I've now fitted a triple 12v outlet socket in the rear. I mounted it in the recess at the back of the centre console between the seats so it doesn't stick out too much.

The main reason for this was the kids didn't have anywhere to plug in their Gameboys or Portable DVD player other than the cigarette lighter in the front.

Also, as the front socket doesn't stay live when the ignition is switched to accessories, I wired the new triple socket to a spare fuse in the boot. (Fuse number 87 to be precise).

The result is that I can now use my "portable" car phone kit, as well as the kids toys when the engine is switched off.

The other good thing is that fuse 87 goes dead when the car goes to sleep after it is locked, so there's no danger of inadvertantly draining the battery. When the car "wakes up" so does the power to the 12v supply.

 

Can you post some pictures and exactly what you did, as I am currently thinking of doing something similar. I thought you could use fuse 82 for rear sockets. Is this not the case?

 

I'll take some photo's on the weekend for you. I don't know about fuse 82 - I just poked around until I found an empty one that was live when the ignition was off. It was pure luck that the one I picked goes dead when the car goes to sleep. This may be true of the other ones, but once I'd found what I was after, I looked no further.

 

Here are the photos I promised.
The job itself was easy enough, just time consuming. Firstly I removed the rear seat base. Then I popped out the recessed "coin bin" from the back of the console, and mounted the triple socket using the double sided tape that came with it. I then ran the wires down through the gap (underneath the rubber pad) and then underneath the carpet to the centre of the back seat. (Managed to get enough of a gap to push a long nylon cable tie underneath the carpet from the centre console, and then taped the wires to it before pulling them through).

Removed the rear set upright to get to the earthing point (behind the seat back) and to run an extension wire through to the boot (via the same route as the wiring loom). Once all the wires had been run , I just added an in-line fuse for good measure and used a spade connector for the live feed from the front of the fusebox on fuse number 87.

I must admit it's not the prettiest of jobs, but sure is functional.

 

You do realise you can buy a part from BMW that goes where that cubby whole is and gives you 2 12v sockets.
Would look alot neater and only take 2 minutes to add now you have routed the cabling there already.

 

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?mo...807&hg=51&fg=35

 

Thanks guys.

The triple socket was only ?3.50 and the whole job only cost me about ?6 in total, so given that I'm not that bothered about how it looks, I'll pass on the OEM part for now.

 

OK, but it is less than a tenner.

 

I didn't realise it would be that cheap! I just paid over ?30 for a pair of wiper blades, so assumed we'd be talking about something stupid like ?50 or more for it.

Next time I'm passing the dealer I'll pop in and see if I can get one. As you say, installing it now that the wiring is there should be a piece of cake.

Thanks for the tip.

 

No problem, thanks for the install instrctions, think I may combine one of those plates with your install info.