Fag Lighter

[PatDanz]

Is it me, or does the Z4 have an unusually shallow cigarette lighter socket - I can't seem to plug in my new Nokia Charger... !

 

[timscuba]

Yes it does. My TomTom will not plug in either. I bought an adapter that has two female ends and it plugs in just fine. I think I got it at Walmart.

 

[Zed_Steve]

The charger for my TomTom does go into the socket, but the connection isnt great. Sometimes need to twist it around for the light to stay on.

 

[pmeloche]

The charger for my TomTom does go into the socket, but the connection isnt great. Sometimes need to twist it around for the light to stay on.

Same with my Garmin. Garmin > TomTom. 8)

 

[Lucy]

The charger for my TomTom does go into the socket, but the connection isnt great. Sometimes need to twist it around for the light to stay on.

Same with my Samsung phone charger, have to twist it around until it starts charging :?

 

[Smokin]

Interesting--I don't have a problem with my Motorola charger nor my Garmin.

 

[Mik]

When on earth are car manufacturers going to ditch this crude method of accessory connection and start using a more compact reliable standardised method. Lets face it,pulling the fag lighter out to plug cheap aftermarket toys in before the advent of mobiles and sat nav has been around since the 70 s. I used to plug a HARRY MOSS map reading light into the socket of my Austin Maxi circa 1974 !!!!! LOL

 

[klarky]

very true - you'd think they would go to usb or something similar for a 12v feed. at the moment im sorting out hardwiring connections for my tomtom and snooper, basically tapping the fag lighters supply and soldering some wires

 

[Mik]

very true - you'd think they would go to usb or something similar for a 12v feed. at the moment im sorting out hardwiring connections for my tomtom and snooper, basically tapping the fag lighters supply and soldering some wires

Fairplay Klarky, but if you are going to hardwire accessories in just be aware at what and where they are fused. I think most ciggy lighters are fused at around 15 amp but am not sure if tom tom chargers and the like fuse down upstream of the point of plugging in. Anybody got any ideas ?

 

[klarky]

yeah its something im looking into, the snooper i bought has a hardwire kit with an inline fuse so no worries there, the tomtom im looking for a similar cable.

 

[Mik]

yeah its something im looking into, the snooper i bought has a hardwire kit with an inline fuse so no worries there, the tomtom im looking for a similar cable.

I guess if push comes to shove and your not going to use the lighter socket for charging the lighter itself (quite a load) you could quite easily drop the fuse in the fusebox to a 5 or 3 amp perhaps because it will be on a dedicated circuit,I am fairly sure

 

[Voodoo]

A conversion to two usb connections in place of the normal 12v cigarette lighter is a great idea. I wonder how tricky it could be.

Also to note, I've just done a little test and the ciggy lighter socket stays live in excess of one hour after the ignition is off, key out and door locked.

 

[Mik]

A conversion to two usb connections in place of the normal 12v cigarette lighter is a great idea. I wonder how tricky it could be.

Also to note, I've just done a little test and the ciggy lighter socket stays live in excess of one hour after the ignition is off, key out and door locked.

Do you think thats a default setting or is one of those choice things that has to be enabled by the stealer ?

 

[klarky]

yeah the sony bluetooth system i removed from the car had a wiring tapping into either the heated seats or the dsc button to sense the ignition i believe, as the bluetooth would turn off with the ignition. im not too worried as i remove my toys whenever i get out of the car so if the socket stays live its no big issue.

 

[Voodoo]

A conversion to two usb connections in place of the normal 12v cigarette lighter is a great idea. I wonder how tricky it could be.

Also to note, I've just done a little test and the ciggy lighter socket stays live in excess of one hour after the ignition is off, key out and door locked.

Do you think thats a default setting or is one of those choice things that has to be enabled by the stealer ?

I'm afraid I have no idea, though I would say that it's a default setting that can't be adjusted if I was to take a guess as I've not seen it on any of those programmable options lists that appear from time to time.

 

[Caddyshk]

I thought this thread was going somewhere else?

 

[Mik]

A conversion to two usb connections in place of the normal 12v cigarette lighter is a great idea. I wonder how tricky it could be.

Also to note, I've just done a little test and the ciggy lighter socket stays live in excess of one hour after the ignition is off, key out and door locked.

Do you think thats a default setting or is one of those choice things that has to be enabled by the stealer ?

I'm afraid I have no idea, though I would say that it's a default setting that can't be adjusted if I was to take a guess as I've not seen it on any of those programmable options lists that appear from time to time.

Yeah mate.. I guess the best thing to do is try eh? Infact I ll go down to the garage and check it out right now !

 

[steelmind]

So is there a way to cure this problem then?

I took mine to BMW as i cant get ANY connection with mine, IPOD cannot be charged and i cant use my stanv at all as the battery is weak and lasts about 30 mins!

BMW checked the socket and said it worked, and it was down to the connectors on my chargers.

Any proven ways to cure it, twisting it about doesnt work on mine?

 

[Voodoo]

Steel,

Have you pushed the plug fully home (i.e. past a bit of resistance)..?

When I plug my TomTom/phone charger/iPod adaptors in, they meet some resistance when they're almost fully home, but then an extra push sees it fully in and quite tight (no sniggering at the back!). I have no connection issues once fully home. :?

 

[steelmind]

Steel,

Have you pushed the plug fully home (i.e. past a bit of resistance)..?

When I plug my TomTom/phone charger/iPod adaptors in, they meet some resistance when they're almost fully home, but then an extra push sees it fully in and quite tight (no sniggering at the back!). I have no connection issues once fully home. :?

Hi Voodoo,

I gave it a whirl today, it actually did work on the Ipod one

But sadly not on the satnav which is the one i need the most. I use a Navman. I would take a gamble and buy another satnav to see if this works, plus the batterly life on mine is awful so when i use the mains charger i can maybe get 45 mins max from it!

Its a real pain not having a satnav all over again, reminds me of 5 years ago! :x