Lighter/Acc socket - ?

[anotherblack944]

Today after verifying that the lighter worked (push in center and waited till it pops out) I plugged a phone charger in the lighter socket and got no power to the phone?? After that when I put the lighter back I noticed that the center was flush with the outer ring. If I push it in it won't stay in and won't come back to the normal position without pushing outward on the element (it then clicks and pops back to normal). If I hold it in I think it still heats/shows current (didn't want to hold it to red hot). Any idea what's going on? Did the adapter bend something in the socket? Maybe it's just been a long day (haven't looked too closely, yet)?

[ballysdad]

I dont think you can plug a charger in the stock outlet. My lighter works too and cannot plug anything in. I went to pepboys and bought a 12v outlet and installed underdash by my right knee...works great

[968rz]

The lighter socket on these cars are a bit larger than the US (and asian) cars. A long time ago I bought a radar detector that came with an adapter for these cars (still use it). Find a thin piece of plastic about 1"x 2" and wrap it around the plug so it fits tight in the socket. Make sure all the contact points touch (trim slots in the plasic if needed) and your device should work.

[Dave L]

the outlet should be fine, I regularly use an air compressor and a phone charger on mine. As 968rv said they are a little different in size but most chargers should work fine.

[flash968]

i concur that the sockets on these cars are different - some things work and some don't - it all depends on the amount the springs stick out on the device - in fact, they even vary from model to model - i was at an event and a boxster had a flat spare - we tried to use the compressor that all of the 968s came with in the boxster, and it wouldn't fit

[968rz]

Right, I tried to use my compressor from the 968 to pump up the winter beaters tire and the plug was to large for the American cars socket.

[paper1122]

This is great information, this makes a lot more sense now. I bought a socket that clamps onto the battery for my compressor thinking that the socket in the dash was bad.

[968rz]

A simple $5 test lite can tell you for sure if the socket has power/ground.

[jcommin]

I use my phone charger all the time and my lighter works. Check the contacts on the charger. What happens some times is the spring contacts on the charger do not make contact with the outlet, the same can happen with the outlet. Initially my charger worked but lighter didn't. I adjusted the contacts and both work fine.

[flash968]

my phone charger, radar detector, and g-tech all work fine too, but they fit loosely - i get occasional intermittent contact on really bumpy roads - the size difference isn't a lot, but it's there - if the spring contacts of your gadget don't stick out far enough, it won't work

also, make sure that both the tip contact and the bottom of the lighter aren't gunked up - that happens on cars with smokers - they stick their tobacco on the lighter to light it, then take that hot gummy stuff and stick it right back in there so it can transfer onto the contact at the bottom - do NOT stick a screwdriver in the lighter hole to clean it - try a good non-toxic cleaner on a q-tip