Cigarette lighters get their power solely from auto battery?

[aaroncolorado]

There is a cigarette lighter plus another cigarette lighter labeled as a "Power Point" connector located in the cab. What's the difference between using the two?
Also, do these pull their powers from the engine/automotive battery or the coach battery? I don't want to drain my automotive battery by charging things like our iPods/cell phones/etc. throughout a trip when I am not running the engine and dry camping for several days.

Thank you for being able to help this newbie out! =)


1999 Ford Coachmen Catalina Sport

 

[Mavarick]

I have one of each in my rig. The lighter gets power from the chasis battery and the power outlet which is further back in the coach gets power from the house batteries.
Originally most got power from the chassis battery. You can check the fuse panel and remove a fuse to see if both go dead or lift the neg. cable on your chassis battery. Removing the battery cable will lose any radio programming etc. also.

 

[Alfa38User]

In my van, both are powered from the Chassis battery, (naturally) but the difference is the cigarette lighter is turned off with the key whereas the power point is not, it is always live. The power point in the back of the vehicle is turned off by the key.....

Confused enough yet?? They only way you are going to know for sure in your particular motor home is to experiment as was suggested by the previous poster or read the manual, if you have one.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

There is no standard wiring for 12v outlets, but typically dash board functions get their power from the chassis rather than the house system.  You could try turning off the house battery via the disconect switch and see if either outlet is affected - that might give you the answer.

There is no technical difference between a "lighter" outlet and "power point", but each manufacturer does things their own way. You may find that one outlet is fused for less amperage than the other, e.g. the lighter may be fused for 10 amps (typical cigar lighter power draw) and the "power" one may be less - or maybe more.