Cigerette Lighter Accessories Constantly On :(

Grip72 · July 15, 2009

Hey

Is there a way to wire or modify my cigerette lighter plugs to only power accessories when the key is turned/the truck is running instead of all the time?

Right now i have a radar detector as well as an FM modulator/charger (for my ipod) and they will both run continuously until I unplug them. It is just a huge pain in the butt to plug/unplug both everytime i enter/exit the vehicle and it'd be nice if they just powered off when the truck isn't running!

Any suggestions would be great!

mfennema · July 15, 2009

There are many threads in the forum about this. You can use the search option to find these.

The short and dirty though, is that you can find a switched source to switch a relay which will allow your cigarette lighters to turn on and off with the truck. I added another cigarette lighter in my truck to turn on and off my satellite radio with the truck and it still has the Retained Accessory Power.

Grip72 · July 15, 2009

There are many threads in the forum about this. You can use the search option to find these.

The short and dirty though, is that you can find a switched source to switch a relay which will allow your cigarette lighters to turn on and off with the truck. I added another cigarette lighter in my truck to turn on and off my satellite radio with the truck and it still has the Retained Accessory Power.

yeah i tried searching but couldn't figure out which key words to use so i ended up with garbage results

mfennema · July 15, 2009

Search for RAP or Retained Accessory Power. The best way to search on this site is to go to Google and type in 'RAP site:gm-trucks.com'

Grip72 · July 16, 2009

Search for RAP or Retained Accessory Power. The best way to search on this site is to go to Google and type in 'RAP site:gm-trucks.com'

i don't want to retain power lol

i want to ensure i ONLY have power when the truck is running, to prevent unwanted battery drain due to accessories not powering off when i leave the truck...

shouldn't i just be able to put a switch somewhere before the cig lighter plug itself?

then ideally i should be able to leave the accessories plugged in and just ensure i shut off the switch when i exit my truck?

txab · July 16, 2009

If you do as Mitch stated, your accessories will be off when you want them off

mfennema · July 16, 2009

You could do the switch thing, but that is just as annoying trying to remember to turn it off as it would be just to unplug the accessories.

The "retained" part means that the there is still power after you turn the key off but only until you open the door. Once the door is opened it cuts power. Your radio uses RAP power.

Grip72 · July 16, 2009

You could do the switch thing, but that is just as annoying trying to remember to turn it off as it would be just to unplug the accessories.

The "retained" part means that the there is still power after you turn the key off but only until you open the door. Once the door is opened it cuts power. Your radio uses RAP power.

ok my bad. i thought it was power that would always be on, i never really thought it through haha. and that's exactly what i want

i'll have to read this all when i have some attention span

Grip72 · July 24, 2009

i did what mitch stated, it didn't help as it was the complete opposite of what i want to do

anyone else?

Spurshot · July 25, 2009

Kyle,

I don't know which trim pkg you have on your truck, but my LTZ has extra cig lighter plugs in the console and on the back of the console. I haven't checked to see if they're switched. You might check them out if you have them.

Grip72 · July 28, 2009

Kyle,
I don't know which trim pkg you have on your truck, but my LTZ has extra cig lighter plugs in the console and on the back of the console. I haven't checked to see if they're switched. You might check them out if you have them.

It's the SLT.

i have 3 cigarette plugs below the stereo/heat controls underneath a little flap. and if anything is plugged into them, they will stay on until either a) the battery dies b)the item plugged in turns itself off. i'd really really like to find a solution to this. truck off = power off, that's all i want! haha

norm28 · July 29, 2009

i have 3 cigarette plugs below the stereo/heat controls underneath a little flap. and if anything is plugged into them, they will stay on until either a) the battery dies b)the item plugged in turns itself off. i'd really really like to find a solution to this. truck off = power off, that's all i want! haha

i dont know how far you want to get into this or if your familier with electronics at all but you could simply pick one or all of your cigarette plugs and cut the power leads and run your own to the ignition(pink) or acc(orange) wire from the ignition harness. this is a easy and safe way to fix your problem. just remember to use a relay or at least a fuse and if you need help with any wiring questions i will be glad to help.

mfennema · July 29, 2009

I assure you that if you hook it up the way I have explained it works. I did it for my Sirius satellite radio. Let me see if I can find the link that I worked off of. Do you have a schematic of how you tried to hook yours up?