Hi, I have a 56 plate Audi A4 convertible which doesn’t get run as often as it should so I was looking at having a solar panel connected to either the cigarette lighter or the 12v port in the boot. Both sockets seem to be live when I plug in the tyre inflator even without the ignition key being in. What I don’t know is if this will charge or drain the battery? Any thoughts welcome 

My advice would be to use a battery trickle charger as the 12v sockets will drain power. 

Cheers

Steve

Thanks Steve

You're welcome 🙂

My friend used to have the same model, the batter trick charger worked perfectly for him.

If you use the 12v sockets, it will slowly drain the battery. But it's hard to say undoubtedly when not seeing that particular accessory. For example, a few devices do have a LED light in the cigarette lighter plug. It will continue to draw power even when the accessory is not working. Of course, you can cut off the cables, why not. But it will take nearly four months before it will be completely drained. Is it not acceptable in your case? As for my friend, he hired a guy from the local electrical https://bates-electric.com/locations/chicago-il/ company who has solved the problem with the cables.