Reddit reviews Roadpro 12V Fused Replacement Cigarette Lighter Plug with Leads (RPPS-225),Black

No, they won't be able to help you. Unlock procedure on a mk4 is pump wedge and long reach to hit the door lock button. I'd pondered using the long reach to grab the hood release, but those are pretty stiff and require a lot of torque to pull so I doubt it would work.

You may get lucky with the following, though. Since you can access the trunk you can access the 12v power socket in the trunk, get something with a cigarette lighter adapter and hack the plug end off, connect the positive and negative leads to a low amperage battery charger (the wiring for that socket isn't very robust, no more than say 10A output on the charger) and plug the charger in, then connect the cigarette plug into the 12v socket in the trunk.

If you don't have anything with a cigarette plug end, use this.

Give it an hour or so and you should have enough juice to articulate the locks using either the fob, or holding the key in the door all the way to the left or right for a couple seconds. That should get you in. Of course, I -know- this socket is live even with key off on my 2002, it's likely the same on your 2001, but they are also VW's so... there's that. Make sure you have the correct polarity as well on your plug end, center post is always positive, if unsure test with a multi meter or you're gonna have a bigger problem to contend with. Just be mindful, and it should work ok.


Edit: I've since looked in an older unlock book once I arrived to work, it IS possible to pop the rear doors using a rod linkage tool, but I'd still wager a cheap cord and a cheap charger would do the job just as fast as a roadside club, and for much less in cost.

You could buy one of (THESE) and splice it in, using electrician's "wire nuts" (image) to complete the connections.

Before cutting off the old BigFatPlug, use your multimeter to learn which terminal of BigFatPlug goes the the central Tip of the telescope connector, and which terminal of BigFatPlug goes to the outer Sleeve of the telescope connector. Write these two facts on a piece of paper.

They are being helpful. The thing is, cars are loud. USB ports provide very small amounts of power. You can get something working, but you're likely to find that you can't hear the music over the road noise.

The trouble with USB is it can supply only a tiny amount of power. It runs at 5V and can supply up to 0.9 amps (unless you violate the standard). That works out to 4.5 watts of available power. Meanwhile, a car cigarette lighter is 12V and usually at least 10 amps. That gives you 120 watts of available power.

Unless you already have the USB speakers, why would you want to give up 96% of the power available to you in an application where you need a lot of power? Even if you do already have USB speakers, why would you want to spend time building something that really isn't going to work?

Especially when there is a whole industry out there devoted to producing amplifiers for your exact situation, some as cheap as $10. And speakers for $19. And for $4 more, you can add a connector to plug it into the cigarette lighter.

Alternatively, shop around for computer speakers that are sold with a 12V DC power adapter. You should be able to power those directly off the cigarette lighter power, and they will probably be louder than USB speakers.

If you are mostly listening, you should be fine. Most cigarette outlets are rated for 8 amps at 13.8v. My Cobra 19 DX III only uses 1.2 amp on transmit so it is safe for me do what you are suggesting. Some vans and trucks have "power outlets" that are rated for 18-20 amps that would be perfect even for a long talker.

The power post you are suggesting scares me since leaves things so exposed. I ended up using the following that you can buy in almost any store with basic automotive electrical parts.
Terminals and Spades and a Replacement Cigarette Adapter. The Cigarette adapter in stores is usually rated for 3 amps. For CB's that should be plenty, but if the fuse pops after some long TX you may need to figure out running a Positive wire to the battery and the black to bolt to the car frame.

Crimp the fan wires onto this (or similar) https://www.amazon.com/Roadpro-Fused-Replacement-Cigarette-Lighter/dp/B0016LG0CY

If you need to extend the fan wires, you can use butt splice connectors to add an extension. You can pick up the connectors and some 16awg thhn wire at home depot or lowes.

I have one, works great, however it was a little confusing for me at first, but now that I get the menus it is great.

I picked up one of these for my power supply and I was going to just clip off the cigarette lighter and solder the thing together with the charger, then I realized I can get one of these and now I can use the charger in my car too. The power supply may be a little weak, since I can only charge at 5.8Amps max, but it works for me, and was cheap.

I also picked up this and this now I can charge just about anything.

