cigarette power outlet faulty?

[azeL_Inc]

my car power outlet (cigaratte lighter) suddenly stop working.i normally use it to charge my phone, but just now, phone is not charging. thought charger is faulty, but when i put the cigarette lighter, i cant push it down, it kept "tendang balik"...guess the power outlet itself faulty.any idea how do i fix it? maybe (hopefully) a blown fuse is the cause? thanks!

 

[moots]

bro,try to push and hold d ciggie lighter for 10 secs and pull out.if the heating element heats and glows red,yr fuse is ok and most likely the receiver end of the lighter is at fault.inside the receiver is a small prong that holds the lighter during insertion that needs to be "re-set" ie. pryed to it's original shape.pull the fuse out before attempting this as you may short the contacts if not careful.btdt

 

[jarance]

azel,

your cigarette lighter holding clip is bend. This happen you use the outlet to charge other device like phone or gps device.
to repair, you will have to use a plastic screw driver or letter opener.
1. remove the cigge lighter.
2. there are 2 holding clip at the side wall. use the plastic end of the letter opener and try lever the clip back toward the centre of the hole.
3. at the bottom of the holder, there is another 2 clips. This is the positive supply. try to push with plastic or non conductive material the clip.
(if you use metal, it will short the supply to ground and blow your fuse)
4. try to bend about 1 mm (not too much) toward the centre again.

 

[evilnickwong]

2 questions regarding ciggie lighter, hope it's relevant also:

1) Does it matter which way you plug the wires back in? I think I may have changed the center prong at the bottom to ground. It still works though.
2) If I measure between the center prong and the body with a multimeter, I only get about 9.5V. But at the wires itself, I get 12+. Does this mean my ciggie lighter socket needs replacing already? It's an E30 btw, so quite old.

 

[jarance]

2 questions regarding ciggie lighter, hope it's relevant also:

1) Does it matter which way you plug the wires back in? I think I may have changed the center prong at the bottom to ground. It still works though.
Yes, it does matter. the centre part is always the POSITIVE (+12V) and the body is always ground. If you do it the other way, chances is that the fuse will keep blowing unless the ciggi lighter is isolated from the car body. You ciggee lighter might work but all the charger devise will not work.


2) If I measure between the center prong and the body with a multimeter, I only get about 9.5V. But at the wires itself, I get 12+. Does this mean my ciggie lighter socket needs replacing already? It's an E30 btw, so quite old.
Due to constant usage and ash built-up, the contact at the prong is coated with ash and tar. The give an increase in the surface contact resistance. suggest that you clean the centre prong of tar and ash to bring it back to its former glory.

 

[evilnickwong]

Oo guess I better switch it around then. I haven't tried it with any device, but the lighter heater element does work. Pops out after a few secs in and it's hot.

 

[jarance]

Oo guess I better switch it around then. I haven't tried it with any device, but the lighter heater element does work. Pops out after a few secs in and it's hot.

ciggie lighter is only a heater element. It will work whether the supply is reverse or not. The principle is the same with your incandescent bulb.

However, it will not work with your charger or LED bulb because they are polarity sensitive.

 

[azeL_Inc]

azel,

your cigarette lighter holding clip is bend. This happen you use the outlet to charge other device like phone or gps device.
to repair, you will have to use a plastic screw driver or letter opener.
1. remove the cigge lighter.
2. there are 2 holding clip at the side wall. use the plastic end of the letter opener and try lever the clip back toward the centre of the hole.
3. at the bottom of the holder, there is another 2 clips. This is the positive supply. try to push with plastic or non conductive material the clip.
(if you use metal, it will short the supply to ground and blow your fuse)
4. try to bend about 1 mm (not too much) toward the centre again.

Jarance,

Thanks! It have came across my mind too, coz i was using this cheap (RM10) phone charger that i bought from PETRONAS Mesra shop...
noticed that it doesnt really fit well, so i need to really push hard the charger for the phone to be able to charge.

ok, will try that out and let you know the result soon.
thanks a lot man!

 

[azeL_Inc]

just to update, manage to find some time to look at this, turned out the fuse has blown, real bad....hangus...haha..
and the clips that Jarance mentioned also seems like loose d...tightened that up..n good to go!
thanx for help anyway!

 

[mrfusyi]

had this problem too a while back. took a while to finally figure out that the fuse was blown. buy a couple and place them in the glovebox as spares. And never trust a ciggy plug made in china, they'll plow through the fuses!

 

[azeL_Inc]

haha..yea...mine is bought from PETRONAS pump station...