986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

MilwSteve · 09-10-2002, 10:23 PM

I guess the best I can do is plead ignorance, bordering on stupidity.

Before I explain myself, however, I want to thank you all for your replies and suggestions--which helped me resolve this problem (I think).

Here's the deal:
1) the Porsche cigar lighter *is* a weird size (see previous post)
2) this led me to worry about the fit of the lighter adapter provided by Valentine
3) when I plugged the Valentine in, it didn't work
4) I searched the web and found indications that that was not ususual (i.e., it *shouldn't* work, given the Porsche's unusual cigar lighter shape). E.g., see p-car.com/technical/cigarette.html, which says "If you have ever tried to use the cigarette lighter in your Porsche to power a 12V accessory, I'm sure you've noticed that the standard power plug does not fit very well." This site suggests getting a "plastic sleeve."
5) My dealer told me that, indeed, the Porsche cigar lighter was an unusual size. They suggested a plastic sleeve adapter.
6) None of my local Radio Shacks has such an adapter. Nor do any of the chain electronics stores. Nor the cellular phone outlets. Nor any of the European car dealers I called.
7) One of the posts above suggested a Passport would work, so I checked out their website. They sell an adapter sleeve for European cars. I ordered one (yet to arrive).
8) Another post suggested no problems with the Valentine and the Boxster, so I decided to investigate further.
9) I finally did the obvious test--I had been so concerned about the fact that the Boxster's cigar lighter and associated receptacle were non-standard, that I was missing the obvious... I tried the Valentine in my daily driver (a Ford Ranger) and it worked!
10) So then I tried it in the Porsche and--no luck.
11) I've only had the car about 3 weeks, so (I'm making excuses here) it took me a while to figure out that it might be that the cigar lighter just wasn't working. Sure enough, the fuse was blown.
12) So here's where we are: after replacing the fuse the Valentine powers up fine, though the connection is less than firm because of the weird Porsche cigar lighter receptacle. Soon I'll see if the adapter from Escort helps.

Thanks again for all your help. I hope none of you feel like I've wasted your time.

Steve

09-10-2002, 10:23 PM	#8
MilwSteve Forum Contributor Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 12	I guess the best I can do is plead ignorance, bordering on stupidity. Before I explain myself, however, I want to thank you all for your replies and suggestions--which helped me resolve this problem (I think). Here's the deal: 1) the Porsche cigar lighter is a weird size (see previous post) 2) this led me to worry about the fit of the lighter adapter provided by Valentine 3) when I plugged the Valentine in, it didn't work 4) I searched the web and found indications that that was not ususual (i.e., it shouldn't work, given the Porsche's unusual cigar lighter shape). E.g., see p-car.com/technical/cigarette.html, which says "If you have ever tried to use the cigarette lighter in your Porsche to power a 12V accessory, I'm sure you've noticed that the standard power plug does not fit very well." This site suggests getting a "plastic sleeve." 5) My dealer told me that, indeed, the Porsche cigar lighter was an unusual size. They suggested a plastic sleeve adapter. 6) None of my local Radio Shacks has such an adapter. Nor do any of the chain electronics stores. Nor the cellular phone outlets. Nor any of the European car dealers I called. 7) One of the posts above suggested a Passport would work, so I checked out their website. They sell an adapter sleeve for European cars. I ordered one (yet to arrive). 8) Another post suggested no problems with the Valentine and the Boxster, so I decided to investigate further. 9) I finally did the obvious test--I had been so concerned about the fact that the Boxster's cigar lighter and associated receptacle were non-standard, that I was missing the obvious... I tried the Valentine in my daily driver (a Ford Ranger) and it worked! 10) So then I tried it in the Porsche and--no luck. 11) I've only had the car about 3 weeks, so (I'm making excuses here) it took me a while to figure out that it might be that the cigar lighter just wasn't working. Sure enough, the fuse was blown. 12) So here's where we are: after replacing the fuse the Valentine powers up fine, though the connection is less than firm because of the weird Porsche cigar lighter receptacle. Soon I'll see if the adapter from Escort helps. Thanks again for all your help. I hope none of you feel like I've wasted your time. Steve