Live Cigar Lighter

[Kris Didymus]

Folks.

Throwing myself at your mercy here.

I own an 03 ST170 5Dr which I am delighted with. Except one thing..

The vehicle has two cigar lighter sockets. One mounted on the dash and one on the rear of the centre console for rear seat passengers. And they're both CONSTANTLY LIVE!

I have an iPod dock which transmits on a set FM frequency. It's fitted correctly but owing to the cigar lighters being constantly live, drains my battery in a matter of days.

Is there an easy and safe way to fit a switch to this circuit so that I can choose when to power up the lighter sockets.

OR, is there a way to link the cigar lighter sockets to the ignition circuit so that they only come on when I turn the key?

Of course, I CAN just unplug everything but this is becoming a pain in the backside and is loosening the plugs and sockets.

Thanks in anticipation.

KD.

[IceUK]

Hi there,

The best thing to do in this case is to fit an inline switch on the lead to your docking station, This way you are not changing any of the original wiring of the car. Also, if you were to move the docking station to another vehicle or power point, you can still use the same switch.

I recommend connecting the switch in line with the negative feed, just snip one of the two wires on the lead and feed it through the switch.

However, these in line switches are harder to find then a standard PTM (PUSH to MAKE) switch, so, you could purchase one similar to this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?Module...y=13m5#overview from your local maplin store. Drill a 12.2mm hole and pop it in your dash, wire the negative feeding to the cig lighter through the switch and back to the lighter. I would recommend mounting the switch out of sight as to not deface the car.

One last thing is i dont recommend any of this, so you do so at your own risk. It would be far easier to unplug it!

[IceUK]

Sorry, the switch above is a non locking switch, you would need one that would lock on and off with each press...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=...04&doy=13m5

It may even match your dash :) Just make sure to get a locking switch.