Cigarette Lighter Power Plugs...

[bill875]

Can the two Cigarette Lighter Power Outlets be re-wired to be always on?

Right now on my SL AWD, they only come on when the engine is running or the ignition switch is turned to On (or is it ACC?).

Any ideas or workarounds are appreciated.

-Bill

[homergreg]

You could find an always on vacant spot on your fuse block, and add a fuse tap. Then run wires to a new power outlet. Just remember that any accessory that doesn't turn off will drain the battery, and if you drain the battery too deeply too many times...

you will end up buying a new battery.

Not that I've ever had to do this myself.

Twice.

Of course not on my Rogue, I haven't had it long enough to mess up the battery with my accessory toys ..... yet!

Here's what I'm talking about: http://www.amazon.com/Littelfu...BGELQ
Modified by homergreg at 5:56 AM 6/15/2008

[philipa_240sx]

Can the two Cigarette Lighter Power Outlets be re-wired to be always on?

The cigarette lighter plugs are controlled by the ignition switch via the accessory power relay. The power is ON whenever the ignition swith is on the ON or ACC position. I checked the FSM thinking you could simply bypass the relay, but this would also power the radio, power mirror, and the all important Body Control Module. This would put too much of a power drain on the battery.

I would go with homegreg's idea and add a fuse tap. You could then install a seperate socket or rewire the existing socket. If you decide to rewire the existing socket, be sure to disconnect the factory harness from the socket first. Do not simply 'tap into' the socket as you do not want to feed 12V back into other systems like the radio, etc. I would tap power from a non-critical system in case the fuse pops while driving. The following fuses (located on the inside fuse panel, lower LH dash) should have constant 12V power and are non-critical (well not as important as the other ones):

- Fuse #7 - side mirror defogger- Fuse #13 - Bose Amp

Another option of course to run directly from the battery, but be sure to add a 10A inline fuse to protect the wiring... you don't want to create an electrical fire.

[bill875]

Excellent info guys. Thanks to both of you. I would like to add this option for my GPS and Cell phone and it would be great to not even utilize the existing CLA's. I like to keep things looking nice and neat.

Thanks again!