OK, so maybe I'm the only person who reads the owners manual. But on p. 2-41 it has a Caution that essentially says the cigarette lighter socket should only be used for the cigarette lighter, and "[t]he use of the cigarette lighter socket as a power source for any other accessory is not recommended."

It seems they only want you to use the power outlet in the console.

While I'm checking out the Invisicord option for my radar detector, I was planning on using the cigarette adapter in the short term. It's bad enough with the cord running from the lighter to the windshield. Can you image it running from the center console up there? Jeez

This is a bunch of crap, right? Yeah, I can see myself shorting out the whole car and voiding the warranty. But I figure one of you folks may have used it for something other than lighting a cigarette, so I'll take advantage of your experience and daring. Any thoughts on why might they have put this caution in?

Thanks!

 

I use mine for radar detector and I'm sure pretty much everyone else does too. It's just a "recommendation" because its not what its designed for, but since I don't smoke, I 'light up' my radar detector with it. No worries, won't do any damage.

 

Same... I use for my Radar Detector after I got lit up by the boys in blue.

 

+1 for using it for the RD.

 

Hardwired to my RD also amp power on.

 

I have the mini LED flashlight charging in there and no problems so far.

 

i am sure nothing will happen to any of our cars if we use the adapter for something but the cig lighter.

 

On a side note, when my body control module crapped out. (2nd week I had my car). The dealership blamed it on the amp turn on wire being a secondary issue.

 

Heard some people say that devices like mobile phones used for charging in cig lighter not recommended because it might lead to phone's battery problems. Some claim, battery will die out faster.

 

12 volts is 12 volts. Unless you've somehow modified your electrical system, there is no issue. I haven't looked, but I bet you'll find the console receptacle is smooth (friendly for most all plug configurations) and the lighter receptacle is not. BTW, continuous charging of cell phone batteries - - ie not allowing them to discharge most of the way before charging - is a sure way to reduce the useful life span of most batteries.

 

Voltage is one thing, Amp is another one you need to watch for too.

 

radar

 

Cell phone, PDA, & RD

 

Ditto

 

I use it as a phone charger when I need to. As everyone here stated, no harm in using it for other devices.