DC inverter doesn't power on Playstation4 when car is running. Why?

Question

I have a dc inverter more than capable enough of powering the PlayStation 4. it works fine when the car is not running. When I start the car so the battery doesn't go flat the PS4 can't power on.

The vehicle is a Chrysler 300c 2013

the inverter is an Energizer 500W: https://www.energizerpower.com/product/en548/

Any idea as to why?

Would a capacitor/stiffening cap help?

Gough Lui · Answer

As a rule of thumb, you should not have anything attached to the lighter socket during cranking. It's a bad idea since the transient from the starter motor can result in much lower and higher voltages being applied to the inverter or cigarette lighter adapters. Most units have a warning for you not to do this. Secondly, with a draw of 140W on the inverter, it's lucky it even works at all. Most of the time, inverter manufacturers warn you that over 150W, the cigarette lighter connection is inappropriate as the socket doesn't make such a good contact and the socket may blow its fuse as well. Keep in mind that most inverters are only 80%-90% efficient, and you're likely pulling 175W from the DC side. While it doesn't seem like you've blown a fuse, it's probably just the inverter being unhappy running with a higher input voltage. When the car is running, you expect 13.6-14.4V, so the inverter operating point is slightly different. You may have a faulty inverter that is tripping its over-voltage input protection or under-voltage input protection for some unusual reason. Another possibility is while the console may be 140W, the reactive power component may be high enough (i.e. VAr, taking into account the power factor) to cause the inverter to become unhappy and trip its over-power protection. Unlike mains, inverters are not particularly good at supplying and handling reactive power. I would suggest you power off the inverter, start the car and have it running, then plug the inverter back in or turn it on from there. It shouldn't sense any transients from cranking this way, and if it operates happily, then that's just as expected. You should not expect an inverter to operate while cranking - starter batteries commonly get to 9V during cranking, whereas the low-voltage protection on most inverters are set to 10.5-10.8V. If you need the output to be continuous, you could use a UPS or better yet, do what the carvanners do and have a secondary deep-cycle battery for your accessories and a battery-isolator so as not to place strain on your starting battery. Ignition batteries are not designed to be cycled to any great level of depth and will fail prematurely even with very few moderately deep cycles! - Gough

jw0752 · Answer

Hi Gavin, When the car is off the battery is a solid 12.6 volts and has a very low internal resistance so hooking up the inverter does not cause the voltage to drop much. When the car is running the alternator brings the voltage up to 13.6 volts or more for the newer batteries. When you hookup or turn on the inverter it demands a solid voltage but because of the current demand and the higher internal resistance of the alternator the voltage spikes low probably from 13.6V to 12.6V over the period of a few milliseconds. Since the inverter senses that it does not have a solid source of current it goes into protection mode and doesn't turn on. I had the same situation the other night when I was trying to test a UPC with my bench power supply. Even though my supply can deliver more than 250 Watts at 12 volts I could not get the inverter to start until I put a 12 volt battery across it. I can not be 100% certain of this diagnosis but it matches well with my bench experiences with the UPCs. John

iizeroxii · Answer

Ok so I found the problem. While the inverter was fine for the job. I agree that it should not be used while turning the engine. That was not the problem. The problem was that it doesn't work when the engine is on. So the problem ended up being the AC output wave form was Modified sine wave. I got at new inverter that has pure sine wave and all is good. Thanks for the help people.

rusgray · Answer

Based on the information I was able to collect from a few quick online searches, the PS4 needs about 140W of power, and the cigarette adapter in most cars delivers around 180W. My guess is that when you start the engine, the voltage sags a bit, and likely takes some time to recover. During this low-voltage battery state, the inverter cannot deliver the power needed to supply the PS4. The inverter specs state a peak supply power of 1000W and a continuous power of 500W; based on what you've reported, either those specs are a lie (possible), or the PS4 consumes more than the stated 140W (also possible.) The inverter data sheet does not specify what the conversion efficiency is, so it's also possible that the voltage sag that happens during cranking pulls the amount of available power too low to run the PS4. If you have a high-current capable bench supply, you could try supplying the inverter with 12VDC from the bench supply and measure the current draw.

luislabmo · Answer

I don't think necessarily the inverter may have issues -maybe- since he found a solution with a new inverter that produces a pure sinewave. My best guess is that the PS4 requires pure sinewave same as some PCs (or some PSU) -I didn't find official confirmation, but see the last comment-. Simulated stepped sinewave may work for some but most of the time people go against the factory recommendations to save money, is not the case here but I didn't find official documentation to support the PS4 power requirements. If interested here a very quick comparison between the 3 different waveforms which may apply to the inverters as well. Luis

iizeroxii · Answer

The PS4 does attempt to power on but only manages a couple seconds. While the green light on the inverter blinks green.

Gough Lui · Answer

I suspect your inverter might have had problems with its protection thresholds if it won't run while the car is running. The output waveform is rarely an issue for most appliances as they use a switching converter anyway. I suspect it's more the fact you got a new inverter that probably doesn't have the fault with regards to protection voltage levels that solved the issue - not the output waveform.

iizeroxii · Answer

Thanks for the effort and information. But the thing is that I got this inverter because I have seen this same inverter being used to power a ps4. So I suspect it my vehicle that is the problem.

DC inverter doesn't power on Playstation4 when car is running. Why?

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