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Permanently-powered 12v cigarette lighter

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  • Permanently-powered 12v cigarette lighter

    Hi,

    I'd like to add a cigarette lighter socket to my Hilux, and I'd like to make it permanently powered so that I can leave a solar panel attached to drip-charge my batteries. It'd also be vaguely useful to have a permanent power connection for charging some small devices, so that's why I'm looking at doing the cigarette lighter socket rather than e.g. hard-wiring into the 12V rails.

    So, I thought about first converting the standard socket to permanently-powered by replacing the relay with a jumper wire so it's always-on, but that idea fell down when I realised how little fun it was locating which relay it was (I could only get a couple of relays in the driver's footwell out 'cos they're so tight!) and when I realised I'd also be powering the clock all the time -- not ideal.

    Therefore, I'd like to cut a new socket into the centre console and permanently wire it using heavy-gauge wire (with an inline fuse-holder). Does anyone have any ideas about the best place to "leach" this connection from? I thought about running a pair of wires direct from the 2nd battery terminals and through the bulkhead, but that sounds tricky. Is there a better source for this? I'm thinking I'd spec the wiring for e.g. 20Amps of current (realistic max use of half that).

    cheers

  • #2
    From battery through the bulkhead is very easy...wired all my extra electrics like this. 8 items via a new separate fuse box.
    .... Which was nice.

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    • #3
      I was gutted to find the ciggy lighter wasn't live all the time when I got mine so was thinking of doing something similar.

      So what you did was get a new fuse box (where from?) and connect to positive terminal on one battery and feed the wire from the other side of the fuse box through a suitable existing hole in the bulkhead straight to whatever it is connecting to, in this case a ciggy lighter and then to earth?

      Where is the best place to get through the bulkhead Overland Tonka? Ideally I don't want wires dangling all over but still don't relish the idea of removing the dash etc.
      Leaky Surf

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      • #4
        Thanks very much Overland Tonka. I think I'll have a crack at this over the weekend. I think I'll probably only run the one pair of wires with an inline fuse-holder (i.e. I won't bother with the entire fusebox) close to the battery.

        I believe a previous owner has already bodged a couple of wires through the bulkhead near the steering column, so I'll have a root around there.

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        • #5
          Just to say I did this over the weekend and it worked perfectly, thanks.

          I took the positive from the right-hand battery with an in-line fuse, and the negative went to an earth point somewhere above the wheel arch. These two wires were routed through a small rubber grommet in the bulkhead, around the steering column (secured to the bulkhead with zip ties) and then to a cigarette lighter socket I mounted in the passenger side of the centre console.

          I now have a solar panel keeping my batteries topped up.

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