I am for ever leaving things plugged into the lighter socket and of course risking discharging my battery.

Some cars have the option to move a fuse so that when the ignition is turned off, so is the power to the lighter socket. As standard on the Fabia the socket remains live regardless of ignition setting.

I can't seem to see that the socket can be turned off with the ignitionon the Fabia VRS, does anyone know if this can be easily achieved ?

Socket, interior lights, boot lights, leccy windows etc go off if left on after 10 mins.

Socket, interior lights, boot lights, leccy windows etc go off if left on after 10 mins.

Sorry, but that isn't what I've experienced. I keep leaving my speed camera detector plugged in and coming back over an hour later to finf it still powered up and running because I've forgotten to unplug it from the lighter socket. :confused:

Same here - true enough most other stuff goes off / stops responding but the socket stays live on mine too.

Yep I noticed this too and have to make sure my phone charger is unplugged with the ignition off. The other electrics do stop working after 10 mins, but for some reason the ciggy lighter doesn't :confused:

Always been controlled by the ignition in previous cars....

Chris

Sure its not coming back on when you unlock the car.... hence it been on when you get back in??

Sure its not coming back on when you unlock the car.... hence it been on when you get back in??

Definately not I'm afraid, you see I can see its LED display through the window. Often I have to then go back into the house to get the keys to unlock the car and take the plug out.

Its such a design short coming!!!!

Definately not I'm afraid' date=' you see I can see its LED display through the window. Often I have to then go back into the house to get the keys to unlock the car and take the plug out.

Its such a design short coming!!!![/quote']

jst a thought that was all.... was goin on what dad's octy does, neva used my socket on the furby

Come on, some bright spark out there must have a simple fix for this surely.

re-wire it with an in-line relay switched from the ignition live at the back of the stereo

i like mine being live constant, handy for charginf phones and btw most of my cars have been powered constant apart from my 106(i think)

Sorry, but that isn't what I've experienced. I keep leaving my speed camera detector plugged in and coming back over an hour later to finf it still powered up and running because I've forgotten to unplug it from the lighter socket. :confused:

Have you thought about Hard Wiring your detector in. I have mine wired in to the Ignition Fuse located at the end panal, Right hand side of the dash

Kinda want two of these things - one which is switched, one which isnt

Surprised about the location of it anyway, wouldn't it have been nice to have a second one on the dash somewhere...

Surely car designers these days should KNOW people use PDA/iPod/mobile(s) in the car. In some respects, it should be encouraged to provide safer ways of using them as of standard, rather than the Furby placement of it which encourages a charge lead to be across from the socket to the most likely location for the mobi holder, which would be on/near the dash and/or vents.

Ah well - nothing a little extention lead cant fix I suppose

Have you thought about Hard Wiring your detector in. I have mine wired in to the Ignition Fuse located at the end panal, Right hand side of the dash

Not keen on hard wiring as it makes moving and rapid re-moving of said device difficult.

Very easy and quick to remove......Although I leave mine in all the time

Come on, some bright spark out there must have a simple fix for this surely.

Not a true solution in the manner you're requiring, but I've fitted a 4 way adaptor under the heater controls running the wire back alongside the drivers seat to plug into the existing socket. The plug has a push button switch in the top with a red LED - hence I can readily manually disconnect everything by pressing the button... Adaptor came from Halfords.

got the same one in my van, very handy for charging my two phones and pda

still think you could install a relay activated by the switch live from the stereo in under an hour and it will work exactly as you wish, won't cost much either

There are clever ways of "hard" wiring though. I'm currently wiring in a extra ciggie lighter for a mobile but slightly differently... I am using a DC power jack from maplins that means it's a small 2.5mm socket fitted into a switch blank close to the position of the holder that is connected to the holder via a small DC power plug and a short fly lead to the holder so no big holes in the dash and no long leads flapping in dangerous places but still able to transfer from car to car!

There are clever ways of "hard" wiring though. I'm currently wiring in a extra ciggie lighter for a mobile but slightly differently... I am using a DC power jack from maplins that means it's a small 2.5mm socket fitted into a switch blank ...

Yep this is the sort of idea I had, have done similar in previous cars but used a speaker plug and socket as it has a pin terminal and spade terminal so its impossible to plug in incorrectly and they are usually black in colour so they can look almost 'original equipment'.

A bit cautious about taking the dash apart and also the wiring on a Fabia, not sure if I'm dealing with a multiplex system or not. If so, I would be very concerned about potentially doing some serious damage to the ecu etc. In the good old days all you risked was a blown fuse but not so today.

Any advice on wiring in greatfully accepted.

Hi,

I hard wired my radar detector into the interior light wiring, the detector is well placed above the rear view mirror, as the top of the screen is smoked it makes the device harder to spot. Has a good view of the road ahead too.

The interior light circuit goes off after 10 minutes. Wire is discrete and you can push all bar the connector up behind trim when not in use.

Hope this helps.

Andy

That is a good idea - assuming the current taken isnt too high that should be very handy

Guess it depends on your detector, I've had no problems. Only thing to consider is the size and location, could stop the sunvisors coming down properly.

I installed two lighter sockets behind the dash in the Octy, one is ignition supplied and the other is battery supplied.

I use the always on for my SatNav as I find it annoying that it switches off when I just stop for fuel etc.

The other socket I use for phone supply.

I still nearly flattened the battery when using a 12V fridge plugged in to the standard lighter socket.

Cheers

Lee

The fridge one is the one that worries me - I've got one which I don't use often but they don't half eat the battery if the engine isn't running

It's fine for hours, just overnighting it probably wouldn't be that great a plan