Hi
Was trying to figure this one out the other night. What's the difference between buying a car new with a 12v socket and having a smokers' pack fitted?
I was under the impression that 12v sockets were generally unlit and limited to 10A (as per the cover). Cigarette lighter sockets I thought were generally lit and went to 15A.
In this case is the fitting of the smokers' pack by the manufacturers involve the installation of an uprated socket or do they just plug in a lighter?
Thanks
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BMW (quite stylishly) in the E46 made the ash tray so it would work as additional oddments tray. They included an insert and a lighter with the smoker's pack. If I recall it was a no cost deletion or option.
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I'm not sure there's a rating difference between 12v socket and cigarette lighter.
In some cases the smoker's pack includes the lighter and ashtray with 12v socket as the alternative.
Does it matter? I'm a non-smoker but I'm not offended by a car with lighter and ashtray, I just use them as a 12v socket and oddments tray.
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Depending on make and model the difference is usually around £50+VAT
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With my Vectra-C, the 12v accessory socket is marginally smaller in diameter and therefore unable to insert a cigarette lighter. As PU says, the ashtray fitted doubles up as an oddments tray.
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Non smokers pack is a free option on Audi. They remove the cigarette lighter and fit a flip top lid to the 12V socket. Also removed is the ashtray which leaves a handy cubby hole under the climate controls.
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In the Golf, if you don't have the smokers pack, you get an open cubby hole in front of the gear lever, with the socket in it. If you get the smokers pack, it's the same hole and the same socket, but it's got a slide over cover on it.
If I'd known that, I would've had the smoker's pack - I've got nowhere to hide my sweet wrappers!
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On an Audi without a smokers pack you end up with a nice cubby hole just the right size to hold a few CDs...
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I had two mk1 Focuses, one with smokers pack and one without.
The difference as far as I could make out was a plastic cover with "12v power outlet" written on it to push into the socket instead of a fag lighter, and a felt-type lining in what would have been the ashtray to turn it into an oddment tray. The size and shape was identical though.
Cheers
DP
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New Transits have a ciggie lighter and two similar aux.sockets. The ciggie lighter is live with the ignition on, the other two are live all the time.
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Slight diversion, I know, but do the BR smokers really use the cigarette lighter in a car rather than a gas lighter?
BIG
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when i was a smaoker (three years ago) I always used the 12v cigar lighter, but never the ashtray.
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Wouldn't it be nice to go back to the days when new car models were expected to show interesting developments in engineering or styling (except Fords, of course) rather than sparking debate over a tuppeny hapenny bit of plastic over the fag lighter socket?
;-)
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......... (except Fords of course) .........
And Honda Preludes ;-)
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ALB, VTEC, 4WS, adaptive traction control...
I should have stayed out of this - in all my nearly 58 years I've never got round to trying smoking.
Therefore I have a Lidl-sourced 2-way adaptor replacing the lighter in my 12v socket.
But when the lighter's in it I am very careful to see the little cigarette symbol is straight...
;-)
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I should have added that I'm sorry I let my personal feud with Henry Ford - the man who hired armed guards to shoot at his underpaid workers - get in the way of my usual reasoned approach!
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do the BR smokers really use the cigarette lighter in
a car rather than a gas lighter?>>
I always use my gas lighter - although I suspect that a case could be made for using the car's cigarette lighter at night as the dim red glow probably has less effect on night vision.
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I had to use a gas lighter, the cars' cigarette lighter was no good for a pipe.
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My Mazda6 came with a cigarette lighter - not that I'd use it anyway.... but it's a company vehicle and therefore a place of work so it's illegal to smoke in it so why the lighter ;-) Suppose you could use it to light up a cigarette/cigar out of the car??
Reminds me I ought to display the no smoking sign now I have found it in with the car manual etc.
It's also illegal to smoke in my home office/spare bedroom because it too is a place of work.
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