The cigarette lighter does not work: causes of failure and repair methods

Initially, the cigarette lighter was aimed at the needs of smokers. However, as practice has shown, to light a cigarette it is much more convenient to use a match or a lighter.

Many automobile companies at one time even wanted to abandon this mechanism. But with technological progress, when the life of every motorist became almost impossible without devices, the cigarette lighter found a second life. The device socket, which allows you to connect any electrical equipment with an input voltage of 12 W, remains in demand. It is quite obvious that if the cigarette lighter does not work inside the car, not only the driver, but also the passengers nearby experience discomfort.

How the cigarette lighter works and how it works

This device consists of a metal spiral in a plastic case, which is inserted into a special socket in the car interior. The heating element is a material with high resistivity (most often nichrome). The entire structure is connected as follows: the ground is connected to the socket, and the positive contact to the heater.

The nichrome spiral is heated to extremely high temperatures, as evidenced by its red color. The system is equipped with a thermal relay that turns off the power supply if the temperature threshold is exceeded

Also, to illuminate the socket in case of insufficient lighting, install a special socket with a light bulb. The socket is equipped with a 10 A fuse, which is located in the fuse block. Despite the rather simple and understandable design, it happens that the cigarette lighter often stops functioning. There can be many reasons for this, each of which will be discussed in more detail below.

Connection diagram

Connecting the cigarette lighter is not difficult. The device is connected to the on-board network with only three wires.

Black wire - the ground of the car is connected to the cigarette lighter body.
Red wire – power is attached to a terminal at the end of the housing. This threaded clamp also serves as a fastening for the heater retainer, so power is supplied to it as well.
Yellow wire – power supply for instrument lighting is connected to the lamp socket. Ground, which is supplied through its contact with the cigarette lighter body.
VAZ 2104-07

Why the cigarette lighter does not work: the main reasons

When this simple but important device for a comfortable stay in the car fails, it becomes unusually difficult. As mentioned above, the cigarette lighter may stop functioning for a variety of reasons. But the following situations are considered the most common:

The fuse located in the block has failed
Burnt out socket
A foreign object has entered the socket, preventing connection
The “antennae” of the nest are loose or frayed

The fuse is considered the most vulnerable element of the device. Often it burns out due to an overload formed when powerful electrical appliances are connected: a refrigerator for a car, a compressor for inflating wheels, mattresses, and the like.

The cigarette lighter is designed to work with low-power electrical appliances: laptop, tablet, mobile phone. Therefore, if there is a need to connect a “heavy” device, it is best to connect it directly to the battery

This method may seem inconvenient to many, although there is nothing complicated about it. It is enough to connect all the wires correctly, observing the polarity. In any case, you can install another battery-powered cigarette lighter. The throughput of such a mechanism is much higher, so many energy-intensive devices can be connected to it without fear.

Troubleshooting

Many motorists use a cigarette lighter to supply power to the compressor to inflate tires, some connect an FM transmitter instead of an audio system, and others vacuum the interior.

Any device requiring 12V power can be connected through this socket. Usually these are DVRs, laptops, smartphone chargers, navigators. Sometimes even auto-inverters.

How to repair a car cigarette lighter?

When the answer to the question of why the cigarette lighter does not work has been received, you can move on to the next stage - troubleshooting. That is, it is necessary to have a clear idea of which element has failed and what actions should be taken.

The simplest and most effective way to solve the problem is to go to a service station. Qualified personnel will quickly repair a failed device. True, you will have to pay a little for the work. In addition, you will have to spend money on fuel to get to your destination. Therefore, this method is not suitable for everyone.

If you decide to do all the work yourself, then follow these simple instructions:

Make sure the fuse is in place. To do this, find it in the general box. It is indicated by signs in the form of a smoking cigarette, or by the inscription “cigar”
If this element burns out, replace the old fuse with a new one
If the mechanism is intact and continues to function correctly, check the socket itself
Make sure that no foreign object has fallen into the socket

Third-party objects can be pulled out with tweezers, but this must be done carefully. In the worst case, the wiring has been unsoldered or burned out. Few people can fix such a breakdown with their own hands at home. You must have the appropriate electrical knowledge and tools. It is not recommended to install a higher power fuse. Increasing the power of the device will result in failure of the cigarette lighter socket itself.

Causes of the problem

Modern use of a cigarette lighter comes down to using its socket as a source of energy. This is a kind of socket located in the car. It is into the hole and sockets of the device that various electrical appliances are inserted. It is very important to remember that you can connect devices with a voltage of no more than 12 volts. If the voltage is higher, this threatens a short circuit in the circuit.

