There was a time, not so long ago, when any barrel-shaped electrical outlet near a car’s dashboard was considered a cigarette lighter. Sure, you could use that cigarette lighter outlet to power your electronics, but that didn’t change what it was.
How to Connect a 12 Volt Car Accessory Without a Cigarette Lighter
Then along came special accessory sockets, and all that went in the trash. These 12V accessory sockets look like cigarette lighter sockets, but they’re not, and the differences are important.
After decades of cigarette lighter sockets serving as accessory sockets, it’s natural to wonder what the difference is, if any, between these two components. While it may seem complicated, it’s not. In theory, cigarette lighter sockets are accessory sockets, but accessory sockets are not necessarily cigarette lighter sockets.
The thing is, there are two slightly different standards for these sockets. Both are suitable for 12V plugs, but sockets that meet the newest of the two standards are not suitable for cigarette lighters.
