Cigar lighter keeps blowing.

pontiac_gto · February 23, 2017

Hi All,

Cigar lighter fuse of my car is keep blowing. I removed the front panel and removed the lighter from the socket. But still the fuse blows. Seems the circuit has a short somewhere. Other components are working fine without issues. Any reason for this? And are there any other components connected to the same fuse?

Thanks and Regards

Twin Turbo · February 23, 2017

You've answrd your self.there's a short in the wiring circuit to the cig lighter.Refer your car to an auto electritian,..

Could be due to over loading of the circuit.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Twin Turbo

Davy · February 23, 2017

Usually accessories like your audio system, interior lights, 12V sockets (cigarette lighter) are all in the same circuit protected by the same fuse. Could be an issue in any one of them or a wire that has been crimped somewhere.

pontiac_gto · February 23, 2017

But the other components like radio, hood lights are working fine even without this 15A fuse. So I guess these things has a separate fuse. I must sort this out coz im using my phone as GPS.

Is there a way to have separate 12V socket from somewhere else like from one of interior lights?

Davy · February 23, 2017

On 2/23/2017 at 4:00 AM, pontiac_gto said:

But the other components like radio, hood lights are working fine even without this 15A fuse. So I guess these things has a separate fuse. I must sort this out coz im using my phone as GPS.

Is there a way to have separate 12V socket from somewhere else like from one of interior lights?

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Have you tried replacing the fuse and not using your USB adaptor for the phone for a while? It maybe an issue with the USB adaptor as well, although highly unlikely.

You're better off addressing the problem than thinking of avoiding it by pulling wires from other circuits.

pontiac_gto · February 23, 2017

Thanks Davy. I removed the front panel and removed the power cables from lighter socket.Which means nothing connected to the cables. But fuse keep blowing when suddenly ignition on. Radio, CD loader, lights working fine.

Davy · February 23, 2017

On 2/23/2017 at 4:17 AM, pontiac_gto said:

Thanks Davy. I removed the front panel and removed the power cables from lighter socket.Which means nothing connected to the cables. But fuse keep blowing when suddenly ignition on. Radio, CD loader, lights working fine.

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Take your car to a good electrician. There is a short circuit somewhere.

The Stig · February 23, 2017

Do you have a multimeter?

Remove cigarette lighter.

Remove the battery cables of the car. Remove the fuse and set the multimeter leads to opposite sides of the fuse slot. If there is continuity (diode test mode or use ohm reading) then there is a short. You can use 2aaa batteries and an led to do the same test if you don't have a multimeter.

pontiac_gto · February 23, 2017

Thanks stig. I have ordered a multimeter but still on the way. Im living abroad so taking the car to a shop will be too expensive. Also probably dealer will be same. So i have to do this by myself.

Is there anyway to get separate 12V socket? As Davy said before, this is not the correct way. But i'm planning to travel about 1000km end of March. So I need some way to charge my phone. Can I have a two wires (12V) from radio or one of lights? If so is it safe?

Thanks

Rumesh88 · February 23, 2017

I can second what Davy said about not using the phone chargers on lighter socket. Same thing happened to me in my Axio hybrid with those phone chargers. I stopped using them and the fuse is fine now. I did not go into details but I believe it has something to do with a mismatch in the design of the socket and the plug. If you want to tap you can tap into the wires of the same socket to get power.

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the

The Stig · February 23, 2017

On 2/23/2017 at 4:40 AM, pontiac_gto said:

Thanks stig. I have ordered a multimeter but still on the way. Im living abroad so taking the car to a shop will be too expensive. Also probably dealer will be same. So i have to do this by myself.

Is there anyway to get separate 12V socket? As Davy said before, this is not the correct way. But i'm planning to travel about 1000km end of March. So I need some way to charge my phone. Can I have a two wires (12V) from radio or one of lights? If so is it safe?

Thanks

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You can but be warned that you may damage your radio if something goes wrong.

Take the red wire form the radio and the other wire you can ground to any metal surface. Use a fuse for the hot wiring just in case.

Davy · February 23, 2017

My opinion is that you should then tap into one of the fuses in the interior fuse box and get power from there for now. Make sure the fuse you're tapping into is one that gets power only when the ignition is switched on. This way your equipment is protected.

pontiac_gto · February 23, 2017

Thanks for your safety concerns Stig and Davy. But i don't have better electrical knowledge. So I'm afraid to play with the fuse box. And I noticed removing radio also a quiet big deal in this model.

Let me know one thing. There is a light near the cigar lighter. Can I get 12V power from there? For safety i can run the voltage through 12V fuse. What you guys think?

Edited February 23, 2017 by pontiac_gto

Quiet · February 23, 2017

buy one or two good power banks and charge them on day end. would be much easier

pontiac_gto · February 23, 2017

On 2/23/2017 at 8:07 AM, Quiet said:

buy one or two good power banks and charge them on day end. would be much easier

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It will not help brother. Coz this will be 12 hours journey. 2 power banks won't do the job though.

Rumesh88 · February 23, 2017

On 2/23/2017 at 7:41 AM, pontiac_gto said:

Thanks for your safety concerns Stig and Davy. But i don't have better electrical knowledge. So I'm afraid to play with the fuse box. And I noticed removing radio also a quiet big deal in this model.

Let me know one thing. There is a light near the cigar lighter. Can I get 12V power from there? For safety i can run the voltage through 12V fuse. What you guys think?

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Then in your case the safest method is to tap on to the cigar lighter power feed as I said before. Those dashboard lights may come through other controls (for brightness) and contacts which might not have the capacity to handle an additional power demand. If you are paranoid about the cigar lighter fuse blowing, keep a couple of spare fuses with you. What is the car model we are talking about here BTW?

pontiac_gto · February 23, 2017

On 2/23/2017 at 10:28 AM, Rumesh88 said:

Then in your case the safest method is to tap on to the cigar lighter power feed as I said before. Those dashboard lights may come through other controls (for brightness) and contacts which might not have the capacity to handle an additional power demand. If you are paranoid about the cigar lighter fuse blowing, keep a couple of spare fuses with you. What is the car model we are talking about here BTW?

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Thanks Rumesh. As I said before I removed the lighter part from the socket. Now nothing connected to cigar power cables. But still fuse blowing suddenly ignition on. And I put another fuse. Again same result when ignition on. Btw the car is 2005 RX8.

Edited February 23, 2017 by pontiac_gto