Widespread use of this machine unit leads to frequent failure. There are several standard causes of failure. Before looking for it in the device itself, you need to check the connected devices. Perhaps they are the ones that are faulty. After all, it will take a lot of time to replace the cigarette lighter socket, and in some cars you have to change part of the console.

To check the serviceability of the device itself, you need to turn on the ignition of the car, insert the cigarette lighter into the socket, and not the phone charger, wait 15 - 20 seconds, check the degree of heating. If the device does not heat up at all, it means that the problem is broken. In this case, you need to know what correct steps to take to fix the problem if the cigarette lighter in the car is broken.

The main reasons for a malfunctioning cigarette lighter in a car are:

violation of wiring integrity;
fuse burnt out;
burnt out cigarette lighter socket;
presence of foreign objects in the nest.

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Cigarette lighter repair instructions

If the cigarette lighter stops working and you decide to do the repairs yourself, first of all you should dismantle it. The complete procedure for repairing the device is as follows:

Initially, you should have a new, working copy on hand.
Remove the negative battery terminal
Using pliers, carefully remove the cigarette lighter from its socket.
Lift the device by the edges one by one, without sudden movements, so as not to break the contacts
When the cigarette lighter is in your hands, pay attention to its contacts, there should be no burning on it
If a soldered wire is found, solder it
Install the mechanism into the socket, doing all the steps in reverse order.

Another common problem is that current flows, but the coil does not heat up. In this case, the head must be completely replaced. It is necessary to install new, original spare parts of the device in accordance with their specific brand of car. If the above steps do not bring the desired result, install a new cigarette lighter.

What is not recommended to do in case of breakdown

If a car's standard cigarette lighter in the passenger compartment does not work, it needs to be checked, the culprit found, the cause eliminated and thereby the system's functionality restored.

But sometimes motorists make mistakes during the repair process. There are several examples of what not to do in such a situation:

Ignore the situation. The consequences can be very different, starting simply from a cigarette lighter failure and ending with short circuits and fire of the car.
Use fuses that differ from the original ones in rating. Too high values may not protect the node in time. With a small number of Amps, each new fuse will burn out very quickly.
Clean contacts with metal objects. This is done with a knife or screwdriver. But this can damage the insulation and cause a short circuit.
Carry out work with the negative battery connected. Any work related to electrics is carried out only after first resetting the negative voltage from the battery. It is important to de-energize the on-board network.
Use cheap consumables and parts. When replacing the head or the entire fuse, choose a kit made by a trusted manufacturer. Not necessarily original, although that is a priority.

You can solve the problem of a faulty cigarette lighter with your own hands. But to do this you need to follow the instructions and follow safety rules.

Worth remembering before work

You need to remember that fuses are in the electrical circuit, so you need to take precautions:

The car must be turned off
The ignition must be turned off
The battery must be installed and the terminals must be connected, otherwise there will be no “power” to the electrical circuit
Do not bridge the contacts of one fuse with another using a multimeter.

What I would like to add in conclusion, guys - the first two methods are available to everyone, that is, it’s trivial to pull it out and look, but the third one with a tester... buy it, it’s a really useful thing in the car, if you decide to figure it out yourself, we just can’t replace it!

Bottom line

It is best to use the cigarette lighter strictly for its intended purpose, then the likelihood of it breaking is significantly reduced. But over time, the “antennae” becomes loose, even if used in rare cases. There's nothing wrong with that - just bend them with the help of a tool at hand. In especially severe cases, for example, when the problem lies in the entire wiring, of course, you simply cannot do without the help of a specialist. In any case, there is no need to connect powerful electrical appliances to the cigarette lighter. Then the device will serve faithfully throughout the entire operation of the car.

Troubleshooting methods

A common problem in a breakdown is a broken wiring. In this case, check the integrity of the wires. The wire may be loose or broken. Perhaps there is no current due to the fact that the connectors are not tightly adjacent to each other. In this case, it is necessary to check the wires, fasten the connectors, and solder the disconnected sections.

Another reason why the device stopped working could be a blown fuse. Devices connected through a high-voltage socket are most often to blame for this. The fuse simply cannot cope with the load, since the cigarette lighter is designed for a certain power.

There is only one way out - replacing the blown fuse. Motorists should remember that it is best to use a battery to charge more powerful devices in the car. It is less convenient, but effective and safe. You can remove a more reinforced socket directly from the battery and use it for its intended purpose.

