Cigarette Lighter

ilovemytoyota

New Member
Dec 26, 2010
6
0
0
Colorado
Hey guys, for the record I DID use the search function, however I lack the time and the attention span to get through the first page of results...so sorry in advance if any of you are just going to post a link to an existing thread. Haha. :)

Anyway, my cigarette lighter hasn't worked since I bought the car (1989 Turbo.) I recently painted a bunch of interior pieces white to match the car's exterior and I noticed in the climate control/radio surround the lead that connects to the heating element or whatever it is that is in the center of the cig lighter that makes it work was not making contact with the unit itself. So after I finished painting I made sure to clean the contact and the lead and connected them before I re-installed the interior pieces.

No good.

Checked the fuse in the driver's side kick panel labeled "cig." It was still good but I replaced it anyway.

Still no results.

I haven't pulled the surround off again to check if the lead is getting power with a multi meter yet but I was wondering if anyone had any insight for me concerning this problem. Also I wanted to remove the lighter while I was painting and could not figure out how to pull it from that radio shroud/surround so I just masked it. How hard is it to remove these things and can I find a replacement one if it isn't a wiring issue?
Also I have done a motor swap with a JDM 7M-GTE and it came with a new wiring harness (with a knock sensor rewire), but that did not solve the problem (and I know little about wiring so it may not even be related whatsoever, sorry for being a noob.)
Thanks in advance SupraMania, I may not have posted much but I've been lurking since October 2010 and have learned much from reading all of your threads and responses. Great stuff here, you guys all rock in my opinion. :D
 
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hey...it runs

New Member
Aug 15, 2011
138
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0
chicago
I'm not sure if it's anything like the dome lights, but the connector on my dome light housing corroded at the rivets and wouldn't work a lot of the time. I ended up drilling out the rivet and soldiering a piece of wire in each one instead. Has been working perfect ever since. I don't think this will be of much help, but if u see any corrosion, you never know.
 

bioskyline

New Member
Oct 21, 2010
1,236
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powell river bc
^ what he said. they corrode fast. best if you want a cig lighter, is get a new one. there a fairly universal item, just 2 wires to join. i know i can get a new one from canadian tire for 10 bucks, so id assume autozone or someplace would carry them aswell.
 

ilovemytoyota

New Member
Dec 26, 2010
6
0
0
Colorado
Cool, yeah I can pick one up at pepboys. Thanks for the feedback guys. Does anyone know how to remove the heating element from the recessed hole it sits in on the radio shroud? I'm pretty stumped...
 

GrimJack

Administrator
Dec 31, 1969
12,377
3
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56
Richmond, BC, Canada
idriders.com
I've found that two things usually cause mine to stop working.

1. That damn wire you mentioned keeps coming loose... usually when I'm putting the interior back in.
2. For some reason, I forget to connect the other plug.

Mine has never been dead due to a fuse or wiring problems.