Uh-oh, something just happened tonight on 9/11, and I think the terrorists are behind it. Tonight I think blew up some electrical components in my center console. I am not a smoker, but I make use of the cigarette lighter for various practical purposes, such as recharging my bluetooth headset. However, tonight I lost a few features on my center console.
The first is that I have lost Climate Control. None of the buttons work, so I cannot blow a fan, run an air condiitoner, nor direct the flow of air. I cannot even turn it on or off.
The second is the clock above the air vents. I do not have the time of day, and the only thing that works is the illumination "OUTSIDE TEMP," but no temperature reading. Everything else is blacked out.
The third is the cigarette lighter itself. It appears to be slightly dislodged and not firmly in the ashtray. I can twist around the metal cylinder and even lift it up a little if I want. I would estimate that I can pull it up from its base
I can't see why I would blow those things up. I have been doing it since I inherited the car, and my dad used to always charge his phone while he drove. I also remember a mechanical seat cushion that massaged his back while he drove, and he powered that through the cigarette lighter. The car had a flat tire one day, and I ran a mini compressor through the cigarette lighter and had no problems until today.
Has anyone here ever had similar problems? I am hoping to find a cheap solution instead of the dealer because I would be wary of paying $95 an hour for work that may be as simple as a fuse replacement. Hopefully this problem may be easily fixed with a mere fuse.

 

Check the fuses under near the kick panel of the driver side door... Fuse may have blown

 

Didn't your father put a bigger fuse for the cigarette lighter line before?
If so, the fuse called "40A AM1" may open when an excess current goes through.
The "40A AM1" fuse is located in the FL box next to the battery under the hood.

It is supplying 12V to the cigarette lighter, the radio, the heater, the wipers, the dash panel, the turn signals and etc.

 

also, if you end up having to pull the console pretty trim piece, and remove the ashtray and inspect why the cigarette lighter socket is "slightly dislodged", well that would be a perfect time to do a little engineering and get rid of the silly and troublesome fuselink contained inside the cigarette lighter socket mechanism that also likes to go bad in these cars, I got rid of mine one day when my cigarette lighter socket (but nothing else) stopped working.

Search here on Club Lexus, there is a tutorial with pictures on how to remove the tiny fuselink and reassemble the socket to work nicely without it - this will save you from a future power issue at the socket.


and while you are checking fuses, go ahead and check every fuse in the car, both in the driver's kick area and near the battery, this is easy with a test light.

here is the one I use

 

OK, guys, a partial success. I replaced the mini fuse on position 11 and I restored the clock, the climate control, but the cigarette lighter still does not work. I will read up on how to fix that here.

 

I bet the receptical itself is toast. They tend to wear out under consistent usage.

 

they don't usually wear out, unless they had really heavy usage or someone man-handling the things plugged into it

usually the problem is the tiny 1/2" long fuselink contained inside the cigarette lighter socket mechanism that also likes to go bad in these cars, I got rid of mine one day when my cigarette lighter socket (but nothing else) stopped working.

there is a thread with pics on here showing how to rebuild it and lose the annoying troublesome fuselink