The next common cause of breakdown is a burnt socket. This happens because plugs of a non-standard type or those that dangle freely are inserted into the connector. In this case, the solution is to replace the cigarette lighter socket.

Every motorist probably wondered how and why the cigarette lighter in the car broke down and tried to find out how to repair this device in the car on their own, without turning to car services for help. This topic is quite relevant. It is not necessary to go to specialists, if the driver knows the car a little, then with the help of tips you can find and repair the cigarette lighter in the car yourself.

Step-by-step guide to replacement and setup

Below you will find information on how to remove the cigarette lighter, how to understand its circuit, perform installation, and also how to disassemble the cigarette lighter.

Tools and materials

Installing and replacing the cigarette lighter requires the presence of some tools:

pliers;
file;
Screwdriver Set;
soldering iron

You can learn how to connect a cigarette lighter from the author of the video, Dmitry Maznitsyn.

Troubleshooting Methods

If the cigarette lighter stops working, it is necessary to carry out proper diagnostics. For this operation, you only need a multimeter set in tester mode, or a homemade device constructed from a lamp and several wires.

For the most part, this device is located in the mounting block in a special compartment of the machine. To get to this device, you will have to open the hood and in the mounting block - in the black box, which is located in the far corner, find a fuse, which can be called either F4, F7, and sometimes 20 A - it all depends on the maximum current for which the fuse is designed .

In order to diagnose the fuse, you need to remove it and connect it to a multimeter to test the contacts. If the lamp on a homemade tester lights up, or the device emits a sound alert indicating that the fuse is intact, then the problem lies elsewhere.

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Important: you should not install the rated current next to the fuse, because this will lead to irreversible consequences, possibly even a fire.

One of the causes of the malfunction may be the driver’s inattention when working with auxiliary devices. For example, after recently cleaning the car interior using electrical equipment, the cigarette lighter in the car does not work - this means the problem is in the fuse. To avoid these problems in the future, you need to carefully control the current supply.

Sometimes, if the cigarette lighter and the radio are not working at the same time, you may not find any connection, but it is there. After all, it also happens in everyday life when a driver connects the radio contacts to this device, because it’s easier than going the other way and connecting to the car’s battery. Thus, when it burns out, the stereo in the car stops working at the same time. In this case, it is better not to self-medicate, but to go to an auto center and consult a qualified specialist.

It happens that drivers install a lot of equipment in the car, although it is more correct to connect it to the battery.

If the methods described above do not solve the problem, all that remains is to check the wiring for corrosion.

Particular attention should be paid to connecting the positive wire and ground wire to the device.
Inspect all connections and, if contacts are loose somewhere, restore them.
Check the contacts of the wire block on the mounting block.
If there is a break in the wire from the block, it is necessary to replace it locally, or replace the entire harness.

Work sequence

You can learn how to change the cigarette lighter from the instructions described below.

Disassemble the system only after de-energizing the vehicle. If the driver pulled out the cigarette lighter while the wires were connected, this could lead to a short circuit and even a fire, then the installation will not seem easy.
When removing the device, you must be careful. When working, you need to use a small flat-head screwdriver. It is placed inside the part. Use the end of a screwdriver to press on the green latch and unscrew the sleeve. Then remove the glass part.
Remove the device and carry out repairs. The installed device is placed in its original place. When connecting contacts, correct polarity must be observed to prevent short circuits.

Detail on a car dashboard

How to remove the cigarette lighter

If you have found the cause of the cigarette lighter failure and prepared the necessary equipment, proceed to disassemble the part. The dismantling process involves the following steps:

First you need to open the hood and remove the negative terminal from the battery.
Next, you need to disassemble the facing panel to gain access to the socket connection connector.
Then you can unscrew the screws and disconnect the block.
The next step is to dismantle the metal cigarette lighter tube using a screwdriver.
After removing the part, you must turn off the backlight.

A serviceable element can be repaired, but a burnt-out element will have to be replaced.

Car cigarette lighter button repair

Often the device stops working due to damage to the power button.

The problem is solved by dismantling the failed key and then restoring or replacing it.

The repair process does not take much time and is done with your own hands.

Cigarette lighter head repair

In some cases, it is necessary to perform partial repairs of the car cigarette lighter. To do this, the element is dismantled according to simple instructions and checked for defects under the housing. Inside the part there is a miniature mica plate, which acts as a semiconductor and often fails. The product must be removed, repaired, and then put back.

Why the cigarette lighter in the car does not work: causes of failure and repair