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Do car cigarette lighter sockets work when the engine is switched off?

I purchased a cigarette socket phone charger for my 2006 Volkswagen Polo. When plugging the charger into the socket in the dashboard console, with the engine switched off, the charger would not work. Once the engine was turned on the charger worked fine. I presumed that cigarette chargers worked when the car was switched off. Please could you confirm whether there might be a problem with the cigarette lighter socket.

Asked on 18 May 2013 by WT, via email

Answered by Honest John
Working normally. Unless sockets are hardwired directly to the battery, they switch off when the ignition is switched off. The reason why is to prevent drains on the battery while the engine is off.
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