Good Afternoon JagNuts;

Can anyone tell me how to pop the cigarette lighter base (located in the little ashtray compartment just aft of the shifter on my '00 XK8) out of it's location? I want to use its power lead for my Sirius receiver, as it's switched, and plenty robust enough for a little satellite radio. I've tried pulling it straight up as hard as I dare, but it is really firmly 'in there'.

 

It is not designed top pop out from the top. You need to remove the console to get to the wiring.

 

Thanks. Why did I think it might be simple?

 

There is also a phone connector under there that has switched power and does not require removing the console. Just remove the lower section of the storage area.

 

Another approach is to use a fuse tap on the cigarette lighter fuse in the fuse box and drop the wire under the dash. Then pick up a ground connection from a screw or bolt under the dash.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...mString=search

 

Scott, et al

I'm sorry but nothing constructive to contribute.

But I did want to point out that we're all taking a considerable risk visiting the Forum on this, the ides of March.

There's a history of this being a really bad idea, if you know what I mean.

 

The center console is easy to remove, it's just a few screws. Watch the first couple of minutes of this video to see how.

Never mind... I though I actually took the console thingy out on the video. I edited this thread to remove the video. It's really simple, though. Just take off the arm rest and then the rest is self-explanatory.

 

For me, the Ides of March have proven to be a great day considering I was born on the Ides of March... Brutus be Damned!

 

Sam I think you are talking about the armrest and the storage tray..that will get him to the telephone connector that Testpoint suggested.

To get to the cig lighter wiring you have to remove the whole console, which means the shifter trim, the four scews holding the wood console trim, two screws in front and two screws in back under the snap-off trim covering the backup warning speaker in front of the rear seats.

Gee, I've done this too many times...I have it memorized

 

See, that's what's great about this forum. I can give all sorts of bad advice, but no harm is done because someone will jump in to set things straight!

 

Thanks again, everyone. Isn't this forum great?

And Dennis, no matter HOW enticing the invitation, STAY HOME!

 

For my '97 XK8, I wanted a simple version of an always on cigar lighter. My approach was slightly different than the above.

First, I picked up two each "ATC Add-a-Circuit" fuse tap from my local parts place. These little gems are the key to the success of this design approach.

I jumpered into fuse #4 on the passenger side. This fuse position powers the door switch packs and door locks. The old fuse four itself goes into the "lower" position of the first "add-a-fuse". The former cigar lighter fuse itself, from fuse #14, goes into the "upper" position. That means the newly added wire is always hot, with a 20A fuse.

Next I needed to connect the always hot fused wire to the cigar lighter.

So, I connected into fuse position #14 with the second "add-a-circuit". Fuse #14 is the cigar lighter fuse. This fuse position is normally powered by the ignition switched power. I jumpered into the cigar lighter side of the "add-a-circuit" with a second, much-abused fuse that I plugged into the second adapter.

The whole thing is hidden behind the passenger side fascia fuse panel cover. It is easily reversible just by taking out the adapters and replacing the original fuses.

The resulting mod affects only the cigar lighter, which is now always on. This is just, and only, what I needed for my battery maintainer.

I hope this helps.