Club 80-90 Forums

My T25 (Westfalia California) has a German type cigarette lighter socket on the dashboard. This has a hole of about 12mm diameter.

I don't smoke, but would find a conventional lighter socket useful to charge various items (phones etc)

Is there an adapter available to convert what is there now to a normal UK socket ?

Or would I be best to simply remove the existing socket and fit a new one. I've seen illuminated sockets, but don't know where to find one. And anyway, would any socket work.

A friend, an auto electrician will be fitting it for me.

thanks !

That should be a DIN socket not a cigarette lighter one. I would just put a DIN plug on the lead to whatever charger you wish to use. £10 pack of 3 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12v-24v-Hella ... 5b02d17f6a

Hi there...practically the first thing I did when I bought my California was to remove the Hella Din socket, file out the hole a little to except a standard 'metal bodied' cigarette lighter holder (must be metal).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-12V ... 41820f45ca" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


It is one of the easiest and most useful mods you can do....T25's have a metal dash so that is already earthed (thats why the replacement needs to be metal to make its own earth to the dash) all you do is supply a positive connection to the centre pin on the rear (you already have this feed wire on the old socket although if it's a spade it will need changing for a bullet type terminal.

Martin

Well-made cigar lighter sockets are available from VW. The ones fitted to many later cars (Golf 3/4, Passat etc. ) have the same 3-pin connector on the back as the T3 one. The carries 12v, earth, and backlighting (Terminal 58b). The hole size is ~28mm.

I fitted a few 12v sockets from Durite. Top quality, German made. Had to file the standard hole that was already in the dash but not much.

Oldiebut goodie wrote:That should be a DIN socket not a cigarette lighter one

100% correct .. my mistake

California Dreamin wrote:Hi there...practically the first thing I did when I bought my California was to remove the Hella Din socket, file out the hole a little to except a standard 'metal bodied' cigarette lighter holder (must be metal).

The chap told me to buy a plastic one, he said it would be easier to fit. Of course he is probably not an expert on T25 vans, unlike the folk here. I am sorry I didn't see this posting before he left.

eiret25 wrote:I fitted a few 12v sockets from Durite. Top quality, German made. Had to file the standard hole that was already in the dash but not much.

Have you got a link to an online version please

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DURITE-AUXILL ... 43c03b9c10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This socket is off excellent quality.

If you want an illuminated ring around the socket then as Syncroandy points out you will need an earth & live feed for the socket itself and a further feed from the dash lights to supply the illuminating collar function. However..if all you are after is a functioning cigarette lighter then the single positive feed is all you need (if you use a metal bodied lighter as linked) as the metal body makes its own earth when tightened to the metal dash.

I think your friend is used to plastic/foam formed dash boards fitted to 99% of vehicles and he just didn't realise that these are made of steel.

Martin

That type of 12volt 'accessory socket' will require an earth as well as the live but I must admit that they do look neat with the cover.

Martin

I would have zero experience with electrics, but wiring one of these into the van was easy with help from this forum.

http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=128069" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ive fitted one of these. a bit pricey but easy to install. seems to charge things pretty quickly aswell. use it for phones, ecig, mini-boom speaker (which, by the way, are brilliant)
http://campervanculture.com/shop/blue-s ... er-socket/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I left mine alone as I just use an adaptor. I replaced my original westy lighter with an exact replacement and it was an absolute PIG of a job.
No space at all to work. Removing the ash tray does help a bit though.

Steve