petethepug
Michael
The 12V Ciggy plugs on our 08 Yuke XL AWD are plentiful. For a while I ignored the two just below the HVAC controls that have broken covers and peeling chrome. Three weeks ago was the turning point. I looked on fleabay and found a USB charge receptacle that looks like it'd be a direct fit into the Denali 12V Ciggy plugs in the dash.
Spent a whopping $9.18 and chose the slow boat from Cheena to get two of these. I thought green would be a better match than blue but who know. The same ones are available in the US for 2x the cost if you need them faster.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Car-Cigarette-Lighter-Socket-Splitter-Dual-USB-Charger-Power-Adapter-Outlet/302539066947?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&var=601372682422&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
This is the before. It's complete with authentic English and French bulldog residuals.
It only took five minutes to pull off the fake wood surround that's held in place with friction clips. After that only 2 7mm screws hold in the panel for the 12v plugs and control buttons. After seeing that all the parts for the Yukon were made in China it really made sense that the finish on these new USB plugs was a perfect match.
There's a special tool that's sold to remove the 12V ciggy lighters from GM vehicles. On the trucks it's actually easier to pull the friction panel and the two 7mm screws. Everything simply unplugs from the harness. These were not an exact fit. I didn't have a tool to remove just a hair of material from the diameter of the holes for the ciggy lighters. It was so close and I did not want a loose fit on this mod.
I looked around the garage and pulled a piece of fine grit sand paper and taped it to the handle of one of my Phillips head screwdrivers. I stuck it in the end of the cordless drill for about three seconds. It didn't look any different but it was a perfect fit for the new USB plug by taking less than a mm of material off. The widened portion was perfectly round.
I'm all about OEM harness clips and originality but got over cutting the factory harness connectors in about two seconds. I saved them if I needed to undo this mod and go back to oem parts. It took a little finesse to orientate the USB plugs and covers horizontally while tightening up the plastic threaded friction nut on the back. This took an hour and that was with going back in the house for two refills of iced tea. As you can see I went with the blue version. The green would not of matched the oe led in the hvac. The blue is close but doesn't clash with the oe interior lights as much.
The finished product at night. I'll ad a day shot in tomorrow. Please chime in if you know of or have any known issues swapping out the OE 12V plugs with USB. My 08 set up to power these plugs with key off in the ignition. I haven't checked to see if the BCM (Body Control Module) will put the tiny voltage meters in these USB plugs to sleep after key off and lock.
Spent a whopping $9.18 and chose the slow boat from Cheena to get two of these. I thought green would be a better match than blue but who know. The same ones are available in the US for 2x the cost if you need them faster.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Car-Cigarette-Lighter-Socket-Splitter-Dual-USB-Charger-Power-Adapter-Outlet/302539066947?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&var=601372682422&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
This is the before. It's complete with authentic English and French bulldog residuals.
It only took five minutes to pull off the fake wood surround that's held in place with friction clips. After that only 2 7mm screws hold in the panel for the 12v plugs and control buttons. After seeing that all the parts for the Yukon were made in China it really made sense that the finish on these new USB plugs was a perfect match.
There's a special tool that's sold to remove the 12V ciggy lighters from GM vehicles. On the trucks it's actually easier to pull the friction panel and the two 7mm screws. Everything simply unplugs from the harness. These were not an exact fit. I didn't have a tool to remove just a hair of material from the diameter of the holes for the ciggy lighters. It was so close and I did not want a loose fit on this mod.
I looked around the garage and pulled a piece of fine grit sand paper and taped it to the handle of one of my Phillips head screwdrivers. I stuck it in the end of the cordless drill for about three seconds. It didn't look any different but it was a perfect fit for the new USB plug by taking less than a mm of material off. The widened portion was perfectly round.
I'm all about OEM harness clips and originality but got over cutting the factory harness connectors in about two seconds. I saved them if I needed to undo this mod and go back to oem parts. It took a little finesse to orientate the USB plugs and covers horizontally while tightening up the plastic threaded friction nut on the back. This took an hour and that was with going back in the house for two refills of iced tea. As you can see I went with the blue version. The green would not of matched the oe led in the hvac. The blue is close but doesn't clash with the oe interior lights as much.
The finished product at night. I'll ad a day shot in tomorrow. Please chime in if you know of or have any known issues swapping out the OE 12V plugs with USB. My 08 set up to power these plugs with key off in the ignition. I haven't checked to see if the BCM (Body Control Module) will put the tiny voltage meters in these USB plugs to sleep after key off and lock.
