Will USA car charger fit European car cigarette lighter

[Pogo2190]

Will my Tomtom Start USA car charger work in Italian rental cars? If not, can I purchase one that will?

 

[dhn]

The cig lighters are pretty well standard in NA and Europe. Some years ago, I used my NA 540 XXL in an Italian rental car. No problems.

 

[canderson]

In a word, yes, even though the ANSI/SAE spec for plugs/sockets here in the U.S. is slightly different.

The U.S. spec for the socket is 20.97+/- 4mm
The Euro spec for the socket is 21.46mm +/- 5mm.

So they make the grounding springs on the plugs stiff enough to hold in a U.S. spec socket without vibrating loose, but not so tight as not to fit well into a Euro socket.

 

[Pogo2190]

The cig lighters are pretty well standard in NA and Europe. Some years ago, I used my NA 540 XXL in an Italian rental car. No problems.

Thanks

 

[Pogo2190]

In a word, yes, even though the ANSI/SAE spec for plugs/sockets here in the U.S. is slightly different.

The U.S. spec for the socket is 20.97+/- 4mm
The Euro spec for the socket is 21.46mm +/- 5mm.

So they make the grounding springs on the plugs stiff enough to hold in a U.S. spec socket without vibrating loose, but not so tight as not to fit well into a Euro socket.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated