car cigarette lighters - Page 2

21-07-2005, 23:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

connecting directly to the battery, as in the same place the battery terminals are, under the bonnet?

Keep it simple.

Yes. The positive / + / Red wire goes to the + on the Battery.

The Negative / - / Black wire goes to Earth / Chassis.

Or just get a bic lighter.. lol

Dave Stones · 21-07-2005, 23:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuftus

Keep it simple.

Yes. The positive / + / Red wire goes to the + on the Battery.

The Negative / - / Black wire goes to Earth / Chassis.

Or just get a bic lighter.. lol

dont think a bic lighter would do the job, unless you could come up with some crazy gas-powered charging system for my pda?

Nikko · 21-07-2005, 23:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

cheers... i guess the terminology is all off, i've just been looking for cigarette lighter all along...

cheers all

The joy of this site is that there is a lot of help to be gained - we all learn from it.

Ideally the lighter should only be live when the ignition is switched on/running so should be fed from the accessory feed which is suitably fused anyway.

Some lighter kits have an illuminated ring or backlighter, which will require a separate feed from the light switched circuit - if you complicate things by acquiring one of these, post back!

22-07-2005, 00:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

dont think a bic lighter would do the job, unless you could come up with some crazy gas-powered charging system for my pda?

Give it time, I am sure some one will come up with a solution... when they do I would be interested...

It will probably when they get the flux capicitor to work reliably....

Nikko · 22-07-2005, 00:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuftus

Keep it simple.

Yes. The positive / + / Red wire goes to the + on the Battery.

The Negative / - / Black wire goes to Earth / Chassis.

Or just get a bic lighter.. lol

With respect, protocol dictates that it should be a fused & switched feed - see my ramblings above

Lord Nikon · 22-07-2005, 00:03

I did it the easy way on my transit for a second lighter socket... I ran it direct from the battery and put a 20a fuse in it, PDAs don't draw anywhere near enough to drain a battery even if left connected for a week

22-07-2005, 00:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikko

With respect, protocol dictates that it should be a fused & switched feed - see my ramblings above

Noted, was trying to keep it simple, allthough I did suggest fused

I have two in my car (Cit Xsara) the main on is switched and the acc one is on all the time...

But still a valid point Nikko and well made.

greencreeper · 22-07-2005, 00:10

My mate was similarly puzzled as to why his Fiesta had a socket but no thing to stick in it - just a covering bit of plastic

He had to buy one. I guess this fits with it being an "accessory socket" - i.e. most people don't use it for lighting spliffs/cigs/cigars/petrol bombs. Even more oddly, the socket has no lighted ring around it, so in the dark, you can't see where you're sticking the plug. I'm straying into innuendo terroritory here

He's missed a few times and burnt the plastic

I've currently got a few brain cells working on the problem of how to light the socket

22-07-2005, 00:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

My mate was similarly puzzled as to why his Fiesta had a socket but no thing to stick in it - just a covering bit of plastic

He had to buy one. I guess this fits with it being an "accessory socket" - i.e. most people don't use it for lighting spliffs/cigs/cigars/petrol bombs. Even more oddly, the socket has no lighted ring around it, so in the dark, you can't see where you're sticking the plug. I'm straying into innuendo terroritory here

He's missed a few times and burnt the plastic

I've currently got a few brain cells working on the problem of how to light the socket

A torch / bic lighter

greencreeper · 22-07-2005, 00:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuftus

A torch / bic lighter

So helpful. You don't work for the Samaritans by any chance?

22-07-2005, 00:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

So helpful. You don't work for the Samaritans by any chance?

How did you guess...

Must have been all the useful advice I had already given...

ZrByte · 22-07-2005, 01:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikko

The joy of this site is that there is a lot of help to be gained - we all learn from it.

Ideally the lighter should only be live when the ignition is switched on/running so should be fed from the accessory feed which is suitably fused anyway.

Some lighter kits have an illuminated ring or backlighter, which will require a separate feed from the light switched circuit - if you complicate things by acquiring one of these, post back!

The lighting ring on mine has mysteriously stopped working. The socket is still there and working perfect as I use an air compressor in it to manage my tyre pressures. I assumed it was because the lighter part itself is knackered (and has been binned accordingly). would this be the case? would the lighter part being broken cause the light ring to stop working or is it something else? It didnt even occur to me there would be two sepperate feeds (one for the power and one for the light).

I think you all know what my car is anyway but just incase you have forgot its a 93 corsa.

Nikko · 22-07-2005, 01:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZrByte

The lighting ring on mine has mysteriously stopped working. The socket is still there and working perfect as I use an air compressor in it to manage my tyre pressures. I assumed it was because the lighter part itself is knackered (and has been binned accordingly). would this be the case? would the lighter part being broken cause the light ring to stop working or is it something else? It didnt even occur to me there would be two sepperate feeds (one for the power and one for the light).

I think you all know what my car is anyway but just incase you have forgot its a 93 corsa.

Sounds like the feed/circuit is fine but the element has failed on the lighter part - they do fail and can be replaced separately. Try GENTLY brushing the element as sometimes ash/unburnt tobacco residue causes a short/mis circuit accross the element - but chances are its burned out.

greencreeper · 22-07-2005, 01:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZrByte

The lighting ring on mine has mysteriously stopped working <snip>

My mate asked if it would be possible to put a ring around the lighter socket. My thinking on this is that because the ring is always lit rather than only lit when the lighter is pushed in, the circuit must be separate. Negative might be shared but positive would be two separate wires. I guess the ring must be an LED (or a few). Also, I guess (thought it doesn't matter) that the ring should only light when the headlights are turned on - i.e. on a night. So that would mean wiring it into the right circuit.

Having said all that, I managed to blow a fuse just by changing the interior light bulb. Big orange flash

So what do I know

Keytops · 22-07-2005, 01:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

dont think a bic lighter would do the job, unless you could come up with some crazy gas-powered charging system for my pda?

Not as crazy as you might first think - http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/20...1005008196.htm

Quote:

..fuel cell powered by methane gas.

I'll avoid the obvious comments about that.....