you'll be fine.
You can get 12v outlet splitters which will ad 1 or 2 or 3 more 12v outlets, and most of them have either a fuse or a breaker than will blow or pop when you've overloaded it. You can even get inverters which run off your 12v outlet or straight off your battery to provide a bit of normal household current and a standard household plug (for laptops or small radios etc).
You can also buy a bigger battery, and a stronger alternator if you want to run a small power plant out of your car. It all depends on how much you want to spend and what you want to do with your car.
If all you want to do is run your GPS (very little energy drain), your radar detector (also very little energy drain) and a phone charger, a 3 way splitter should be fine.
12v socket 4 way splitter
Inverter type power supply
100
100
175
