Car 12V Cig Lighter Fuse Blows, Pls Help To Identify The Issue

Aravinda_2011 · September 9, 2012

I was using Cig ligter to power up my gps unit for 6-8 months, but last week i noticed that it was not working and fuse has blown .

Then I replaced the fuse 15A under the dashboard and tried to power back the gps unit again. Then again it blown. Can anyone support me to resolve this issue?

Thanks in advance

Magnum357 · September 9, 2012

I was using Cig ligter to power up my gps unit for 6-8 months, but last week i noticed that it was not working and fuse has blown .

Then I replaced the fuse 15A under the dashboard and tried to power back the gps unit again. Then again it blown. Can anyone support me to resolve this issue?

Thanks in advance

Try plugging in the lighter itself and see if it works. If it does, then there is a problem with the GPS. If the fuse blows even with the lighter then check the wiring to the lighter socket as there very likely is a short circuit.

Aravinda_2011 · September 9, 2012

Try plugging in the lighter itself and see if it works. If it does, then there is a problem with the GPS. If the fuse blows even with the lighter then check the wiring to the lighter socket as there very likely is a short circuit.

Telephone charger work but seems some problem with gps unit. But is there any way to upgrade the fuse from 15A to 20A.

Will it harm the car electric system?

udayap · September 9, 2012

Telephone charger work but seems some problem with gps unit. But is there any way to upgrade the fuse from 15A to 20A.

Will it harm the car electric system?

There is nothing wrong with the Amphere rating of the fuse. Never, ever replace a fuse with a high amphere fuse. Please get the charger of the GPS unit repaired. By the way, you can use an equipment with a power of 180 W, through 15A fuse (W=VI), i don't think the GPS unit requires such a power.

Ripper · September 10, 2012

Telephone charger work but seems some problem with gps unit. But is there any way to upgrade the fuse from 15A to 20A.

Will it harm the car electric system?

a GPS unit charger shouldn't be needing so much of power. there must be something wrong with the charger unit... 15A fuse at 12v is capable of handling 180watts of of power

The Stig · September 10, 2012

Telephone charger work but seems some problem with gps unit. But is there any way to upgrade the fuse from 15A to 20A.

Will it harm the car electric system?

I would highly recommend that you hook the gps unit to a multimeter and measure the amperage used, it would be better if you can plug it into an external source like a power pack instead of the using the car for this measurement.

Also do you have any other devices that uses the 12v lighter in a car ? If so does the problem exist when they are being used ?

Edited September 10, 2012 by The Stig

Kavvz · September 10, 2012

Sounds like you might have a loose connection/ fault in the GPS connector causing it to short out? (Does it seem loose or worn out to you? Are there any knots / bends /frayed edges in the GPS power cord?)

To check whether its the GPS unit: Is there another 12v power socket on a different circuit you could connect your GPS to? If available perhaps try hooking it into the 12v connector in the rear, or the one in the glove box as those are usually on separate circuits... I'd run it on the separate circuit for a while to see what gives. If that circuit blows as well, that'll allow you to isolate the cause to the GPS unit and rule out the 12v power socket/ circuit as the source of your issue.

I wouldn't change / up the amperage of the fuse if I were you. That doesn't really take care of the problem and messing with something like that is bound to mess things up in the long run; I'd focus on figuring out whether the fault lies in the GPS unit or in the 12v power supply circuit.

Edited September 10, 2012 by Kavvz

Aravinda_2011 · September 12, 2012

thanks all for your replies. I thought of taking the GPS unit to dealer to check it again for any charger issues. I dont have multimeter nor any extra 12v jack or Gps external charger to check sperately. Will keep you posted when I identify the exact issue.

Aravinda_2011 · September 16, 2012

Found out the issue. As you all said issue is with the charger and I replaced the charger with another then it worked after burning 3 fuses.Thanks all for your supports.