Rear cigar lighter socket....
 

...does the power stay on permanently, or shut off at some stage after the keys are removed?

Ta!

I was curious to know so i went to the car and tried both front and rear cig lighters and both work without key in ignition . car not used for a couple of days prior .

In our '01, the Colonies version, they both remain hot and don't cycle off.
GL, mD

Cigarette power are connected from hot source. When you turn off your car or completely remove your key, the power stay on. I found it during installing and converting from Cigarette power to DC/AC 100WK adapter for my own DVD speaker power.

Thanks a lot guys! Have temporarily plugged the rear headrest screens into the socket for our family holiday later in the week, and now know I need to unplug them when I arrive ;)

Here you go mate

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...vd-system.html

It is not the case for the power socket in the glove compartment. The power is off when the car is off. Took me a while to find this - it being covered by a blank piece - and rewire to add two cigarette adapters for my GPS and Radar detector.

Excellent - thanks to all once again :)