Troubleshooting A 12v Outlet That's Melting When Charging An Igloo Iceless Cooler

Updated 11/28/2023 | Published 11/24/2023

Products Featured in This Question

Hopkins 12-Volt Power Socket with Power Wire and Fuse Assembly

(38)

$20.62

12 Volt Outlet Kit, 20 amps

(331)

$40.45

Question:

I am sure that you aware that many coolers Coleman, Igloo etc. have been rocked with the same problem. They can run for hours without a problem when supplied with DC power from the AC transformer supplied with the product by the manufcturer. However, when the male plug is placed into the female receptacle on many trucks I have a 2003 H2, there is excessive heat, often a meltdown of the male plug and at times a burn out of the female receptacle itself. My male plug has a 10AMP fuse and the hummer fuse for accessory 12V outlets has a 25 amp fuse. The Igloo Iceless 40 cooler has a 55W max, 12V power rating and draws about 4.6 amps. The internet is loaded with the idea of an air gap may be causing an increase in resistance at the DC receptacle, but I am not sure I am on board with that idea as my male plug is extremely tight when placed into the female receptacle. Any assistance you can provide would be helpful as I have been replacing receptacles my HUmmer has 3 besides the cigarette lighter for years and am getting quite frustrated.

asked by: Michael Z

Expert Reply:

Resistance causes heat build up so it's within reason that the while the body of male plug is super tight in the outlet the contact on it isn't making a good connection with the contact in the female socket, causing the burn out. Have you tried using anything else with a similar connector to see if it's just the cooler or if it's the outlet itself having the issue? It also wouldn't hurt to use a clamp meter and check the actually amp draw. The manufacturer lists it at 4.65 amps too but there could be an issue with the power cord or the cooler itself that's causing it to draw more than it should without blowing the fuse.

As a control you could also connect the # RM-9332 to a separate battery and plug the cooler in and watch the connection with a thermal or temperature sensor to see if it's immediately getting hot or sitting just below the point where it will blow the fuse and building up heat.

expert reply by: Kevin C