I got a 120v outlet in my 2013 Malibu...

Probably always on when cars on. No reason not too, probably wastes only half a watt or one watt or so.

>I was wondering if the inverter is always running when car is on or if it knows when you plug some thing in then turns on.

As a general statement, the malibu applies power to accessories if the ignition key has been turned to the ACC position. My 2016 malibu applies power for 10 minutes after the key is turned to ACC and then back to off. The use of a key to turn on displays can be avoided (read your owner manual as it can vary by year) if you push certain buttons. For example, holding down MENU button on the left stalk for 4 seconds causes the Odometer display to show. Pressing the radio button will cause the stereo system to play for another 10 minutes before it automatically turns off. Without the key, the accessory power sockets are not turned on if just the radio is turned on with the radio power on/off button.

>I was wondering if the inverter is always running when car is on or if it knows when you plug some thing in then turns on.

I have an external power inverter unit (450 chinese watts max) that can be plugged into an accessory lighter. It draws 7 watts with no load when measured with an inline ammeter on an external 12 volt DC power supply. This is 12.0 volts, not 12.6 volts since it is a regulated power supply.

>itt: nothing but fucking speculation

Check the wiring diagram. Or just fucking plug something in with the car off you fucking faggot

What I am asking is does the inverter run when nothing is plugged into it? Or is there some kind of mechanism that can sense a load then turn the inverter on. I plugged a DMM into outlet with car off and with car on and did not notice a change in volts. Which I believe the DMM does not draw enough current to switch the inverter on. It would be stupid to have it run always on

You won't know anything without the wiring diagram

Well nobody knows anything not even the mechanics at the dealership. I know they won't have that shit in the user manual and I'm not tearing my car apart to find out. Btw do they make inverters that will only turn on if you plug something into the outlet and if so what are they called?

Read the fucking manual, but running when the car is off (for more than a few minutes) would make it way too easy to drain the battery.

ccruze.com/power_outlets-123.html
>There is one accessory power outlet located on the center floor console and one on the rear of the center floor console. These outlets are powered when the key is in ON/ RUN or ACC/ACCESSORY, or until the driver door is opened within 10 minutes of turning off the vehicle.
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>120v chevy cruze outlet ignition

I did read the fucking manual. Tell me why when I use my DMM I get 0 volts when car is off and 0 volts when car is on and running. I have a fluke 89 IV DMM so I know it works and I'm not a fucking idiot. That outlet is only on when something is drawing energy from it. It doesn't mention that in the fucking manual

You need to set it to AC volts bruv

Bru I know it's AC I'm not that fucking stupid

Well then fucking plug something in not all the way and check the voltage on the prongs while the thing is running you pleb.

This shits too gay for me. I'm just gonna buy a regular DC to AC inverter.

>Tell me why when I use my DMM I get 0 volts when car is off and 0 volts when car is on and running.

It's because good DMM voltneters do not influence the circuit they are measuring. That means they draw so little power that the voltmeter is very close to being an open circuit.

The inverter seems to be a better one that doesn't put a parasitic load to keep the inverter constantly running at a low level. The cheap chinese ones will draw 500 mA even if no load is connected on the 120VAC side.

To measure a load, plug in an extension cord that has at least two outlets on it. Put a small load on one outlet. Then plug your DMM probes into the other outlet to measure the AC voltage. Please note that the DMM is probably expecting real AC and not a stepped square-wave. If the inverter was made in china, it might have stepped square waves with lots of harmonics. That type of electrical signal may throw off the DMM. The better DMM will have compensation for that while cheap chinese ones might not have been able to steal the plans from Fluke. It's why some usa companies still refuse to manufacture anything in china because industrial espionage is guaranteed to occur amongst the factory staff.

You can do the exact same thing by doing what this guy said with no extension cord

I make reasonably safe suggestions when I don't know who is doing the measurement under what conditions. Certainly the classic approach is to not fully plug a load in so the probes can be touched to the exposed power prongs. But if he slips up, he could leave one prong in the positive and touch the other prong to the chrome or metal surround (no idea of how his car is outfitted).

>I was wondering if the inverter is always running when car is on or if it knows when you plug some thing in then turns on.

It's like other external inveters that are powered on but nothing is plugged in. Some draw almost no power and some still draw a substantial but "small" amount of power of 250 mA or so.

But your inverter that is built into the malibu has the outlet inside the glove compartment or the console? If there is no cooling fan, then I wonder how does it get rid of heat?

Using the body of the car as a heatsink or using the air from the climate control blower to cool it off would be my two guesses.

It would have to be using the frame of the car as both the ground and the heatsink. Air from the central air system could be hot air in the wintertime. Using up air pressure from a precious plastic air flow channel would also be a waste of a precious space-constrained resource.