Hello,

My VW Jetta's 12v power "cigarette lighter" plug is alaways "hot" allowing me to charge my cell phone while the car is not running. I find the Fit's plug only has power when the car is running. My friend's Sport Fit is the same way. Does anybody know how to modify the Fit's 12v plug to be the same way ?? Thanks.

 

Sure... hook it right into a constant 12v source (i.e. the battery).

There are plenty of constant 12v sources behind the dash and at the fuse panel. Use a voltmeter to find out which wire behind the power outlet is the 12v signal and cut that wire, then supply it with a constant 12v signal from somewhere else (t-tap into that wire so as to not interrupt where it is going).

Just understand the consequences of doing this.

 

i dont recommend it. just another way to prematurely kill your battery.

charge your phone at home or at work.

 

ditto....

they don't do this from the factory anymore for a reason

 

There are no consequences unless the OPERATOR forgets and leaves something plugged in.

 

I used a 5W solar panel plugged into the cig. lighter socket on my
other vehicles to keep the batt. trickle charged but can't use it
on the Fit. In our weather it would help for the cold 40% decrease in
batt. power.

 

you should connect your charger directly to the battery in that case.
get the most efficiency out of them.

my car's usually outdoors 24/7 and its seen temps as low as 5F.
started up just fine. the problem with those solar chargers is that
you keep that photocell on your dash..they work great until snow falls
on your car.

 

A cell phone isn't going to put much drain on your battery, so wanting to charge it in your car is a valid reason for having an outlet to do so.

I really try to leave all factory wiring alone. Anything you do will generally degrade your stock setup, . . so -

I bought a separate outlet at Walmart, that has two attaching screws. I mounted it to the console, down low and out of the way hidden by the passenger seat, and inconspicuous.

If you look at your under hood fusepanel: Taking off the cover, there are a couple of screws closest to the firewall. Each of these are hot all the time. Using the proper crimp-on end this is your attaching point for the hot wire. I suggest using a red 12 ga. wire to run through the firewall at the bottom a/c hose entry. An awl will help get you through with the least problems. Loosen the console screws and run the wire under there for a clean troublefree look. Oh yea, use an inline fuse on the red wire. Put a fifteen amp fuse in it. All you hasve to do for a ground is to run a black 12 ga. wire to the nearest screw that attaches to sheetmetal.

 

hope you placed it in a way it would not get wet from shoes or
from drinks spilling on it.

 

The opening has a cover on it and I turned it down about 10 degrees. Thanks for the concern. Oh, by the way: if anyone buys it at WalMart, go to the boating section. It is much less expensive there for some reason.