Converting "old style" cig. lighter to power plug

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Tue 8 Aug 2023 20:43
Converting "old style" cig. lighter to power plug - badbusdriver

When I bought my Piaggio Porter I was pleased to see it had a cigarette lighter which I could use to charge phone, power a dash cam, etc. Took the adapter I had in the Caddy, tried to plug it in, but it wouldn't.

Turns out the new ones (12v socket) has a small hole in the middle, but the lighter socket in the Piaggio doesn't.

I've seen kits on t'internet but I'm wondering if it is just a straight swap (cut the wires to the old one, remove and connect up the new)?. Or are there other factors involved?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 8 Aug 2023 21:31
Converting "old style" cig. lighter to power plug - elekie&a/c doctor
Fairly straightforward conversion. Just check the diameter of the hole against the new power socket. There’s a few differences in sizes . If the original has a plug , you’ll probably need to cut it off and put standard terminals on the cable . Make sure you get the polarity correct . Centre pin is positive.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 8 Aug 2023 21:46
Converting "old style" cig. lighter to power plug - badbusdriver

Cheers Doc :-)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 9 Aug 2023 12:37
Converting "old style" cig. lighter to power plug - Gibbo_Wirral

Fit a piggyback fuse and connect it to one of these:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195823048322

Then you can power a dashcam and have a free USB port for charging, and it looks much neater than those bulky devices plugged into the cig lighter.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link