Hyundai stubs out cigarette lighters, plugs in USB chargers

Malcolm,

Was right with you up until you started to attack personal freedoms.
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I don’t smoke either but apart from the excessive nanny state control surely of which we already have more than enough, policing such a ban would command an unrealistic level of resources in relation to the relatively small overall benefit, if any.

Anyway apart from that I do agree we should keep the 12v outlet, it’s very useful.

Chris, I am anti the nanny state also. However, where “personal freedoms” endanger others – distraction from driving falls into this category – then I think legislation helps if common sense fails.

In this case I’d think the distraction caused by tobacco craving poses more of a danger to others than the limited distraction of the diver in the act of actually smoking, although I do feel the smoker should have the good manners not to impose a smoky atmosphere on passengers,
So, looks like we’ll have to agree to differ on whether legislation should be implemented.

But to get back to the topic the 12v outlet does not have to house a cigar lighter it has many other uses and I’d prefer it to be retained.

If car manufactures decide otherwise on our behalf, it’s not really too much of a chore to retro fit one.

Cigar lighter sockets are crap, though. A proper 12V socket and a proper USB port is a much better idea!

Has anyone studied whether lighting up while driving is more or less dangerous than using a phone? If you drop the phone it won’t set fire to your trousers, of course…

You’re me, you are!

NFH, from what I can see, USB capacity is up to 1.5A. Is this wrong? If not, then they are no use for the heavier-current devices I mentioned. So deleting them from new cars means all those with lighter-socket connectors or who use higher-power devices would have a problem. Progress?Evolution is sometimes better.
I take your point about CDs, but like vinyl, there is a great legacy that should not be discarded (many think CD quality inferior despite its attractions).

Malcolm

The output of USB chargers varies and it is necessary to check the specification. I have 5 and 10 watt (1 and 2 amp) chargers. Note that they are all regulated at 5 volts output rather than ’12 volts’ (which can actually be over 14.5 volts with the engine running).

Cigarette lighter sockets are very poor indeed as power sockets. Clint gives one of the reasons below.

I have 3 power outlets in my Espace of this design, two of which are in the front and have been used daily for the past 6 years to power an 8A oxygen concentrator and sat-nav with never a connection problem. They are mounted vertically so the weight of the plug and lead is not straining the connection. Maybe that is where the problem lies that others have – or maybe it is socket quality.
Whilst a USB point would be sensible, a higher-power outlet is also very useful to some of us.

Having the socket vertical is a great help in preventing cigarette lighter plugs from disconnecting in use, but there is the problem that metal objects dropped in the socket could short-circuit the connections.

The need for power sockets that will deliver a decent amount of power has been demonstrated. I use either a 75 or 150 watt inverter to charge laptops and various other mains-powered items.

The quality of cigarette lighter sockets does vary, but the plug quality varies more. Some are very loose, have no cord grip and can short out, and have no fuse.

I think there is a good case for providing better designed power sockets in cars, RVs and boats – with an agreed standard design for the plugs and sockets. Initially this would have to be in addition to cigarette lighter sockets.

Clint

I suggest that you purchase a USB charger that is almost flush with the cigarette lighter socket and use suitable lead to connect your sat nav to the USB socket. This stops the connection working its way loose, which is a common problem when long cigarette lighter plugs and chargers rock in the socket.

Heh! I have a USA Spec iPod adapter in my car, that works rather well. The charging cradle for my phone is wired behind the dash and through the tunnel to one of the b-awful lighter sockets off behind me somewhere. When I get one of those round tuits I’m going to hard wire it to a fused spur behind the dash.

Back in the 1970s I owned a Lancia which had a plug-in re-chargeable torch. The socket for this was a simple bayonet type which looked as though it would be less expensive to produce than the standard, and very unsatisfactory, cigar lighter socket. Although the particular application in the Lancia needed only low current, the design of the socket looked capable of a performance at least as good as that of the cigar lighter arrangement. So it has been done once and the design exists!

What I would like is a 12v socket which is independent of the ignition switch. I have an electric type pump and it is annoying to find that I have to have the ignition on to use it. USB sockets are OK for low power 5v applications but are no good for higher power 12v purposes.

Odd how typos only become evident after a post has been made. Actually, it is an electric TYRE pump not a TYPE one! Spell cheque routines are OK for showing that the spelling is rite but not weather the word is the wright one.

tonyp

We are not the only ones who want permanently live power sockets in our cars. There are also plenty of people with live sockets who want them switched, so perhaps manufacturers could make this user-selectable. If it is easy, I might carry out a small modification to keep the socket in the boot permanently live.

Thanks to this Conversation, I remembered that my car came with a couple of short connecting leads and one of them has a USB socket. Unfortunately, this is also powered down when the key is removed, albeit after a few seconds, and there is no option to change this.

Can I, respectfully, re-apply my correction to the above? I should have written its and not it’s. I do know the difference even if my fingers don’t.

My alloy wheels are 10 years old and have some rim corrosion that prevents a total seal on a couple of tyres – inconvenient not dangerous but I do get occasional exercise with a foot pump. I have resisted the temptation to buy an electric pump that uses the lighter socket.

I have a cordless tyre pump that came in a set of Bosch power tools. The batteries died years ago but I resurrected the pump by adding a lead with a cigarette lighter plug. It lives in the boot and is far more convenient to use than any electric tyre pump I have seen.

Malcolm. I had that problem with my previous car. I took it in to Kwik Fit and, for a very small charge, had the wheel cleaned up after which the problem went away.

tonyp, thanks. I had mine cleaned and the tyres sealed at the rim and they are greatly improved.

A simple solution is to wrap masking tape round the plug, just sufficient to prevent the plug rocking and becoming disconnected. It’s obviously a bodge, but an effective one.

Yes but I would have to remove the tape when I want to use my satnav, etc, in the car and retape it when I I return to my campervan. Not ideal!

If you can solder, one solution would be to make up a connector with a large plug attached to a small socket, linked via a short cable. I might do this myself because I’m fed-up with wrapping plugs in masking tape.

This problem has existed ever since cigarette lighter sockets were first fitted to cars and the motor industry has failed to standardise on what size they should be.