I have two Anker car chargers of different vintage. Both work perfectly in a 2017 Hyundai Ioniq power socket. Both don’t work at all in a 2003 Honda Civic lighter socket, but the lighter itself works fine. The thing is, I am not the only person to have exactly the same problem of Anker car chargers not working in a 2003 Honda Civic. What could the reason possibly be for this? The chargers both seem to fit perfectly in the socket, but the LED does not light and no power is delivered.
Anker car charger won't work in lighter socket
1 Like
The socket is deeper than normal. Apparently cigarette lighter sockets sizes aren’t standard and very from car to car and some cars even have multiple variations, for what reason I do not know. I’m not sure how many variations there are but there are at least two.
I have had this problem in the past in my 06 super duty 250, one of the sockets worked perfectly but the other cigarette lighter socket labeled “power port” with higher amperage fuse would not work. After a little digging online I determined the socket was simply longer. I emailed Anker and told them they needed to make the nub on the end of the car chargers slightly longer.
I also confirmed that this was the problem by folding up a piece of tin foil to complete the circuit which worked but is not a long-term solution as it could Short circuit.
You could add a bit of solder to the end to make the nub longer.
Long story short, this is a technical limitation of the Anker Chargers and thanks for bringing this to notice here, hopefully @AnkerOfficial @AnkerTechnical @AnkerSupport note this and take it to the design team.
I would not suggest to use these chargers with any alterations / additions to the device with car chargers, unless you are well versed with the car charging / circuitry as this has potential to fry your car (literally). Be safe, trial different car chargers if those work.
2 Likes
Little dramatic…
It’s just a spot of solder a trained monkey can do that.
I don’t appreciate your insinuation that my explanation was long-winded. People like to know the reasons why there devices aren’t working instead of simply being told “that won’t work”
1 Like
Glad I am human 
that is my only reply here!
Shenoy more like shenoying
Thanks (hopefully you meant something good here … 
) my post was in general and not directed towards you / anyone.
This is a public community, we dont know when or how these articles will be read or intellectual of person reading, I would rather advice user not to perform such things which may / can have impact to life and property. Better be safe than sorry.
and with the soldering thing,… hope we all have seen the Jungle Book and kingdom of monkeys and what they did to Mowgli.
I hardly think a potential blown cigarette lighter fuse qualifys as a risk to life and property. Hence the statement in response to your fiery photo about being dramatic.
I would not advise anyone to do anything unsafe.
Per Anker Support and Warranty, " if any port or ports stop working or does not work, it may be due to a faulty cable. Please try charging with different cables. If the problem persists, please email us at support@anker.com to claim your 18-month warranty. "
If you feel you bought the chargers one each for the cars and feel it is not working, it is suggested you contact the Anker Support and check on best options or claim the Anker Warranty.
The reason it doesnt work is there are different specs for the lighter socket. Some cars use euro spec, Japanese spec and so on so forth. Users of these cars can get an adapter such as This one and get by, others simply cha ge the socket to a us standard lighter socket.
In my Saab 9-5, i simply chose to change the socket for a US standard one that i picked up at Walmart for 10 bucks, all it took was 5 minutes to swap it out.
3 Likes
But it does work just not in that socket… The charger isn’t the problem, it works fine and changing the cable or getting a product that works warrantied is just silly.
Thanks for your valuable insight @Tank
1 Like
Changing the socket is a better value proposition 
than any other monkey business mentioned above. Though not everyone would venture into changing these or may incur more charges getting this done at a car dealer / car showroom.
Though it may seem silly to some people, changing the cable or choose the warranty path is the response from Anker site and is a standard troubleshooting step.
https://www.anker.com/products/variant/powerdrive-2/A2310012 FAQ Section
This is my last post for this topic. I don’t want to engage in a debate here.
This is what I couldn’t find info on but suspected, thanks. I guess I need some kind of Japanese > Euro converter.
1 Like
Don’t mention it.
Dude
Why did I find it funny you drive a pickup truck… Was it red by any chance 
hahahaha
.
.
Gotcha!
On a serious note, this isnt long winded, and makes total sense.
On another note, I’ve noticed over the years, a lot of gadgets that use the cigarette lighter socket, have longer spring loaded nobs on the end… Guessing this is due to some being longer/deeper than others.
1 Like
Idk Bc you know I’m prepared for anything…
Dark blue actually, I don’t drive a firetruck 
1 Like
I’m not in the US and I doubt our equivalent to Walmart would sell such a thing.
The car was built in the UK, where I am. I’m surprised that the Anker product does not fit it. Looking at the link you provided it seems that is for motorcycles and I cannot find if that is the same size as car sockets. Does anyone know?
Anker warranty couldn’t solve my problem though. They could only refund my money and I still couldn’t use my lighter socket to charge my phone.