Cigarette Lighter

[white lightening]

Evening all.
My car doesn't come with a cigarette lighter but has the wiring in place and a blanking plug In the dash.
I'll be fitting an aftermarket tacho in the coming days and was wondering if I could use the lighter wiring for the power and earth? Is it only live with the ignition switched on?
I'm planning on tapping into it with scotchloks.
Thanks in advance

 

[Graeme P]

My 1998 phase 1 facelift cigarette lighter is unpowered when the key is out of the ignition, but is on when the key is in the ACC and IGN positions. It is OFF when starting the engine.
You could power the tacho from this source if yours is switched, however it would be better if you used an IGN switched live
Scotchloks are a bit of a bodge, however this is inside the car and the cables won't corrode as quick compared to outside, again, better to solder and heatshrink.

 

[white lightening]

My 1998 phase 1 facelift cigarette lighter is unpowered when the key is out of the ignition, but is on when the key is in the ACC and IGN positions. It is OFF when starting the engine.
You could power the tacho from this source if yours is switched, however it would be better if you used an IGN switched live
Scotchloks are a bit of a bodge, however this is inside the car and the cables won't corrode as quick compared to outside, again, better to solder and heatshrink.

Many thanks for the reply. Mine is a 99 first facelift. I know scotchloks are far from ideal but was thinking they would be OK given the dry environment. I'm going to take the feed either from the ECU or from behind the clocks once I've had a look. I wouldn't want a scotchlok in the engine bay exposed to the elements.
Thanks again