using the cigarette lighter blows the fuse

evilcrownvic · December 25, 2004

i'm having this funky electrical problem with my 88 suburban. tonite i went to plug in my cell phone to charge it and the fuse controlling the cigarette lighter and the radio blew. i replaced it and it did it again. unfortunately i have no owners manual and my haynes manual is not very helpful. is this a short in the wiring or is it something else? please help.

thanks!

Scgtpcpe · December 25, 2004

Check to see if a penny jumped out of the ash tray and landed in the lighter slot. That will blow the fuse every time.

evilcrownvic · December 25, 2004

Check to see if a penny jumped out of the ash tray and landed in the lighter slot. That will blow the fuse every time.

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i'll see if that happened. thanks!

ktmjim215 · December 25, 2004

Plug another 12 volt accessory in the lighter and see if it still blows. It may be what you are plugging in.

evilcrownvic · December 25, 2004

Plug another 12 volt accessory in the lighter and see if it still blows. It may be what you are plugging in.

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i looked all thru that plug and found nothing that shouldn't be there. and i plugged my radar detector in and the fuse blew. hmm

GM-Tech · December 25, 2004

The fuse doesn't blow with nothing plugged in (I assume), so it's either what you're plugging in or there's a problem with the socket itself.

If the power (wiring) to the lighter was shorted to ground, it would blow the fuse as soon as you put the fuse in.

evilcrownvic · December 25, 2004

the fuse doesn't blow as soon as its replaced, just when something is plugged in. just to be sure i plugged everything that i have tried in the suburban into both of my crown vics and said devices work fine with no blown fuse.

the only thing i can think of is a bad plug or there is something else wired to that fuse

GM-Tech · December 25, 2004

the only thing i can think of is a bad plug or there is something else wired to that fuse

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If there was something else on that circuit drawing power all the time and taking the circuit to near the capacity of the fuse, yeah, it could blow when you added an extra load. Putting in a fuse that's rated 5 amps higher than the current one should tell you if that's the problem.

HaroldCallahan · December 25, 2004

Same thing happened to me with my 1988 GMC Suburban and cell phone adapter plugged into the cigarette lighter.

I have been able to use other things like mini-air compressors, lights, etc in the adapter with no problem.

Never tried the cell phone a second time, but I would bet it would blow the fuse again.

Have you tried other accessories besides the cell phone in the cigarette lighter ???

evilcrownvic · December 26, 2004

Have you tried other accessories besides the cell phone in the cigarette lighter ???

yup. i tried

radar detector

cell phone

air compressor

magnetic light

and i'm out of fuses,lol. i'll replace it later this week(i'm broke) and i'll throw in a higher amperage fuse too. and i'll take it from there. thanks guys. you've been a big help

evilcrownvic · December 26, 2004

btw, since i don't have an owners manual i really can't tell what else blows when the fuse goes. i see an electric trailer brake tho, but the light thats on it don't work i think. and heres the funky part, when i push a tape in it plays but i hear this horrrendous clicking noise and obviously theres no display on the radio.

BBSilverado · December 26, 2004

Don't just throw in a higher amperage fuse, you may start melting some wiring before the higher amp fuse gets enough current to blow and I sure you don't want any more problems

asepgrad98 · December 26, 2004

replace the socket!

mcreyaufmiller · December 26, 2004

I concur, replace the socket

budhayes3 · December 26, 2004

Yea, sounds like the socket assembly is shorting when an accessory is plugged into it. You definitely don't want to just throw a larger fuse in there, that's a good way to let the smoke out of your wiring harness.