Adding a cigarette lighter

[65chevysub]

My 84 GMC Sierra didn't come with a cigarette lighter from the factory, so I got one coming with wire, element, everything. Where does the wire go to on the fuse panel? Can I use a constant hot, or should I use one that is only hot with ignition "ON"?

Also, is the wiring for the under dash courtesy light run to the fuse panel, as a single wire, or is it in a harness? Mine doesn't work so need to try to fix it.
Thanks for any info you all can share.

[Danmcg]

Look at the harness in the area of the ashtray, there could be an orange wire hanging that is for the lighter.

[TwoFiftyShifter]

What kind do you smoke?

[65chevysub]

Originally Posted by TwoFiftyShifter

What kind do you smoke?

None. Need it for my phone charger, lol

[rpmerf]

In that case, it would be preferable to have it come on with the ignition. That way it doesn't kill your battery. May be the original unused wire hanging behind the dash.

[truckin 79]

I swapped out cigarette lighter from the original 79 to a 90's type. I don't know if it was just me but it seemed like the original 79 was to deep for my universal usb charger that I use for my phone. It just seemed no matter how much force I used on older cig lighter to push it in it would not work. The lighter worked fine just not the universal usb. The newer style worked great, something to think about.

[TKCR]

I had read somewhere, sometime that cigarette lighters are not meant to be used with usb, to charge phones. I’ll look around to see if I can find it. I’ll post it here if I can find it.

[TKCR]

It must have been something like this. I couldn’t actually find what I read, it was years ago. But it’s because the cigarette light charges at 12v. Phones only require 5v. So you’ll be taking a risk on damaging your phone directly from the cig. lighter. By the article, you would be better to wire in a USB port, because they have a build in fuse.
https://www.rd.com/advice/saving-mon...-phone-in-car/

[rpmerf]

I wouldn't be worried about what they are discussing in the article. Your adapter that goes from the cig lighter to USB has a 5v voltage regulator in it. Some of the smarter ones may be able to handle fast charging at higher voltages or amperages. I really wouldn't worry about the cig adapter failing any more than I would worry about a wall charger failing. Much more likely to not work than it is to fry your phone.

A wired in USB port is basically the same thing, except that it is hard wired instead of using your cig lighter. The fuse would be on the 12V side before the regulator, at least one what I have seen on Amazon. This will not protect your device any more than the fuse on your cig lighter.

A fuse on the USB side would be difficult. Standard USB is 5V @ 0.5A or 2.5W. Quick charge can take up to 20 volts and up to 4.6 amps. One phone's quick charge could be another phone's fried circuits.

[65chevysub]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the info.