What Power supply for Emergency Strobe Light

[sween1911]

One of our managers was cleaning out some junk and was going to throw this away. Since he knows me, he smiled and said "You want this?" Being a rabid flashaholic, I said YES!

Magnetic base, multi-mode strobing emergency light. Pen for scale. It's RECHARGEABLE so that you can use it standalone. I know I've seen it used without a cord.

I know it worked at one time but the power cord had been lost. There's no pin diagram or voltage note scribed on the bottom like on other devices. The bottom is smooth with no info. Just the 12V sticker on the top.

Under the rubber plug is a standard power supply plug. Any idea what cord would work? I got a bin full of wall-wart cords at home to try.

Thanks!

 

[TPA]

These lights were meant for use in/on vehicles. 12v would be typical cars and passenger vehicles. 24v is commonly used with industrial vehicles.

Given this, a simple 12v adapter should do. If you want to just play with it, a 9v battery and some wire would help you figure out the polarity without too much risk

 

[DRW]

I bet center pin is positive. That would avoid sparks in a vehicle when the plug accidentally touches the chassis.

 

[sween1911]

The hinky part for me is that it's rechargeable. There's a battery in there somewhere. I'm leery of sticking something in there and using the wrong polarity. I'd like to think they'd build in some protection such that using the wrong power supply wouldn't cause it to melt down.

 

[louie]

You'd better take it apart and show us the photos! Xenon strobe tube (high voltage warning)? NiCds? They are probably shot by now. I think if you open the case, you could figure out the polarity of the power connector.

Also, if you can see the manufacturer/model, someone may want to research it.

 

[TPA]

This looks a lot like it: https://www.amazon.com/JX-Wireless-Rotating-Emergency-Rechargeable/dp/B07X4V7WWX/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[sween1911]

Whoa, that's exactly it! I wonder if the polarity of the plug is in there somewhere. I kind of agree the the center should theoretically be positive.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

The ad says it runs on a lithium battery so the DC input has to feed a regulator/charger of some sort. We can't tell from the ad whether the cigarette lighter cord contains a regulator in it, so it's crucial to look at the charging board inside and figure out what the input voltage is.

 

[TPA]

Very interesting... it claims 4.2v input.