Hello,

Has anyone replaced the cigarette lighter with a USB charging socket?

I did this in our SII and I found that the USB-C socket is not really charging enough to keep a sat nav going.

i use similar to this

when no charge devices connected it shows car's battery voltage

when i leave car (and remember) I pull it out a centimeter

My idea was to not use an adapter but to replace the complete cigarette lighter. It worked well on our last Superb.

59 minutes ago, 26DIPP said:

My idea was to not use an adapter but to replace the complete cigarette lighter. It worked well on our last Superb.

Hate to tag the man in again but @JR RS has done this but it may have been to the rear one. He’ll likely have a part or a how to or knowledge either way

@26DIPP - I replaced the rear 12v power socket with a 12v USB Quick Charge socket.

The front 12v socket will b similar.

Link to the 12v USB socket I bought.

Link to the 90-deg USB cable.

Edited 28 December, 202528 Dec by JR RS

Hi.

What’s the 90degree usb cable for? So you have charger in the arm rest?

Thanks

3 minutes ago, Binx1310 said:

Hi.

What’s the 90degree usb cable for? So you have charger in the arm rest?

Thanks

Yup, I have that cable running into the inside of the armrest storage.

I can then put my phone on charge for those long trips.

My Superb didn't have the additional USB port inside the armrest storage - so this was my workaround.

The 90-deg cable allows me to keep that rear compartment storage closed.

The front USB port is occupied by my AAWireless device, which allows me to use Android Auto wirelessly.

thanks. my issue with the AA/carplay wireless is always the "what about charging" issue. My phone battery is pretty poor now so the charging from plugging in every time is needed.

I was thinking of rerouting the standard usb port to the arm rest to remove the need for trailing wire but this is a really neat solution.

just ordered the parts from AliExpress to replicate this.

On 29/12/2025 at 10:33, JR RS said:

Yup, I have that cable running into the inside of the armrest storage.

I can then put my phone on charge for those long trips.

My Superb didn't have the additional USB port inside the armrest storage - so this was my workaround.

The 90-deg cable allows me to keep that rear compartment storage closed.

The front USB port is occupied by my AAWireless device, which allows me to use Android Auto wirelessly.

JR - did you have to make a hole to get the cable through? Or can you lift the soft covering and pass the cable through?

Got wireless CarPlay working with the £4 Ali express special. Now just need to route the cable and I’ve replicated your configuration.

2 hours ago, Binx1310 said:

JR - did you have to make a hole to get the cable through? Or can you lift the soft covering and pass the cable through?

Got wireless CarPlay working with the £4 Ali express special. Now just need to route the cable and I’ve replicated your configuration.

Don’t worry. I worked it out. Managed to feed it through from one hole to the other without taking any other trim apart. all up and running. Wireless CarPlay is surprisingly good for £4 from AliExpress! And the compact design of the module and the wire means the standard power in the front and the other usb in the back can still be used. And the door closes over the top of the module too!

Glad u got it sorted.

With the cable into the armrest, yeah I just made a tiny hole in the very corner.

U don't even see it with felt material and cable covering the hole.

So all good.

24 minutes ago, JR RS said:

Glad u got it sorted.

With the cable into the armrest, yeah I just made a tiny hole in the very corner.

U don't even see it with felt material and cable covering the hole.

So all good.

Ah ok. There were a couple of holes in the plastic under then felt on mine. Manage to route the cable through to the bit one. Great idea for a neat set up. Thanks

And back to my original thread title - front cigarette lighter replacement.

The socket can be unclipped by lifting the front end with a trim tool. The back is hooked in. The lighter comes out quite easy once removed. Just push a couple of clips and it slides out. The whole in the plastic flap needed to be slightly filed out as it was too small to take the USB socket.

I soldered the USB wires onto the 12V and earth. Access is not the greatest but works.

Edited 20 January20 Jan by 26DIPP

35 minutes ago, 26DIPP said:

And back to my original thread title - front cigarette lighter replacement.

The socket can be unclipped by lifting the front end with a trim tool. The back is hooked in. The lighter comes out quite easy once removed. Just push a couple of clips and it slides out. The whole in the plastic flap needed to be slightly filed out as it was too small to take the USB socket.

I soldered the USB wires onto the 12V and earth. Access is not the greatest but works.

Sorry for the hijack!

I love how flush it sits. Looks really good. Where did you get the usb from?

I got the USB socket from Aliexpress because I ordered other bits from there, but you can find it on Ebay too.

eBay UK

12V Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Dual QC3.0 USB Ports Fas...

Model: QC3.0 & PD. QC3.0 output: DC 4.5V/5A, 5V/4.5A, 9V/3A,12V/2.5A. Model : Dual USB. With a switch, you can freely switch display mode or turn on/off the power;. PD output: DC 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/2.5

Very neat job @26DIPP - I'll have a look at this properly when I get a mo but might also look for USB-C versions given that's the way everything is going.