Okay, I recently bought a used 2003 Mazda Protege5. Vehicles I owned in the past have had 12v outlets to charge a GPS or phone. My Protege5 does not have any. It does have a cigarette lighter. Is that the same as a 12v outlet? I ask this because everything I have read about this subject is telling me that it is not a good idea to plug these things in there. If that is the case, how can I then charge my GPS should I need to use it?

 

In the beginning there was the ubiquitous cigarette lighter; the socket was used for the lighter itself as well as spot lights, Police and Emergency Band Scanners, CB Radios, Radar-detectors, powered air-pumps, and other such devices. Then came both the push against smoking and the consumer electronics craze; while the lighter portion of the outlet has, for many cars, been eliminated, the socket portion has not only survived, it has flourished. In fact, it has flourished so much that one of our recent cars came with four separate sockets; my Mazda has two, and my wife's GTI has three.

Long story short, a 12v outlet IS a cigarette lighter socket, plain and simple.

 

Think of it this way: An electric heater draws lots of power, usually around 15 amps, and a cigarette/cigar lighter was just that, an electric heater.
If the socket can handle powering an electric heating device, it should surly handle the much smaller power draw of a charger with ease.

 

Thank you so much to both of you. Now I can charge with ease

 

My Protege only has one power outlet.
I bought a splitter from Harbor Freight so I could gain an extra outlet.

12 Volt Dual Outlet Adapter

 

I recently got something like that too.. but don't you hate how it blocks the cup holder? Is there any way to avoid blocking the cup holder if you want 2 outlets?