Coastal Electronics Lighter Mod Install Notes

[Ken S]

After installing my hitch I decided to do the CE mod to the front lighter. This actually should be pretty easy except for one thing. It really requires that you get on the floor of the driver's side and stare up under the dash (why is it that car makers still insist on putting fuses in places where humans can't easily get to them)

This was never a problem when I was 22 and installed car stereos...but at 47 it was tough! Well, after coaxing my aging body into place the wire was easy to find and the rest of the installation was a breeze.

The instructions could have been a little bit better as they were missing a couple of details. Maybe a bit more description on how to expose the backend of the lighter would have been nice. Once again, nothing horrible...all in all a nicely thought out package.

Ken

[knowledgeseeker]

After installing my hitch I decided to do the CE mod to the front lighter. This actually should be pretty easy except for one thing. It really requires that you get on the floor of the driver's side and stare up under the dash (why is it that car makers still insist on putting fuses in places where humans can't easily get to them)

This was never a problem when I was 22 and installed car stereos...but at 47 it was tough! Well, after coaxing my aging body into place the wire was easy to find and the rest of the installation was a breeze.

The instructions could have been a little bit better as they were missing a couple of details. Maybe a bit more description on how to expose the backend of the lighter would have been nice. Once again, nothing horrible...all in all a nicely thought out package.

Ken

So how _DO_ you expose the back of the lighter? I started to do this install, got the little plastic plug out (by pulling on the sub-dash panel, not the plug itself), but the lower dash with the lighter doesn't give.

BTW, I also installed the hitch. That went well enough, but I only found 2 of the 3 fasteners that are listed in the instructions as holding in the large panel.

Makes me wonder if there have been running changes in the design -- my car is one of the last 2004's.

[Ken S]

After you remove the plastic fastener you can actually pulll that whole plastic facing away from the dash (slowly pull it towards the rear of the car...it just unsnaps). That's the part of the directions that I thought were lacking btw.

Once you get it pulled away slightly the lighter is easy to access.

As for the hitch, the 4 fasten points were:

2 plastic fasterners parallel to the bumper at the back of the car, one screw on the side along the driver's side of the panel and a bolt all the way at the front of the panel (a little hard to find) a bit towards the passenger side of the front edge. There's also the alignment screw, but you don't have to remove that.

Hope this helps.

[knowledgeseeker]

OK - this afternoon I installed the lighter mod. It took a lot longer than I expected. My main difficulty was in getting the tap to clamp on the wire. I finally disassembled the sample that came in the package, and played with it outside the car. When I finally used pliers to clamp it, it worked, and I was on my way.

Ken S, your comment about the panel unsnapping was helpful. I had imagined that I was supposed to just "bend" the panel. Again, it took a surprising amount of force to work the snaps loose (I undid 2 of them).

So I am being too gentle! I suppose it is the light touch of the steering, brakes, and accelerator that had me convinced that I ought to avoid applying force anywhere (though I did torque the trailer-hitch bolts as hard as I could).

Anyhow, the lighter mod works, and will eliminate an annoyance.

But I agree, the instructions could be clearer.