Cigarette lighter

Pineywoodsbow · Nov 18, 2017

Hello again guys,
I need some help on this one as it is driving me crazy trying to figure out what is going on. The fuse on the cigarette lighter periodically starting blowing when using phone charger, etc. This started happening after the lighter got stuck while depressed and melted in half. So I assumed that the lighter socket was now defaulty and was causing the fuse to blow. Bought a new one and housing from LMC. Now it blows the fuse immediately, LOL. What doesn't make sense is how the new socket and housing looks. As you can see in the picture the old one had the connector on the centerpiece of the lighter socket. The new one has the wire connecting to the housing. I'm not real good with electrical but it doesn't make sense to me to send the hot wire directly to ground, does it? please help!!

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RustyPile · Nov 18, 2017

First LMC says their Casco lighter will replace the GM Rochester unit but all three components -- lighter, housing, and retainer have to be replaced.. Second, you're connecting the wire to the wrong terminal.. The spade terminal is the ground.. The
"bolt like" terminal in the center is where the hot wire connects..

RustyPile · Nov 18, 2017

The early cigarette lighter wiring circuits aren't designed for long term current draw.. A cigarette lighter is "on" for only a few seconds.. Chargers run for several minutes, to an hour or more. This taxes the circuit too much.. Changing the lighter assembly is not an effective fix, you should install a different circuit designed for charging batteries..

Pineywoodsbow · Nov 18, 2017

thanks Rusty that makes a little more sense. couple of questions:
does the spade terminal not go to anything since i dont have a ground wire just a hot? im guessing i would need to splice on a ring terminal to hook up to the bolt like terminal?

how would I go about running a new circuit for charging batteries? thanks bud!

Honky Kong jr · Nov 18, 2017

I have to add this to @RustyPile respondents the amp draw of a cigarette lighter element heating way exceeds the amp draw of a phone charges by like a lot. The operation of a cigarette lighter is a direct short to ground. Major amp draw and when the lighter works properly the short is stopped by popping the lighter out before the fuse blows, all be it, on the floor or on the seat but the short is interrupted.

RustyPile · Nov 18, 2017

Pineywoodsbow said:
thanks Rusty that makes a little more sense. couple of questions:
does the spade terminal not go to anything since i dont have a ground wire just a hot? im guessing i would need to splice on a ring terminal to hook up to the bolt like terminal?

how would I go about running a new circuit for charging batteries? thanks bud!

That grounding spade is more for "universal" installations re: a wooden console or plastic dash panel.. You probably don't need a ground wire on a stock location. As for a terminal for the hot wire -- a female bullet connector should work better than a ring terminal..

If you want the charging port to be switched off with the ignition switch, for sustained heavy current flows, I like to use a relay to take the load off the ignition switch.. A 100% duty cycle fuel pump relay would work. Which ever route you take, just put some kind of switch on the relay so that it can be turned off when not being used.. As for a power source, just use an inline fuse holder and connect to the same terminal with the fuse links on the upper firewall.

Pineywoodsbow · Nov 18, 2017

update: have it connected properly now and the fuse blows only when I push in the lighter for use. any ideas?

Battlac40 · Nov 18, 2017

Put a USB port interface in it.
Join the modern era, then throw a burnout on it!

Honky Kong jr · Nov 18, 2017

Pineywoodsbow said:
update: have it connected properly now and the fuse blows only when I push in the lighter for use. any ideas?

Crappy replacement part.... they don’t make stuff like they used to. How are you hooking up the threaded stud looking thing?

Pineywoodsbow · Nov 18, 2017

Honky Kong jr said:
Crappy replacement part.... they don’t make stuff like they used to. How are you hooking up the threaded stud looking thing?

I used a ring terminal

Honky Kong jr · Nov 18, 2017

Pineywoodsbow said:
I used a ring terminal

It’s probably touching something go to a yard and snip the connector off a lighter that has the stud type terminal not sure of which years had which but my 87 has the stud type.

RustyPile · Nov 19, 2017

Pineywoodsbow said:
I used a ring terminal

I'm done.........

smoothandlow84 · Nov 19, 2017

RustyPile said:
The early cigarette lighter wiring circuits aren't designed for long term current draw.. A cigarette lighter is "on" for only a few seconds.. Chargers run for several minutes, to an hour or more. This taxes the circuit t

RustyPile said:

The early cigarette lighter wiring circuits aren't designed for long term current draw.. A cigarette lighter is "on" for only a few seconds.. Chargers run for several minutes, to an hour or more. This taxes the circuit too much.. Changing the lighter assembly is not an effective fix, you should install a different circuit designed for charging batteries..

Click to expand...

ng the lighter assembly is not an effective fix, you should install a different circuit designed for charging batteries..

Ummm. I beg to differ in regards to long term power draw from the cigarette lighter. I use my cigarette lighter all of the time to charge my cell phone, ipod, etc and I have never had a fuse blow. More than likely the socket is shorting out and or the charger that is beingused is bad.

smoothandlow84 · Nov 19, 2017

RustyPile said:
That grounding spade is more for "universal" installations re: a wooden console or plastic dash panel.. You probably don't need a ground wire on a stock location. As for a terminal for the hot wire -- a female bullet connector should work better than a ring terminal..

If you want the charging port to be switched off with the ignition switch, for sustained heavy current flows, I like to use a relay to take the load off the ignition switch.. A 100% duty cycle fuel pump relay would work. Which ever route you take, just put some kind of switch on the relay so that it can be turned off when not being used.. As for a power source, just use an inline fuse holder and connect to the same terminal with the fuse links on the upper firewall.

Again...yes, you do need a ground and a power source for the cigarette lighter aka power terminal to work...its how dc power works.

RustyPile · Nov 19, 2017

smoothandlow84 said:
Ummm. I beg to differ in regards to long term power draw from the cigarette lighter. I use my cigarette lighter all of the time to charge my cell phone, ipod, etc and I have never had a fuse blow. More than likely the socket is shorting out and or the charger that is beingused is bad.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should..

Cigarette lighter

Pineywoodsbow

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Honky Kong jr

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