I finally got tired of GPS and cellphone chargers jammed into my knee during road trips; I'm sure my tall brethren can relate (jorrell, I'm looking at you). Not only is the stock cigarette lighter in a bad place for me, it really does not work well with some of the new chargers. Therefore, over the past two days, I did this:



The lower pocket has been wasted space since it was shortened to accomodate the external amplifier in late model 240s. The pocket is too short to confidently hold much, especially after the flocking rubs off leaving a slick plastic surface. So I reclaimed the space.

Without the amplifier back there, a considerable amount of space is available. Mine now holds a fused, 10 gauge wire run from the battery terminal on the driver's side fender, attached to a 30 amp relay. The 30 amp relay is switched by the old seat heater switch you see. The relay sends power to the two 12v sockets which ground themselves to the aluminum (road sign) faceplate screwed to the console frame.

No more do I have to threaten to throw my passengers' electronic devices out the window on long trips!

Don't ask about my choice of switch/outlet placement on the panel. I deliberated for hours and finally gave up and started cutting. I would have liked to add the controlling switch to the stock switch panel, but as you can see, I'm a bit crowded for space.



If anyone is interested, I used SEM textue coat on the panel, then top coated with Rustoleum gloss. I quite like the SEM texture coat, but at $21 a can, I'm not sure it was worth it for a small project.

Coming soon from Tasca: OE 12v outlet plugs, to keep dust and fingers out.