[Utekai]

Has anyone rewired the 12v dc sockets to provide power with the car off?

I've noticed the 12v dc sockets lose power when you shut off the car. Sure if you leave something plugged in there is some trickle current on the battery, but through 6 years of doing this to charge my cell phone and sometimes accidently leaving my radar detector on overnight, I've had no battery problems on a 540i and a 330xi.

So the question is, has anyone rewired the 12v sockets to supply power with the key out/the car off?

Any rewiring tips, such as a jumper on the fuse box?

[Utekai]

There is a part you can plug into the flashlight socket and get a 12v socket which is always on.

82 11 0 004 073 Genuine BMW Auxiliary Power Adaptor

From http://www.bavauto.com

This will add on another 12v socket, and allow charging when the car is off. It's not ideal since the flashlight can't be plugged in, but does offer a way to charge up devices without the car being turned on.

Still exploring rewiring though, but some claim it won't allow the car to go into sleep mode if anything is trickling current off the battery, except what was designed to do this. Thus BMW decided a couple years ago to turn off the sockets when the car was off.

[SoYank]

On a side note, while there is the retrofit for the rear seat power outlets, aka, Happy Robot, is there a retrofit to get a power outlet in the trunk? Is there one already there I don't know about?