Cigarette Lighter Power Question - BMW Forum

SweetStephi · 09-16-2011, 05:39 PM

I use the cigarette lighter plug as a Power Adapter for Cell Phone / Tablet. The plug only has power when the engine is running. Is there a way to modify this and make it "hot" all the time? I would like to charge accessories while out of the vehicle.

2011 BMW Z4 sDrive30i

SweetStephi · 09-27-2011, 10:46 AM

OK - Soapbox time ***
I would like to thank BMW for the Inteligent decision of making the cigarette lighter socket / accessory power outlet only usable while the engine is running. Heaven knows I would never ever need to leave my cellphone in the vehicle to charge while the engine is off. I would never want to use it to power an accessory during my break without starting the engine. I would never want to use a trickle charger to keep the car battery charged while it is sitting in the garage for an extended period of time.

However - if it ever breaks - I am sure that the extra electronics that it takes to make it function will not cost much.

Sorry for the rant - but when people that are supposed to be very smart come up with extremely stupid ideas - I sometimes get upset.

Zedfor · 02-04-2012, 07:48 PM

Funny, my X3's power outlet is "hot" all the time. Never plugged anything in the Z4 to find out.

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brettski · 02-04-2012, 08:54 PM

It might be to prevent children using the cigarette lighter when unsupervised and burning themselves or the car. I know of a firend who has a Tarago with a live lighter socket, and one kid ended up with a lighter shaped burn on her forehead when her brother did exactly this. Might not be as dumb as you might first think.

Lord Vader · 02-05-2012, 06:16 AM

It is more of a safety design nowadays. Both for injuries, and theft. Leaving a cell phone charging in a vehicle is a target for theives. Its recommended that you dont do it.

However its possible to do it. You would need to run a wire from the battery to the cigarette lighter, which would involve removing the center console and parts of the dash.

Jack Dabsy · 02-05-2012, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMMM...Power

However its possible to do it. You would need to run a wire from the battery to the cigarette lighter, which would involve removing the center console and parts of the dash.

Remembering to disconnect the IGN. feed to the lighter too.