Why are Cigarette Lighter Sockets Still in Cars?

Electric cigarette lighters were first patented in the 1880s, but they wouldn’t appear in cars until the 1920s. Cars didn’t even have batteries at first, relying on magnetos for their sparks (as with pull-start lawn mowers). As their electrical systems developed, so did ways to tap into them. By the 1950s, cigarette lighters and the sockets we know today were a standard feature.

Companies soon figured out that other devices could receive power from this socket, and so many of these products emerged to make automobile travel more convenient.

When did they stop putting cigarette lighters in cars? The sockets remain, but dedicated devices for lighting actual cigarettes started disappearing from new cars in the late 1990s and were gone by the early 2000s. Smoking was declining and less acceptable, and fire safety was a concern.

How does a cigarette lighter plug work? It supplies charge at the positive contact point at its centre and has multiple negative contact points in its cylinder. The negative points (which ground to the vehicle frame) are spring-loaded, allowing a wide tolerance of plug dimensions. This makes it easy to manufacture accessories for, though they can sometimes lose contact and power.

These sockets’ actual cigarette lighters sent this 12V DC power through an uninsulated, coiled metal strip that quickly heated up from the current. Upon removing the plug, the literal red-hot strip could light cigarettes.

Can I use a cigarette lighter as a power outlet? Yes, for any devices using the male cylindrical 12V plugs. They should meet the industry standard of SAE J563_199003. Since the DC voltage can still vary despite the alternator’s best efforts, these devices must handle a voltage from 9 to 14V.

Does a cigarette lighter drain a car battery? Absolutely, especially for devices like compressors. If you’re going to use this socket without the car running, keep the duration brief and promptly let the car run for a while afterwards for the battery’s sake.

Are cigarette lighter sockets still used today? Yes, they’ve proven an enduring feature!

Since smoking has declined so much and cars are way past the days of giving every passenger a personal ashtray in their door, why do cars still have cigarette lighters sockets? This is a feature that’s remained popular simply because it’s already popular. Once car cigarette lighters were commonly used, manufacturers released other accessories for their sockets, and they sold. The socket became expected so people could keep using those devices they’d invested in, and so the feature remained in car designs even as smoking’s day diminished.

And through all that time, the socket’s design was easy and convenient to use — perhaps even easier to find and connect to during a cramped, high-stress trip than fumbling with a small, concealed, asymmetric USB-A port!

Does a car cigarette lighter work as a power outlet for any modern devices? Yes, plenty of consumer electronic devices can still plug into cigarette lighter sockets:

• USB adaptors for charging phones, tablets, and laptops
• Bluetooth radio transmitters for cars that otherwise lack Bluetooth connectivity
• GPS navigation devices
• Air compressors for emergency top-ups of tyres
• Dash cameras
• Air fresheners
• Food coolers or heaters

What you might have the most trouble connecting, in fact, are cigarette lighters! Most of these sockets are more correctly called ‘accessory sockets,’ and they use separate industry standard measurements than true cigarette lighter sockets do. If you try to insert an actual cigarette lighter into a modern accessory socket, it may fail to light and its heat could even damage the socket. Review the lighter’s specifications, if you can, to be sure of what you’re working with.