Cig lighters

[^__^ SM ^__^]

Hi everyone,

A NOOB question here. Is there any harm in leaving accessories plugged into the cig lighter for long periods? Will it make the cig lighter looser? I noticed 2 spring loaded thingy in the cig lighter socker and afraid they will get squashed too long and the socket become loose.

Thanks.

[lilwilliam]

what do you mean for long periods of time? as in actual hours Or weeks? i dont think it will have much of an impact

[^__^ SM ^__^]

I mean I have a GPS charger that I want to keep in there permanently. No need to use the lighter.

[markCivicVti]

Nah... I leave my gps charger thing plugged into the lighter socket all the time, still ...err... tight as ever.

[Jamezy]

nope there shouldnt be any problems :thumbsup:

[aaronng]

The spring loaded side is on your charger plug. The one in the socket is to hold it in the panel. :)

[xenonkuraz]

No harm done :)

[panda[cRx]]

if you leave it in it should be fine but if you are putting it in and out you MAY have issues. many chargers are slightly larger than the oem lighters so it can loosen up the socket contact points over continual use.

it can be fixed quite easily but it can be a hassle if you want to charge something and the socket isnt making contact with the charger correctly

frequent use of aftermarket chargers can often (but not always) leave you with a blown fuse

[aaronng]

The socket for European cars is slightly larger (by less than 1mm), so if the accessory is European in origin, it can loosen the socket.

[B18cEG]

yes the tabs that hold things in the socket (springs if u want) are for the cigaret lighter itself but when you have accesories in there, there is spring loaded tabs that actually hold the item into the socket, Also if it stays in the socket there should not be any difference pulling in and out will cause the spring to compress and decompress which may weaken it.

[^__^ SM ^__^]

Thanks very much for the replies :) I wont worry about taking it in and out again. Just leave it there :)