I have a 1999 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro. I use the cars single cigarette lighter/power point in the console to power my radar detector. For whatever annoying reason the power to this power point does not automatically cut off when I turn off the car. A friendsNissan does this! So I have to unplug the detectorso it willnot drain my battery.Is there aneasy way to make the powerpoint shut off automatically when the car is turned off? Maybe changingout the fuse, etc?Eventually I want to hardwire the power for the radar detector into the car.

 

i leave mine in and my radar detector automaticlly shuts itself off because it detectslow battery. you can wire a switch or just take the wires of the lighter and hook it up to the ignition. our cars are just hooked up that way from the factory

 

Most good radar detectors turn themselves off after a while, leave it in there over night and see if its off in the morning. It won't drain the battery.

 

I wired mine into the right-side maplight switch. The detector sits just to the right of the rearview mirror so it's very convenient and it's easy to turn on and off that way. I prefer that to auto-on with the ignition. If you want auto-on, pull the lighter assembly out, find the hot wire with a test light, cut it, and run it (through a fuse rated the same as the one in the fuse panel for that circuit - use an inline fuse) to the yellow post inside the dash under the driver's knee bolster panel. That's an ignition-switched pole, and will kill power to the lighter when you remove the key.

 

my radar detector always stays on because of this too, but i am planning on hardwiring it after the first of the year anyway so i'd rather just leave the lighter in tact. i like the idea of taping into the map light power...nifty place to tuck the radar detector as well....