Need Help, How to Switch Car Power Input Socket Off when Car Switches Off?

For everyone who plugs their portable GPS unit into the electrical socket under in the passenger side under the glove compartment, how can we rig this socket so that it cuts off power when the car ignition turns off? This way we can leave the GPS unit plugged in without worrying about draining the car battery? My car is an '08 Cayman S . Many thanks Howie

Ditto for my radar detector....

If you hardwire into the fusebox, if you choose the right lead, it will be switched with the ignition. Search the articles on RD installation. There are a couple.

There are many adapters available that plug into those sockets. Most have multiple outlets or extensions. A very few of those have built in switches on them. I think the one I settled on came from Radio Shack. It is relatively small so it isn't likely to get kicked by a passenger. I run a two-outlet extension into the glove box and I use those to power my GPS and FM/mp3 thingy. I leave it off most of the time and it's well within reach when stopped to just reach down and flip it on.

There's no good way to turn the 12V socket into a switched outlet. As others have mentioned, you will need to either buy an adapter with a switch built into it, or pull the plug every time you stop the car. Either way is inelegant since you will need to manually cut the power. The best way is to hardwire your devices into a switched fuse in the fusebox. There are a few articles and threads around that show you how to do this.

Why would you want to leave it plugged in? Seems to me to be an invitation for thieves to break your window and steal your plugged in and presumably visible GPS or Radar Detector. As it is, there are reports that opportunistic thieves look for the telltale suction cup mark on the windshield to decide which cars have such goodies out of sight in the glovebox. Larry

Because it's convenient? Continually dismounting and remounting a radar detector or GPS unit is a pain, just as plugging/unplugging it is. I've left my radar detector mounted, as well as a Garmin Nuvi before I had PCM , plugged in and mounted on all my cars for over 10 years without a problem. It's not just what you have, but where you live and park that makes a difference. Same thing goes with wheel locks. If a thief wants your wheels that badly, he'll take them, locks or not.

I use this now. This is an Input socket which functions automatically ON and OFF . It has a noise sensor of current of the car and completely synchronizes to ACC. This is very practical and you need no modification ,just set and can use very simply. URL Auto Power ON / OFF function with USB port with less noise and Plug Universal Power Socket Super XL-3300U (Lauda) Lauda

Very interesting device. However, even though I realize it's a Japanese site, that webpage's English translation is absolutely horrendous - I can't understand a thing it says. It's also pretty expensive for a 12V power adapter.

I searched the article and couldn't find it. I browsed the Miscellaneous and Electronics under How To Articles and couldn't find the article. Can anybody help by providing a link to the article(s) that solve this matter? I don't want to keep on unplogging my iPod every time I leave the car... most probably I'll forget it one day and lose my battery. My second question, can't this be solved at the dealer with the ECU or something?

Bump... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I know this is an old thread but given that we don't seem to have an easy solution yet I thought I'd share my thoughts. From looking at the wiring diagrams the telephone fuse RowB-F9 is a 7.5A fuse that has a switched supply used for the telephone (which I don't have) so this seems to be a good supply point. The outlet supplies (not cigarette lighter) are supplied by RowA-F8 also a 7.5A fuse. So the simplest solution to make the outlet sockets switched would appear to be to use an inline 7.5A fuse with spade connectors of the wires to jump the live of RowB-F9 (telephone) to the output side on RowA-F8 (12V outlets). Anyone got any thoughts that would disagree with this before I give it a go? I just prefer my outlets to be switched - prevents me flattening the battery by leaving something plugged in that I hadn't intended to, especially to the one tucked away in the arm rest. Wiring diagrams: http://www.planet-9.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=353 Interesting pages are p83 Power Distribution onwards for the next 4 diagrams

I think I'm following you. I had a similar idea using one of these (Add-a-fuse) adapters: Crimp a blade connector on the loose end and insert the fuse into a switched fuse position (say RowB-F9), then plug the spade into the "load" side of RowA-F8 (12v sockets). I'm not sure which is the load side in our cars - try one and if it doesn't work, try the other. Or test with a multi-meter. The only risky part of doing this is - if the spade connector comes loose, you'd have a live un-insulated wire floating around in the fuse-box. However, that wire would be fuse protected so the damage would be somewhat limited. Also be aware that there are two possible ways of inserting the extended fuse addapter into the "donner" socket. Both will feed +12v, but only one will provide fuse protection for the red wire. To test if it is installed correctly: turn on your ignition then remove the upper fuse and see if you have power in your 12v socket. If you do - reverse the orientation of the Add-A-Fuse.

I was looking at using one with the fuse inline along the wire, which would mean removing both fuses and putting a spade connector into one side of each. This has the advantage of not requiring as much height as the one you show as I'm not sure how much clearance there is behind the cover. The one you have would be more appropriate though if anyone has the telephone system installed. Careful routing of the wire to ensure it doesn't have mush play should hopefully prevent the spade connectors working loose, could even add some foam on the back of the cover just at that spot to stabilize the connector if it feels necessary.

I have been using one of these to supply switched +12v to my Pioneer nav headunit for over 5 years. No clearance issues. The added fuse is at a 90 degree angle to the normal fuse, so it doesn't set much higher. In my case, there's no danger of shorting since the red wire is butt spliced (via insulated connector) to the radio's power wire.

Ah yes, I see the 90deg bit now - image wasn't very clear on my laptop. Good info, thanks

I basically did what RSchwerer suggested -- link .

Yes -exactly. I'd been thinking of doing this for years - just never got motivated. I only need the 12v for a phone charger (USB), so it was just a minor inconvenience. I was surprised that I could not 90 degree male crimp connectors. They may actually exist but a quick google search didn't find any. So your bent connector does the trick. Thanks for the detailed write-up in your link.