Raspberry Pi Forums

Whilst I am ok with the IT side of the Pi my electronics knowledge is poor. I am looking to power my Rasp Pi 4 4MB and basic camera in my car, so I need a cigarette lighter socket power supply or a battery pack. I would like about 20 minutes power if a battery pack. I do not want to start hard wiring into car power circuit. I have read enough that I have confused myself and I am unsure what I need. Is there a way though the power provider to force a clean shut down or can you use software to monitor battery life and close down before the battery runs out?

Any help or pointers would be great.

I would definitely try to use the USB car charger option instead of using a power bank.

Depending on which version of the Pi you have you would need to supply it with adequate power, see here for the various models: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati ... /README.md

Let us assume you have a Pi4.

Firstly, you would need to make sure the car cigarette lighter socket can deliver at least 3A, then you'd need to get yourself a USB cigarette charger that's capable of delivering 3A.

Assuming the Pi is always connected to the car's USB charger it would automatically power on when the car is started, but you'd need another method of shutting down the Pi gracefully rather than just abruptly killing the power when the ignition is switched off.

You could wire a simple button to the GPIO pins which when pressed runs a small script instructing the Pi to gracefully shut down: https://www.quartoknows.com/page/raspbe ... own-button at least that way you can press the button before switching off the ignition.

I would start by looking at an earlier Pi that requires less power. Many "powerbanks" can provide 2A to 2.5A which, in combination with a Pi2B will provide sufficient power and can be had with capacities to run for hours.

Using a Pi4B, you will have to look for a solution that will provide a solid 3A and maintain 5V at that current level. This will limit your choices and increase the cost over a lower current device.

what is the purpose of that "raspberry pi + camera + 20minutes"?

a [RPiZ(W) + camera] will run off a 1A power adapter.....

The Nintendo Switch official car adapter is 5v 3A rated with a USB-C plug.

I have had one ages, still haven't given it a try though.

LTolledo wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 8:55 pm

what is the purpose of that "raspberry pi + camera + 20minutes"?

a [RPiZ(W) + camera] will run off a 1A power adapter.....

I want to record video that I can then analyse later. It is good that a Pi Zero W will run of 1A power adapter; unfortunately I have neither!

Imperf3kt wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 10:57 pm

The Nintendo Switch official car adapter is 5v 3A rated with a USB-C plug.

I have had one ages, still haven't given it a try though.

Thats good news thanks, I will look into the Nntendo option. Thanks for letting me know.