www.CVOHARLEY.com

CVO Technical => Riding Gear => Topic started by: SDCVO on November 20, 2013, 02:07:49 AM

Title: Gerbing Core-heat 12 problem
Post by: SDCVO on November 20, 2013, 02:07:49 AM
Broke down and bought the new "gear" from Gerbing today. Got the jacket liner and T5 gloves with the dual controller and cigarette lighter power source. I had to drive up to LA for a meeting so being the "whack job" I am I put if all on in my car and plugged it in my lighter socket. About 5 minutes in I started to smell smoke and looked down and saw smoke coming from the lighter adapter and the plastic starting to melt! I turned around and went back to the shop (BMW mc store across the street from my work) and they were shocked and said they sell that set up often and have never has any issue before. They gave me a new adapter and and told me to carefully try again and to let them know. They were very nice and offered me a full refund for everything but I want the "stuff".
I first plugged in only the gloves and they worked great and I was amazed by how hot the gloves got (I have been using the 7v battery gloves for a few months tan work great but don't get that not) so I thought maybe it was the plug. I then plugged in the jacket liner again and plugged the gloves into that and in minutes it was clear that the plug was heading in the same direction as the first (started to smell burning plastic).
The car is new and I don't smoke so I have never used a lighter before but do use it to charge my phone. It did not come with a lighter but a plastics piece that looks like a lighter.
Anyone have any ideas? I saw on the Gerbing website that there is a different piece for a lighter port as opposed to a accessory port. Am I using the wrong piece? If it is not a lighter port but a accessory port would it power/charge my phone without issue? I understand these could all be very stupid questions and apologize if that is the case but am now in a hotel room and upset my new "toys" don't work..
The car is a 2013 Audi Q7
Title: Re: Gerbing Core-heat 12 problem
Post by: Buy early on November 20, 2013, 09:18:26 AM
Not an electrician or engineer but isn't the amperage/wattage whatever in a car higher than that on a bike? Did the dealer say it should work when plugged into your car? I'm thinking that might be the issue.
Title: Re: Gerbing Core-heat 12 problem
Post by: SDCVO on November 20, 2013, 11:48:00 AM
I would think 12v is12v...
Title: Re: Gerbing Core-heat 12 problem
Post by: spada84 on November 20, 2013, 01:12:30 PM
I would think 12v is12v...

Correct, says the Controls Engineer. 

Sounds like the plug cannot carry the load of the jacket and the gloves.  Perhaps the problem lay in the power port of the car.  Could be that the contact area with the plug is too small and generating a hot spot.  What does the plug look like where it's melting?  Picture is worth a thousand words.
Title: Re: Gerbing Core-heat 12 problem
Post by: porthole on November 20, 2013, 01:17:10 PM
I would think 12v is12v...

Good possibility the "cigar lighter" port is not for a lighter and is nothing more then a low amperage charging port for phones etc.
Many new vehicles no longer come with a cigarette lighter unless a smokers option package is specifically ordered.

My truck has 4 12V ports, none of which can support a lighter.
Title: Re: Gerbing Core-heat 12 problem
Post by: SDCVO on November 20, 2013, 11:22:20 PM
The dealer thinks it is a bad set up from Gerbing. When I told them about the 2nd melted plug they tried the setup on one of their bikes (BMW GS) and the plug over heated also. So I got the plug that goes into my Battery Tender pigtail. They said that will work but need to change the fuse on the pigtail from a 7 to a 10 to power both the jacket liner and the gloves. Is that correct? I did check and it does have a 7 in it now.