Hey, I was wondering if anyone has modified their cigarette lighter socket to work with the car off. I think I should just have to move the connection from the accessory positon of the key to a hot wire. Suggestions?

Tired of firing up your car in order to fire one up, eh?

Actually... i don't smoke... I don't even have the real lighter plug, just the plastic insert... I want it so I can charge my cellphone w/o having to sit w/ the car on when I'm not at home...

don't know how safe this method is but i would assume you should find a device that works without the car on and tap into that power. i guess that's a start sorry i couldn't give you an exact answer.

This is what I would do.

Take apart the center dash area and get access to the back of the cigarette lighter wire. Take the + wire out of the lighter. Then connect a wire between the + terminal of the battery to the back of the cigarette lighter. Also, connect a fuse (5A would be good) on that wire.

Test it, and you should be all set. I don't recommend you do this because there is a risk of you losing battery if you forget to turn something off.

Some sources which do not lose power when the car is off is: The top lamp, the hazard lights, actually, I don't really know.. I'll post these up and I'll check for more http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/biggrin.gif tmat3's idea sounds safe..

I wouldn't do that if I were you. I work on BMW's that come w/ cell phones and some of them have a problem that keeps the phone powered up and charging w/ the car off. They go to start the car the next day and the car's battery is dead! If you do this mod, don't be forgetful....

I don't smoke and never will. That's nasty!http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/tongue.gif

I believe the horns get power when the car is off.

Reserve capacity (constant 20A draw) on a typical car battery is about 70-90 minutes.

Charging a cell phone draws 700mA with a 120V trickle charger. Not sure about car quick chargers though.

Think I read somewhere that once a car battery drops to a steady 10V, it is for all intents and purposes dead.

As Godmal stated... I'd be vigilant.

hello,

well i guess if you wanted to go over board, you could Zoom over to radio shack pick up a in line timer, set it for 40 mins and runit in line from you perm hot wire to the lighter.
you would also have to run a remote line into the timer from your ignition switch to activate it when you shut the car down.
But talk about a pain in the ass.

heres a better idea, if you dont have a Lithium Ion battery on your phone get one!!! may double you cell phone standby time.

YOU MEAN YOU SMOKE IN A SUBARU!!!!!! How bout a 98 cent bic lighter? just a thought.

Alot of cars have cigarette lighters that have constant power going to them or a second power source other then a cigarette lighter that has constant power. I would say find a wire that has constant power when the car is off (for instance the constant radio power line) tap it and put a fuse after the splice to the cigarette lighter. Or get one of the fuses with the line coming out of it and power it right from the fuse box on its own line seperate from everything else. I am also going to do this so let me know how you make out...

Rubasu

I did this, and there's one thing you need to be careful of. Get your power from somewhere else besides the constant on from the stereo harness. If you do that, you'll also end up with a stereo and windshield wipers that don't go off with the ignition. http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif IMO, you'd be best off running a new circuit from as close to the battery as possible.

Another data point: I used to leave my cell phone plugged into my lighter 24/7 and never had a problem. I don't know about others, but my Motorola StarTAC quits charging when it's completely charged, so draw is minimal.

Josh Beach | <a href="http://www.lifeisbeachy.com" target="_blank">World's Slowest Impreza Project</a>

I've got a Nokia 5160 and I decided to just go ahead and get the handsfree kit. It's wired in, cradle, antenna, microphone, and speaker. It charges from the time I turn the ignition on until I turn the car off. I haven't had a dead battery in either the car or the phone. Plus it mutes my stereo when the phone rings, and I don't have to hold the phone. Oh, and my reception is a lot better.