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I have an 09 civic ex. I would like the 12v power outlet in the console to be live when the ignition is off. any ideas?

 
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you have to run a new wire from the battery + terminal (with fuse ofcourse) directly to the socket. then just cut the factory power wire and hook up your new one.

 
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Not to the battery per say. You can find a constant 12volt power wire such as the one from the radio or one from the fuse box. Yes you can run one to the battery but there is no real need too. Just make sure if you do run one from the abtter to the plug that you install a 5 amp fuse somewhere in that line. You can get stand alone fuse holders at your local auto store.

 
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It would be a much better idea to run it from the battery...You dont want to splice into the radios power...Listen to gearbox.

 
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yeah you really dont want to be stealing power from the radio. it needs every bit it can get. in fact i wired my radio's power wire directly to the battery too. the 12v socket consumes alot of power and im surprised how thin the stock wiring is. my new ashtray/lighter did come with an upgrade wire harness from honda tho so i feel safer using it for hi amp draw devices.

 
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You can do it either way, I use to have radio, cd changer, Sirius, ipod and more all on the radio wire and had a really nice setup. Of cores I was not using the internal either. If you do run it to the battery make sure to cover and protect the wire from the heat of the engine and use some beefy wire such as 12 gauge, just make sure to match your ground wire to the same gauge that you use for your power wire.