Does anyone know a SIMPLE way of linking the Cigarette Lighter socket power to the ignition switch - I have just flattened the battery by leaving all my toys plugged in while I left the car for 5 days, bl**dy annoying.

This is the first motor I have had where the socked is powered full time - seems crazy to me and now very inconvenient.

I was wondering whether it was always powered. My Belkin iPod charger didnt seem to switch off.

I guess it would require require wiring into an ignition switched circuit. I've done this for the hardwiring of a TomTom direct from the fuse box, so it is certainly possible. Just a challenge for the cabling run I would expect.

I'm not sure if there is a Vag-Com code change that would do this (doubtful, but you never know). I'll have a look.

I always thought that the Ciggy lighter turned it's self off after 20 mins or so to prevent this..............Looks like I'm wrong as ususl

Ignition supply is quite hard to come by these days. But have a look at the left hand fuses in the fuse box in the right hand end of the dash, most of these are ignition supply.

However you will need one with a suitable sized cable to supply the current. The correct terminals can be bought and plugged into the fusebox for the OE look.

FWIW, I used fused supply #11 which I believe is usually reverse park sensors (I don't have them) This is an ignition switched circuit.

This is the first motor I have had where the socked is powered full time - seems crazy to me and now very inconvenient.

I couldn't live with it going off with the ignition as I leave my phone, TomTom, etc charging whilst in meetings throughout the day. Its a pretty strong battery that can comfortably charge stuff overnight, but I can see how 5 days will have flattened it.

I often have a beacon on the roof and I definately wouldn't want to have to leave the keys in the ignition to keep that running while I'm stopping off at sites (several vans have been nicked at work because they need the ignition on, people jump in when you've got your back turned and they're gone).

On my Danish new Octavia RS the outlet is off when the car is locked.

Due to wanting more than 1 thing plugged in at a time, I needed to get a 2 or 3 way adaptor - in the end I bought a 4 way from Halfords which includes an on/off switch in the top of the cigarette plug, this means I can turn everything off when I leave the car. It's not as good as having a switched circuit, but does at least allow easy on/off switching (and has allowed the cables to be hidden from view).

You might want to look at something similar, which seems to provide the best of both worlds.