# Car/broken cigarette lighter question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-broken-cigarette-lighter-question/332091 "2005-11-21T16:21:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-broken-cigarette-lighter-question/332091/1 "2005-11-21T16:21:49Z")
Maybe this should go to CarTalk instead of The Straight Dope, but what the heck. I have a 1998 Saturn SL, 125K. I use a charging device for my cell phone that plugs into the dashboard where the cigarette lighter would go. I noticed recently that the cell phone charger wasn’t working when plugged into my dashboard so I replaced the charger. The new device didn’t work either, and neither does my girlfriend’s cell phone charger. The car radio and other items that work off the car battery all work fine. So the question is, what do I do? Did I blow a fuse in the car, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-broken-cigarette-lighter-question/332091/2 "2005-11-21T16:34:46Z")
Sounds like a fuse. Check the fuse box near the driver’s knee. There should be a “map” of what fuses operate which equipment. Pull the ligther fuse and hold it up to the light. You’ll be able to tell if it’s melted/broken. Replace it wth the same color/amperage fuse and you should be good to go. If the fuse continues to melt down, do NOT replace it with a stonger one. They melt because of an inappropriate amount of juice flowing through the circuit and could indicate a different problem. Allowing too much juice to go through the circuit could damage equipment on that circuit or cause a fire. And that would suck. ---
**Author:** ![Southessex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Southessex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southessex)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-broken-cigarette-lighter-question/332091/3 "2005-11-21T16:36:30Z")
AFAIK, there’s no separate fuse for the cigarette lighter. My Altima has the car stereo (and possibly some other stuff) on the same circuit as the lighter, so it’s probably not that. There are two wires that run to the lighter - perhaps they’ve gone bad? Or maybe the lighter itself is just toast? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-broken-cigarette-lighter-question/332091/4 "2005-11-21T17:40:21Z")
> [@Southessex](#): > > AFAIK, there’s no separate fuse for the cigarette lighter. My Altima has the car stereo (and possibly some other stuff) on the same circuit as the lighter, so it’s probably not that. There are two wires that run to the lighter - perhaps they’ve gone bad? Or maybe the lighter itself is just toast? It’s also possible the wires have come loose off the connection in the rear of the lighter socket. This can happen over a long time of plugging in and pulling out cords. The motion eventually looses them. That’s what happened to me, anyway. They just slip right back on. ---
**Author:** ![Southessex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Southessex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southessex)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-broken-cigarette-lighter-question/332091/5 "2005-11-22T05:27:44Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > It’s also possible the wires have come loose off the connection in the rear of the lighter socket. This can happen over a long time of plugging in and pulling out cords. The motion eventually loosens them. That’s what happened to me, anyway. They just slip right back on. Yeah, I meant to mention that. My car shipped with the double-DIN cassette\CD player; a few years ago some #!^@)\* broke into my car whilst I was away on business and literally _ripped_ it out of the dash. In doing so the two wires you’re referring to on the lighter simply snapped. The surviving wires are too short to simply reconnect, so I haven’t used the lighter in five years. I suppose I could fix it one of these days, but hell - it’s been so long that I don’t have any cell phone chargers or anything _because_ of it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-broken-cigarette-lighter-question/332091/6 "2005-11-22T06:39:39Z")
> [@Southessex](#): > > AFAIK, there’s no separate fuse for the cigarette lighter. My Altima has the car stereo (and possibly some other stuff) on the same circuit as the lighter, so it’s probably not that. There are two wires that run to the lighter - perhaps they’ve gone bad? Or maybe the lighter itself is just toast? You are making a pretty big ass-sumption there. How do you know there is not a seperate fuse if you do not have access to a Saturn wiring diagram? Off the top of my head I can name several cars that do have seperate fuses for the power sockets. My suggestion is RTFM. Read your owners manual. It will tell you were the fuse is located (boy do those car designers hide them sometimes) and which fuse covers the lighter/power socket.