Stroock639

just thought i'd share some findings in case anyone else was having the same problem...

my front cigarette lighter (the one next to the ashtray) randomly stopped working the other day, which meant i had to go a whole 25 minutes without the trusty valentine V1 and all its lovely protection from the fuzz

firstly i checked the fuse, which is the #12 "FR CIG" 15A fuse in the instrument panel fuse box, but that was totally fine, which i sort of suspected would be the case since that fuse also deals with the SRS which wasn't showing any problems

then i took out the center wood trim piece to unplug the three connections, removed the wood trim piece and grabbed a little electrical tester

the wiring from within the car still had power going to it, which was a big relief since who wants to deal with a wiring harness problem, so at least i knew that wasn't the issue

next was to remove the ash try part from the trim piece, which is just held in by 4 philips head screws, and the little piece of wood that you actually press on to deploy the ashtray is just held in by 2 more philips head screws... when putting this back on make sure you slide the top over these 2 little tabs otherwise it won't sit flush

i did a little forums-ing around and was expecting to see the fusible link blown out like had happened to a few others, however everything looked completely in tact... but someone else said that simply taking the lighter assembly apart and putting it back together made it work again, so i did, and it did!!

the nut is a 7 mm which i got off by putting a little vise grip around the socket since there was no room for a ratchet, also i'd recommend sticking the actual lighter piece into the outlet and pressing it down since you need something to keep the screw in place in order to be able to get the nut back on... i didn't think to do this but stuffing some paper towel in the socket did the trick just fine


here's some other links that helped:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-tutorial.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-98-ls400.html


tl;dr

take it apart and put it back together (if it's not the fuse)

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

this is the little problem.....

Stroock639

my washer looked brand new, as did basically everything else apart from some of the plastic shielding around the wires

i just put it back together, shot a few bursts of air in just to blow out any dust and voila power is once again flowing

mine is also designed slightly differently than the one pictured, the washer in mine is smaller

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

the good news is you got it working....

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

Nice pic.

That looks very similar to my '91, so I think this PSA applies to a lot of cars.

My understanding and experience is:
- the purpose of this second "fuse" is to protect against over-temperature, e.g., due to cigarette lighter (remember those) malfunction or having a coin fall in there. The regular circuit fuse in the fuse box protects against over-current. Makes sense. Useful.

- the washer thing is just an electrically insulating spacer that can withstand high temperature.

- the thermal fuse is that little L-shaped black-insulated wire. It completes the circuit between the two plates it is crimped to. It is designed to melt at a certain temperature, regardless of current flow, breaking the circuit when things get too hot.

- removing that washer effectively bypasses the thermal fuse. With the washer removed, the plates touch eachother and current flows regardless of that thermal fuse. With the washer in place, current only flows through the thermal fuse, and if it gets too hot, the fuse melts and current flow stops.

- when I fixed mine, after careful checking, I found that the electrical connections where the thermal fuse is crimped to the plates were flaky. Perhaps due to galvanic corrosion over 20+ years. Would sometimes conduct electricity, sometimes not. Cleaning the surfaces and re-crimping with more force seemed to overcome this, and fixed things for me.

---------------
So if I'm right with all the above, it makes sense that ...

if you remove the insulating washer, you'll fix it. And will lose the thermal protection.

if you replace the thermal fuse with copper wire, and crimp it well, you'll fix it. And will lose the thermal protection.

if you take it apart and put it back in, there is a good chance you somehow renewed the contact of the thermal fuse crimping, which may fix it short term or long term.

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

nice informative post oldskewel, well done, I failed to reason out the why, just got it working for my phone charger..

Stroock639

the earlier ones seem to have like a fabric washer, but mine was just a small metal one right beneath the nut

there was also no black plastic piece