One of the first things I discovered from reading my owner's manual was that there was an accessory plug located in the console.  I thought this was really great because on every other car I owned, when I wanted to add a cigarette lighter outlet for things like GPS's, etc. I always had to find a way to tap into another fuse or run a wire into the dash from the car's battery.  On this car, Corvette provides you with the wires.  I routed them out from under the console trim and connected them to two 12 volt cig. lighter accessory plugs purchased from my local car dealer.  I did not want to drill holes in my Vette to mount them, so I made a holder from a piece of sheet metal from my local Menard's.  Cut it down so it was 6" wide at the top and 12" high with a curve to fit around the console better.  (Got the idea from the double cup holder I purchased earlier.)  Then I covered it with sticky back felt from Walmart, added some U-shaped black plastic door edge guard trim from my local car parts supplier, and finally pop-riveted the plugs on to it.  To mount it, I simply pushed the small end down between the console and the seat mounting hardware and slipped it under the edge of the console after raising it (the console) and bolting it back down again.  The owner's manual tells you how to do this.  Works like a charm and no holes were drilled into my Vette.  (see attached pictures)  Now I plan to replace the white wire holder with a black one, the next time I get to the big city  (I live in a rural area and my town is only 350 people.) and cover the wires with plastic wire channel or heat shrink tubing.  I guess I could have gotten a little fancier and drilled holes under the bottom of the accessory plugs and routed the wires through the holes and up under the console trim so it was out of site.  Maybe I'll modify it this coming summer. 




|UPDATED|9/15/2015 1:57:41 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Good tip.

Nice how GM thought of us like that, eh?


______________

Joel Adams  
My Link

    
(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

great idea.. dont know if they did that for my 90 but will have to check. always need an extra socket. great job too.

______________


















the dynamic duo

c3vr life member #97

Can't remember when they started that, Dave, but if your car has the wiring, there should be a small label in the console stating it is there....assuming the label is still there. 

______________

Joel Adams  
My Link

    
(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Forgot to mention in my original post that my Corvette had three wires connected to the accessory plug underneath the console.  One was common ground, the second was connected to the battery (always hot even with the key off) and the third was connected to the ignition and only came on when you turned on the key.  So one of my cig. lighter outlets is always on like the regular cigarette lighter and the other is controlled by the ignition key.  Mike B

I have been trying to figure out how to add some aux outlets to my '88 convertible.  I see from your post about the cup holder modification that you have added 2 cigarette lighter outlets which I think is a great idea.  I went to the link but the pictures for the link did not show.  Is there some way you can send them either in a reply or an email to see how you made this addition.  Also, you said your vette (I assume it is the '95) provided you with the wires for the added outlets.  If this is the case, are you referring to the existing cigarette lighter wiring or are there some other wires that were used in the area of the console?  If you used the cigarette lighter wiring did you increase the fuse any or are you using the existing fuse? 

______________

I have modified my accessory plug and cup holder since my original post.  I drilled a hole through the accessory plug holder plate so that I could run my wires through it and behind the holder so they would be out of sight.  I also made a new cup holder using fold-up cup holders that I purchased at an auto accessory store.  My wife likes them better as they can be folded up when not in use and give her more leg room.  (see attached photo)  Neither of these two holders are bolted or screwed into place.  They fit under the edge of the console trim and are simply pressed into place on the bottom. 



|UPDATED|9/15/2015 3:01:23 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Thank you for the work.  I will be doing something similar although the older C4's, like my 1988,  don't have a large ability to be modified like the later C4's.  A great modification that looks relatively doable. 

______________