3-in-1 Digital-Voltmeter-Thermometer-Charger

[fusion_defusion]

I was looking for a cigarette lighter charger since many days. This was in mind because I used to plug in the phone in the USB socket provided in the car, which used to solve the purspose but then rendered the use of a pen drive to listen to songs. Since i do not load songs in my iphone because of the obvious reason of 16gb storage space, I needed a separate charger badly. I looked around for socket chargers online since the car acc shop from my house is very far. I stumbled upon this product Imported 3in1 Car 12V 24V Blue LED Digital Voltmeter, Thermometer, USB Charger: Amazon.in: Car & Motorbike

There were lots of positive reviews for this product hence decided to go for it. Costed me 590, but I don't know why the listing price has now bumped to 1540 may be a mistake by the seller? or the product is indeed popular now.

Look and Feel
The product is sturdy and the plastic quality is really good. The LED display is bright and offers good visibility in day light situations as well. It slots in perfectly and no where the quality of the product looks cheap. As a personal choice I would have liked the temperature probe to be longer. Also, the charging port is on the top and in my situation i had the bend the wire to allow it to fit perfectly, not a good idea as it will damage the charging cord, will have to rotate it a bit, but then the visual appeal will go. Will try to find out a solution to it.

Working
It works as advertised. However the voltage readings and the temperature readings are a big question.

Here is a pic once you initially plug-in the device. The obvious thing here is the charger is turned on only if the car is in ACC/ON mode. It then quickly does a self test by displaying 888 on the voltage and temp display before giving out the actual values.Notice the charging cable had to be bent in order to fit the device perfectly.

Once the car is started the voltage bumps up. Notice the temp is at 28 and the voltage has increased due to charging, however, the figures are really dicey.


Outside air temperature


The temperature and voltage after using A/C for 5-7 mins on LO setting. Notice the temperature gone down only by two notches.


After about another two minutes i increased the temp to 22 and waited for about 2 mins but the device still shows 26.


I have handheld multimeter at home and will tally the result with it once I go home. For the temperature, I will try the blower setting to legs and then see if the temperature goes down. Also it was chilly inside so I am sure that 26 Deg is not the correct reading.

This was only a 10 minute testing done. I will post the results during my long drive on my way back home today.

Hope you liked the review. We can discuss more on it.

 

[Torque Lover]

There are other sellers selling the same products at 580.00 plus shipping. Whats is the current rating of USB? I saw similar product with 2.1mA.

 

[fusion_defusion]

I think i read 2.1 but will have to chk again. For now I am ok because I have a 5s and it charges within an hour on a standard USB port with current rating of 500ma and I am going to keep this phone as far as the os updates are provided from Apple.

I think I know the reason why temperature is registering high. If i charge my phone the temp shoots up, that means the probe is in contact with the device and once the charger heats up due to the current it is supplying, the probe catches that. If i am not charging the temp display is almost correct.

Temp display when not charging and a/c maintained at 19 degrees for about 25 mins.


Temp display recorded today with no a/c and charging for about an hour


Now the big question comes, even If i go for a replacement they are going to send another one with similar design and it wont change anything on my end. So shall i use it as a charger only or shall i return the item? 590 for just charging is steep, because for a lower price I can also get 2 or 3 port usb chargers.

 

[Prabhagar]

Hi fusion_defusion,
I think the heat from charging unit itself affects the temperature gauge on this device. As your car already has Auto AC and outside temperature on the MID, I don't see a need for this device, at least in your use case. You are better off buying a dedicated charger with multiple ports and a higher current rating for fast/quick charging. Just my 2 cents .

 

[fusion_defusion]

Yes you are correct, Prabhagar. As of now thinking not to return it as I do not need a quick charger, the current it provides is sufficient for my phone and for at least next 3-4 years I am not going to change my phone. On top of that it looks cool. May be a DIY fix can improve the temp readings as well.