The manual says not to hook up electrical accessories to th cigarette lighter (except tire compressor) and to instead use the "sockets" (under armrest and in psgr foot well).

Why is that? Do I have to worry about damage to accessories (radar detector, iPod, etc if I use the cigarette lighter?

thx

 

I would think that the tire compressor would draw more amperage at 12V than any combination of cellphone chargers, radar detectors or the like... of course, I'm a mech engr, not an electrical engr. What do I know?

What are you thinking about plugging in?

 

I don't know if this is related, but I used the cigarette lighter socket in my MB to charge my cell phone frequently. Now i notice that the lighter itself doesn't work unless you hold it in until it gets hot. Not that I need it.

Maybe it has something to do with the pop out mechanism of the lighter?

 

No - a cigarette lighter is just a coil that gets power from the outlet.

 

Items like the compressor and Porsche battery Maintainer have different plugs, that appear rounder and without the long metal prong standard chargers have. Perhaps there is more chance of loosening the cigarette socket or shorting, with these universal plugs.

 

I'm looking to plug in either my cell phone, GPS or radar. One at a time of course and for occasional use. I plugged my radar in last night and seemed to work fine, but was surprised to see the warning in the manual.
I'm no EE, but maybe PNA is concerned the increased power output of the CigLtr (i think 2x the other plugs) may cause damage to certain elect accessories....

 

Battery maintainer connector fits perfectly into the lighter socket of my 996.

 

If you would drive the car, you wouldn't need a battery maintainer! hee hee

 

I asked the same question awhile ago(on this forum). The answer I got was that accesories might bend the tabs inside the lighter socket. I think this may be correct, because I used to plug accesories into the lighter socket on my Lexus and, sure enough, the lighter was loose in the socket and did not snap in and make contact. This hasn't stopped me from plugging stuff into it though. It acts like an ordinary accesory outlet. It is UNSWITCHED, meaning your accessory will continue to draw power after the car is shut off. I wish the SmartKey would have had a fix for that.

 

Correct. That's not it. I think the other posters have it. It's the shape and position of the tabs.

 

So, can we use the cig. lighter for the battery charger?

 

I have used it for six months or so (off and on) with no issues...GR

 

On my car, the accessory power outlet (pass. side footwell) doesn't work regardless of key position or on/off status. I regularly use the center console power outlet for the Porsche air compressor and radar detectors - but never as an actual cigarette lighter - with success.

I wouldn't worry about the manual's disclaimer; maybe it's a liability thing to shield lawsuits from errant power accessories flying around the car.

 

Tim, you're relentless!

 

If you use the cigar lighter for your phone eventualy the cigar lighter itself will nto work as the tabs will become bent (easy 2 second fix)
make sure to remember
that the power point under the dash is a 7.5 amp fused circut the cigar lighter is 15 amps.
pluging a lap top or the porsche compressor into the power point will result in blown fuses