I know what it is. So its safe to tap into this resistor? Does it matter which side?

 

One side will be full ~12v and the other will be reduced voltage that is fed to the fuel pump, presumably to quiet it. The resistor is really not needed in the first place and they did away with it in later models. As far as I can tell, most have just bypassed it if it fails.

In any event I tapped into the full 12 volt side for the relay trigger. As you know, the relay coil draws a miniscule current.

Anyway, this is convenient and has worked for me for many years. There may be another ready source of engine-on current but I really haven't looked for one.

I'll be interested to see how your two power outlets in the ashtray work out. I had a sort of preliminary thought about doing that but never really got down to the details.

Since the cigarette lighter feed goes through the ignition switch along with all of the other accessories, I ran a fused 10awg wire wire from the battery into the cabin for all such interior projects. Perhaps overkill but it's there and I don't have to worry about it if I add an outlet for a cooler etc. etc.

Let us know how your projects go.

 

I'll certainly report back when I have the outlets installed in with some pictures and how i hooked it all up. Thanks for the advice!