Hi, can anyone tell me if the cigarette lighter in my van should be live when the key is not in the ignition and turned? Mine is. I have a parasitic drain and am wondering if this is normal. Its the base model with the 6.2 diesel. No a/c or radio. i'm not even sure if the cig lighter was from the factory. Thanks!

 

Mine is live all the time. But that would only drain the battery if something is plugged into it.

 

That is correct.. as was stated....
There would be NO drain on a 12 volt lighter outlet unless it had
something plugged into it....
however what I have seen many times would be the alternator causing
the drain... the diode treio go bad in the alternator and that would
have the drain .. its not a big one it would actually take 2 days to
have effect on the battery .. less if the vehicle was driven less.
HERE is a Quote Right from GOOGLE.....
( Defective alternator diode. A car alternator recharges the battery and powers certain electrical systems. If your alternator has a bad diode, your battery can drain. The bad diode can cause the circuit to charge even when the engine is shut off, and you end up in the morning with a car that won't start. )))

 

battery drain solved. there was a second battery in a closed compartment along the frame rail beneath the driver seat. it had a dead short.