Over the last few years, I have been using a Cigarette Lighter Splitter in my car where I can charge my cellphone/use my FMtransmitter for my phone and my GPS. Sadly it stopped working. I figure it could be the splitter, since each charger works fine on its own. So I brought a new splitter and that doesn’t work either.
So I am thinking it is the fuse. Am I right on this? I have found the fuse box
I think I have to take out the plastic exterior on the driver leg side to get to it. I can’t seem to reach the fuse with my fingers. Is there an easier way to do this?
I assume it would be either the power outlet or cig. I seem to have 2 cigarette lighter port, one of them doesn’t work (under the header) and the other under the panel is the one I have been using.
When you go to the auto parts store to buy a new fuse, look at one of the sets that has a selection of fuses in it. There will be a little tool in most of these sets that is used to grip the fuse for extraction.
The sets are pretty inexpensive and you never know when you might need another one of the fuses.
Some cars have one of these tools attached to the underside of the fuse box cover or in the slot where the warnings are shown on the cover (in the box directly under the notice).
Also, your car may already have some spare fuses in it. Many manufacturers install extra fuses in unoccupied slots in the fuse block as a convenience, as well as providing a fuse puller. Check your owner’s manual for more on this.
I have a 2005 Mazda6 with a dead cigarette lighter/charger port. If its not the fuse, any idea what it should cost to get this fixed? I don’t have the mechanical skills to do it myself unless it is very easy.
Patrickwr–Has this socket always been dead? If not, it is probably the fuse. If so, it may not have been conncected at the factory. I purchased a new 2000 Ford Windstar and one socket didn’t work. Since the lighter socket was close, I didn’t worry about it. However, I was cleaning the car one day and removed the ashtray. There was a wire with a connector that was loose. It was supposed to go to the socket that didn’t work. I managed to push the connector onto the socket and had another working place to plug in my cell phone charger.
Have you checked the outlet, where the wire connects to the back? It might have just come loose.
In terms of cost, electrical problems are hit and miss. They can be easy to solve, or they can take hours, which drives the cost of labor up. You just can’t predict what it will cost to solve an electrical problem. Sometimes, you pay for the labor to do troubleshooting, but drive away with the problem unsolved. Electrical problems can be a gamble.
Abut 6-8 months, it stopped working with the adapter I had for an FM transmitter for my MP3 player. I then tested it with the cigarette light, which I almost never use, and it did not work with that. It continued to work with a phone charger until about two weeks ago. I was looking for insight into the cost of fixing it as a sanity check for the next time I take it in for routine maintenance, but, thanks, this information is helpful.
patrick24–If some items work in the socket and some don’t, my guess is that the socket is defective. There may be corrosion on the center contact. This is an easy repair. If the socket is defective, the cost shouldn’t be all that high–about half an hour labor plus the cost of the socket.