I have used this and this. It does the job. The down side is it takes a little bit to get it paired up every time and then it displays in SD. You won't need a chrome cast, it has it built in.

Yeah.. it's been a PITA so far because I've blown two fuses inside this piece of crap cigarette lighter plug w/ leads..

What did you do for this?

There is /r/cbradio, but I pretty much just googled everything. I bought these items and I'm pretty happy with them:

Uniden 520XL - Nice, small, cheap radio

Cigarette Lighter Power Adapter

K40 Magnet Mount Antennae with wiring - it is 15 feet of wire so that should be enough to go from the trunk lid to your dash.

SWR tester - this is to test your SWR and make sure the antennae is tuned properly, it also comes with a jumper wire to connect to your radio

If you need help with anything let me know. The CB has been very helpful on I-75, but on Daniels in Fort Myers and Golden Gate Parkway in Naples I have not had any success getting traffic updates etc. which I expected, but it's definitely super helpful on the interstate.

Its doable with two cheap adapters. You need to forget the trailer plug. Wire the 12v light strip to a male cigarette lighter plug. Then purchase an adapter that plugs into the wall socket and has a female 12v PowerPoint.

https://www.amazon.com/110V-240V-Adapter-Converter-Universal-Socket/dp/B001TXUU98

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0016LG0CY/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1479319943&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=male+12v+power+connector&dpPl=1&dpID=31wW9GnDb1L&ref=plSrch

Would one of these be better than the other?

http://smile.amazon.com/Roadpro-Fused-Replacement-Cigarette-Lighter/dp/B0016LG0CY?sa-no-redirect=1

http://smile.amazon.com/Auto-Button-Cigarette-Lighter-Black/dp/B0090149R0/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1420742893&sr=1-2&keywords=cigarette+lighter+plug

http://smile.amazon.com/K40-K403CBPP-2-Wire-Cigarette-Lighter/dp/B001JT98S6/ref=pd_sbs_auto_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=06E9J8F93C84MQ2G79PE

TIA

Running it to the battery is the best option. You would need to run the wire under your carpet, find or drill a hole in your firewall and thread it through. If you don't want to go through that trouble you can just use a cigarette lighter plug

The Uniden 520 is a great choice for a basic radio. I've been using one for years with excellent results. It's really hard to beat for the size/money.

Consider the K30 magnet mount antenna for an alternative in that size.
I've used both it and the Little Wil and found the K30 to perform noticeably better. It's also less expensive:

http://www.amazon.com/K40-K-30-Stainless-Magnet-Antenna/dp/B000H2W270/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417900765&sr=8-2&keywords=K30

The other commenter that suggested getting an SWR meter is also correct. These antennas all require some degree of adjustment for optimal performance. Just a basic meter will work fine.

http://www.amazon.com/Astatic-PDC1-100-Watt-Meter/dp/B004ULN610/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417900872&sr=8-1&keywords=SWR+meter

And the jumper:
http://www.amazon.com/Procomm-Coaxial-Cable-Jumper-Connectors/dp/B003DRJ738/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_text_y

The meter and jumper is something you'll very rarely need (just when moving the setup to a different vehicle, for the most part) so if you husband has a friend into CB or HAM operation, he may be able to borrow one for a few minutes rather than buying.

Finally, you'll need some way to power the radio. The easiest way is with a lighter plug:
http://www.amazon.com/Roadpro-Fused-Replacement-Cigarette-Lighter/dp/B0016LG0CY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417901045&sr=8-1&keywords=lighter+plug

Just cut the connectors off the ends of the wires and splice it with the ones on the radio.

Alternatively, you can connect to the fuse box with an Add-A-Circuit. These come in different sizes depending on the fuses in your car. You can get one of these for less than $10 at any auto parts store.

Thanks for the tips. I'm kicking myself because I just donated a box of old wall transformers that I would've saved had I known. I know I have a couple of 12v/5amp wall transformers from old HDDs that I might try for home use. I was thinking about this adapter for car use.

 

I was also wondering if you knew what sort of antenna I should look for. The radio came with a small one, however the wiring on the antenna doesn't connect to the radio correctly. The radio has a screw type mount I'm not familiar with, but was hoping it might be a cb standard and easy to find a replacement for.