Hi there, I've got a manual 1998 Saturn SC2 with about 175k on it. It's a wonderful car and I use it for work delivering auto parts to mechanics from a warehouse in NJ. The only issue I've had with it is that the cigarette lighter socket still draws power from the battery if something is plugged in, even if the car is off. What I'm worried about is that I'm going to forget to unplug my phone charger or something like that overnight and the slow trickle will leave the battery dead by morning. Are there any solutions for this? Thanks!
Get a fuse tap from the auto parts store or Amazon.
Select an appropriate sized fuse in your fuse box that's only powered during "Key On/Accy".
Pull that fuse, plug in the fuse tap, place the original fuse in the fuse tap.
Now you have a "Key On/Accy" fused wire to connect to your cigarette lighter.
But once you have this connection, you may want to abandon your cigarette lighter as a charging port and buy an aftermarket one with more plug in options.
You'd have to rewire the socket into a circuit that is only powered up when the ignition is on. Be sure to use an appropriate fuse.
the quiescent current from an phone charger would take years to run down your car battery
The other users have answered your question but if you want to forgo using your cigarette lighter socket entirely, I would suggest an Anker Portable Charger (Power bank) or similar product for under $30.
