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Old 01-03-2012, 10:57   #1
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iPhone doesn't charge from boat battery

I have a fully charged AGM 12v battery and a marine grade 12v socket connected directly to the battery. The socket is good...runs 12v fan just fine. When I plug in the iPhone car charger into the socket and connect the cahrger to the phone...nothing. Anyone know why this is happening. Car charger works fine in the car, just not on the boat.
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Old 01-03-2012, 11:06   #2
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Re: iPhone doesn't charge from boat battery

is the polarity correct on the socket?
+ in the center
- negative outside
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Old 01-03-2012, 11:20   #3
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Re: iPhone doesn't charge from boat battery

SailMonkey brings up a good point regarding polarity , and explains why a fan would spin but a trafo mau struggle - there's also another option worth checking:

What's the rated current output of your 12VDC socket? some have current limiters built in them to prevent free-discharge in the event of a short. You'll need a reasonable minimum of 500mA to feed an iPhone charger @ 12V.

The actual iPhone has a 3.7V 1150mAh (1400mAh max cap) battery. The required supply down the USB cable is 1000mAh @ 5VDC for optimal charging. The 'charging' icon will flash on with as little as 500mAh, but the battery will struggle to charge from near-empty, so nearer 1000mAh is preferable.. most USB sockets (on laptops etc) can handle this. It's worth checking to make sure the 12VDC side of your charger is providing the current supply necessary for the charger to operate correctly.

Hope this helps!

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p.s. It's a fair ol' drive from Dallas area to the gulf.. are you that hardcore or do you also take advantage of the fresh water in the area?
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Old 01-03-2012, 11:44   #4
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Re: iPhone doesn't charge from boat battery

the socket came pre-wired and sealed where the wires enter the socket body. Red and black wires only. Hooked them Red=pos and Blk=neg. Should be correct polarity.
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Old 01-03-2012, 11:45   #5
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Re: iPhone doesn't charge from boat battery

Cavalier...I'm landlocked at Lake Ray Hubbard east of Dallas.
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Old 01-03-2012, 11:50   #6
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Re: iPhone doesn't charge from boat battery

If the iPhone doesn't recognize the charger it won't allow the charge. The trick is to go to the Apple store and get a made-for-iPhone charger that works out of a DC ciguarette-lighter type of charger. I use mine all the time both for iPhone and iPad.
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Old 01-03-2012, 11:54   #7
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Re: iPhone doesn't charge from boat battery

Quote:
Originally Posted by rhr1956 View Post
the socket came pre-wired and sealed where the wires enter the socket body. Red and black wires only. Hooked them Red=pos and Blk=neg. Should be correct polarity.
I've actually had the same problem before with two iPhone chargers for the car. One worked in one car and not the other, the other charger worked in both cars. The charger which seemed dodgy also got excessively hot, as though the internal TVSs (or whatever else they were using) were barely rated to capacity - or that the thermal design was poor.

I've also come across chargers with very poor contact designs .. i.e. if they're placed into a 12V socket horizontally, the weight of the charger is enough to ensure that the positive nipple doesn't contact the base-spring in the socket - but if you force the charger in by hand and hold it there.. it works! ....worth a go if you haven't tried it already.

Have you got the opportunity to try a different 12V iPhone charger? - at least it'll give you the opportunity to take the charger out of the loop as one of the variables in your troubleshooting process.
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Old 01-03-2012, 12:19   #8
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Re: iPhone doesn't charge from boat battery

I had a similar issue with a different phone. It turns out the charger would not work a 12v resting voltage and would work while the engine was running and voltage was over 12.6vdc. I use a $29 radioshack inverter and the wall charger on the phone.
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