Making the cigarette lighter hot without a key

[Jay Alperson]

Anyone know an easy way of running 12V to the cigarette lighter socket? I'd
like to be able to plug in 12V accessories without using a key. Car is a
2001 Subaru Legacy Outback.

 

[Larry Weil]

Anyone know an easy way of running 12V to the cigarette lighter
socket? I'd like to be able to plug in 12V accessories without using
a key. Car is a 2001 Subaru Legacy Outback.

You can pull out the radio and find, with a voltmeter, which wire has
constant voltage on it, and then wire the lighter socket to that wire.

 

[Voja]

It depends on a load you're putting on that wire. Be careful with it
'cause you can easily burn fuse, or, God forbid, start a fire.

Cheers,
Voja

 

[ZZ]

It depends on a load you're putting on that wire. Be careful with it
'cause you can easily burn fuse, or, God forbid, start a fire.

Cheers,
Voja

On my (USA) 2005 Forester, the Subaru manual states the following:

* The electrical power socket located on the lower part of the
instrument panel is originally designed to use a genuine SUBARU
cigarette lighter plug. Do not use non-genuine cigarette lighter plugs
in the socket. Doing so may cause a short-circuit and overheating,
resulting in a fire.

* If the socket is ever used for a plug-in accessory such as a cell
phone, that may damage the portion of the socket's internal mechanism
that causes a cigarette lighter plug to "pop out" after its lighter
element is heated. Therefore, do not place a cigarette lighter plug in
a socket that has been used, even once, to power a plug-in accessory.
Doing so may cause the plug to stick and overheat, creating a
potential fire hazard.