General 500 iPhone 4gS NOT charging via cigarette socket

[Dingopuppy]

Right- so...
I've bought FOUR iPhone cradles to try and find one that will sit on one of those things that goes in the front cupholder and gives a surface fir the suction cup mount sticks to... without being in the way of me, or my passenger...
The thing that goes in the cupholder and gives you the flat surface is frikkin huge- it needed its 'lip/edge' sanding to sit flat for starts... Then, FOUR suction cup cradles later (one too massive, one too white, one the iPhone is a nightmare to get in and out and one just fell off all the time!) I've finally decided these are NOT the way forward! I can't find a place to mount on the dash (can't bear all the cables- my sat nav had to be the fiat with dock Tom-tom!) and everywhere the thing is in the frikkin WAY!
Sooooo- decided on a cup holder organiser thingummy that seems to be a rubbery cup that sits in and has a division, a pen holder too (not to self- buy nice Parker jotter biro) it even has a little hole and you shove the charging cable thru... Sounds neat and ok. Ordered!
The trouble is my iPhone won't charge in the car!
I use the USB port for a LaCie ImAKey with lots and lots of music... (shamefully including Paris Hiltons album... But that's the way I roll)
I've got one of those tiny USB things that sits in what used to be called the cigarette lighter socket and one of those retracting cables that charges the phone. The iPhone bleeps when plugged in but then stops charging... The phone the cable and the USB thing work in our Freelander2, and I've tried other cables and USB things with no success... is it true that in the fiat 500 the socket formerly known as cigarette is a different size to most? Is it just that the USB thing is loose? Has anyone found a solution? Will Paris release a follow up album? Why do iPhone cables give up the ghost?

 

[Andy Monty]

Do you have power there first off?

 

[Dingopuppy]

Yes, the little thing that goes in the socket with the USB port has a red light- that's on. The phone battery thing goes green and the back to non charging after a couple of seconds

 

[Andy Monty]

Does the red light flicker when you shake it?

 

[KaZetec]

I've tried many of these USB cigarette lighter chargers and none work in the 500/ka that I've tried. Seems Fiat are using a cigarette lighter with a different depth than most other car manufacturers.

 

[Dingopuppy]

It does flicker with a wiggle... and it pulls out very easily with the slightest of pressure... It's very frustrating.

 

[wigit]

i have had issues with the depth of the charger with my tomtom lead and ended swapping leads with wifes as the charger rises up in the socket

in reality i use the usb for the iphone as it just works a treat

 

[Dingopuppy]

Trouble is I'm using the USB for my LaCie ImAKey music storage- there must be a different charger end for the iPhone surely? One that fits the fiat lighter socket

 

[RUI]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250993673...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_2412wt_975
This fits and charges the 4s

 

[deeyup]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250993673...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_2412wt_975
This fits and charges the 4s

I've got that exact griffen powerjolt and it works great, I also have a signalex one from poundland which costs , er £1 and works great too but only has one USB port

 

[Dingopuppy]

Ordered!!!
Thankyou muchly!
This is the sort of thing in my opinion that dealers should know... Or, dare I say it, have on their shelves... I'm sure that there shouldbe more of a boutique experience buying a 500... If I was a dealer is have lots of little bits and bobs in a couple of display cases... The ford ka mudflaps that fit well enough, the right cigarette lighter charger, selection of keyrings, retro shopping bags and what have you- there's so much decent unofficial merchandise out there- why not sell it, and make a few bob? Missed opportunity.
Maybe I'm just greedy salesperson! Haha!!

 

[306maxi]

Ordered!!!
Thankyou muchly!
This is the sort of thing in my opinion that dealers should know... Or, dare I say it, have on their shelves... I'm sure that there shouldbe more of a boutique experience buying a 500... If I was a dealer is have lots of little bits and bobs in a couple of display cases... The ford ka mudflaps that fit well enough, the right cigarette lighter charger, selection of keyrings, retro shopping bags and what have you- there's so much decent unofficial merchandise out there- why not sell it, and make a few bob? Missed opportunity.
Maybe I'm just greedy salesperson! Haha!!

The dealers have got bigger problems than finding the right USB chargers........

 

[deeyup]

Ordered!!!
Thankyou muchly!
This is the sort of thing in my opinion that dealers should know... Or, dare I say it, have on their shelves... I'm sure that there shouldbe more of a boutique experience buying a 500... If I was a dealer is have lots of little bits and bobs in a couple of display cases... The ford ka mudflaps that fit well enough, the right cigarette lighter charger, selection of keyrings, retro shopping bags and what have you- there's so much decent unofficial merchandise out there- why not sell it, and make a few bob? Missed opportunity.
Maybe I'm just greedy salesperson! Haha!!

They wouldn't sell unofficial stuff as if it was branded fiat or had the 500 logo then it would be breach of copyright of their own brand.

 

[LittleLuigi]

Hmmm, I thought I'd better try mine as I use the cigarette lighter socket for changing my iphone occasionally but I've never noticed it not charging.

So, out I went and plugged my £1 charger into the cigarette lighter socket and into the iphone and hey presto.....it was charging. Left it for a few minutes and it was fine.

 

[Dingopuppy]

What is more important than testing your bloody product and knowing that most chargers for what must be the biggest selling phone in the world doesn't bloody fit (I've tried my car kit from apple and it pops out to!) for gods sake- most people buy a product they like the design of! The apple iPhone is a design icon and so is the fiat 500- I bet there is a high percentage of iPhone using fiat 500 owners. Either make your product a standard fit or make one that fits... Fiat isn't sodding SAAB with its weird going it's own way- I have noticed they are bust!

Ps the Tom Tom connection is loose too- it keeps switching off and telling me the battery is flat! any ideas? I've been to the dealers three times and it's still frikking loose!

Never had any issues with my Land-Rover Freelander2... Not one!

 

[306maxi]

What is more important than testing your bloody product and knowing that most chargers for what must be the biggest selling phone in the world doesn't bloody fit

Pretty much everything? You obviously don't realise that the chargers you're talking about aren't even iPhone specific chargers, but will charge pretty much any phone made in the last few years so the problems you speak of aren't even iPhone specific.

 

[markyt11]

I got one from the pound shop 3 years ago never had a problem with it use it all the time in my grande punto van and my 500c, my brother in law has a gear 4 incar charger and he,s always having problems with it

 

[Heidi]

I have official apple car charger and works perfectly. I just rest my phone in the little well by the charger.

 

[Snail]

too many posts to read so what im about to say may already be said, if not this is what i use:

http://www.scosche.com/consumer-tech/product/1667

only i got myne from amazon uk...... now both my itouch and iphone can be charged while playing music hth

 

[RobinPJ]

too many posts to read so what im about to say may already be said...

You must have the attention span of a goldfish - there were only 18 of them.

I hope you're not interested in winter tyres or Twinair economy....