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Cigarette lighter doesn't work

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Old 01-28-16, 04:52 PM
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solefresh8
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Default Cigarette lighter doesn't work

So I haved my 93sc300
For a few years now and the cigarette lighter has never work but now I need to get it fixed since I am useing my car more. I readed in a few of the other form on how to fix it and what to look for , I took a look at the fuse and it isn't blow. Now a lot of people say that it just might be disconnected ? But the light under the cigarette lighter Is on? My question is is the cigarette lighter connected to that light ? If not then I'll take it apart and replace it , Thanks in Advance
Old 01-28-16, 05:18 PM
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PJSC300
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I know it obvious, but check to see if their's a coin or anything inside it.
Old 01-28-16, 05:28 PM
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KahnBB6
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I've never experienced it on this car but I once had a similar issue with a 1994 Camry cigarette lighter suddenly not working. It turned out that it wasn't a fuse since nothing else on that factory circuit was malfunctioning.

It was the lighter/DC port itself. At least on those models there was a failsafe conductive washer that could be disabled if it got too hot (overload?) or perhaps just from age. In the case of the 94 Camry it wasn't even caused by too many devices being plugged in. I assumed it was age. There was a way to take the lighter assembly apart and put a similar size washer in between the two connections. That made it work again. The additional factory failsafe was therefore lost but the main circuit fuse was still there to cut things off in the event of a true overload.

I suspect (at least on the Camry lighter) it had something to do with a localized layer of failsafe protection specifically because of the factory heating element in the ****.

Now as applied to SC lighters I do not know if the same technique works or is advised but there are a lot of commonalities from Toyotas of that era.

Last edited by KahnBB6; 01-28-16 at 08:45 PM. Reason: Single word correction
Old 01-28-16, 06:20 PM
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solefresh8
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Originally Posted by KahnBB6
I've never experienced it on this car but I once had a similar issue with a 1994 Camry cigarette lighter suddenly not working. It turned out that it wasn't a fuse since nothing else on that factory circuit was connected.

It was the lighter/DC port itself. At least on those models there was a failsafe conductive washer that could be disabled if it got too hot (overload?) or perhaps just from age. In the case of the 94 Camry it wasn't even caused by too many devices being plugged in. I assumed it was age. There was a way to take the lighter assembly apart and put a similar size washer in between the two connections. That made it work again. The additional factory failsafe was therefore lost but the main circuit fuse was still there to cut things off in the event of a true overload.

I suspect (at least on the Camry lighter) it had something to do with a localized layer of failsafe protection specifically because of the factory heating element in the ****.

Now as applied to SC lighters I do not know if the same technique works or is advised but there are a lot of commonalities from Toyotas of that era.
Thanks for the info I'm going change the whole thing out tomorrow
Old 01-28-16, 06:21 PM
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solefresh8
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Originally Posted by PJSC300
I know it obvious, but check to see if their's a coin or anything inside it.

Lol no there isn't , I just took the whole center off and saw that it was connected I am guessing the unit just went bad?
Old 01-28-16, 08:14 PM
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It could be as simple as not being plugged in. Someone may have done stereo work and forgot to reconnect it when putting the trim panel back in place. I've done that plenty of times with seat memory and light connectors on the door!
Old 02-01-16, 04:27 AM
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Originally Posted by t2d2
It could be as simple as not being plugged in. Someone may have done stereo work and forgot to reconnect it when putting the trim panel back in place. I've done that plenty of times with seat memory and light connectors on the door!
Nope it was just bad , I changed the whole unit and work like a dream now
Old 02-01-16, 04:57 AM
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You're probably right, but technically speaking, that doesn't rule out the possibility that it wasn't plugged in fully and you simply improved the connection by plugging in the new one. That's sort of my theory with IAC issues, but it would be a lot less likely with something that locks in so securely like the cig. lighter.
Old 03-07-17, 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by solefresh8
So I haved my 93sc300
For a few years now and the cigarette lighter has never work but now I need to get it fixed since I am useing my car more. I readed in a few of the other form on how to fix it and what to look for , I took a look at the fuse and it isn't blow. Now a lot of people say that it just might be disconnected ? But the light under the cigarette lighter Is on? My question is is the cigarette lighter connected to that light ? If not then I'll take it apart and replace it , Thanks in Advance
If your fuses are good and it still doesn't work, check this video.
https://youtu.be/f2SphvH4Kno
Old 03-07-17, 10:41 PM
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KahnBB6
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This is exactly what I did ^^. It worked when I tried it on a 1994 Camry and later it was a solid DIY fix for my SC300 when the same issue cropped up.
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