The Current

• The current that powers your truck's lights, scanner, lighter port and all other accessory functions is generated from your battery. Whit a spark from the starter, electricity is created when lead and acid in the battery react. The electricity travels through your truck's circuitry and arrives at the power invert via the lighter port or piggybacking electrical wires.
  
  

DC to AC

• Your truck's battery produces a direct electrical current (DC), but your home devices need an alternating current (AC). The inverter takes the battery's DC current and convert it to AC. The inverter receives the battery's current and amplifies the voltage to 12 or 24 volts. After amplification, the current is filtered to remove high frequencies and then passed through a transformer to your devices.
  
  

The Fuse

• The power inverter contains a fuse to prevent power surges from burning out the inverter and your electronics. The fuse is simply a glass bulb with a metallic filament. The fuse is placed in line with the circuit--the current has to pass through the fuse to get to your devices. Power surges over the inverter's limit will cause the fuse to melt, stopping the electrical surge from reaching your inverter's or peripheral's circuitry.