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On my '95 V12, I have no use for a cigarette lighter. And my USB adapters tend to wiggle out. So I bought a USB charging port off Amazon that has USB-C and USB-A and was roughly the same size as a cigarette lighter. Then I bought a $15 used cigarette lighter for a '94 with an alarm off of eBay.
I carefully disassembled the new "used" unit (which was in much better shape than I thought it would be for $15). I had to take off about 2 thousandths of an inch off the diameter of the hole in the replacement, and the USB port slid right in. Completely reversible since it's barely modified.
To install it, I just wired 2 blade connectors on the included harness, soldered and shrink-wrapped, and plugged it into he harness for the lighter. I'll keep my old one to swap back in if I ever sell the car instead of being buried in it.
Here are some photos of the install, along with my new Blaupunkt "vintage" radio with BT. I also upgraded my front and rear speakers with Sony ES 6.5" 2 way up front and Focal 5 1/4" 2 way in back. All reversible since I used harness adapters.
Last photo also shows my Android Auto / Apple Carplay portable windshield mount screen.
Great minds think alike! I did exactly thecsame thing with my lighter socket. A much better solution than plug in USB adapters.
How did you mount the display unit to the dash?
Great minds think alike! I did exactly thecsame thing with my lighter socket. A much better solution than plug in USB adapters.
How did you mount the display unit to the dash?
Jon
I used a suction cup mount to the windshield. It's not great because it shakes a little, but I refuse to drill into the dash. I'm going to figure out a better solution sooner than later. The suction cup mount came with the screen.
If you fit one, you might want to consider getting one with 2 x QC ports and a digital voltage reading output. Available for just a few £/$ on Temu or similar. I have one wired into the 4.0 XJS. It's really useful as it's a much more accurate indicator of the battery voltage than the instrument pack voltmeter. I also carry a plug-in one with 5 ports which I can use when checking alternator / battery condition on cars. £2 on Temu! Even easier than connecting my multi-meter to a car!
1995 V12 USB Port Upgrade
