> I'm taking the boys camping to the Great Sand Dunes in southwest
> Colorado next weekend. When I plug my handy little 12 volt DC air
> compressor into the cigarette lighter, will it self destruct because my
> TR4 is positive ground?
Best way to deal with this is to wire the cigarette lighter with the proper
polarity. Various sources (Radio Shack) sell lighters where the barrel is
insulated from the mount. ISTR the original Lucas lighters I've seen are
insulated too.
> Or do those little electrons behave themselves
> regardless?
If your lighter is wired backwards, most likely the motor in the compressor will
run backwards too (permanent magnet DC motor). That may or may not be a problem
... the pump will probably work but may wear out more rapidly than otherwise.
Most likely it will be fine.
But the same is NOT true of devices with electronics or batteries in them, like
cell phones and rechargeable flashlights.
Randall
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