okay so since my speedometer cables keep getting burned in half because of my header, and i have a Garmin GPS, i decided to TRY and fix my cig. lighter in the '86 so i can see how fast i'm going and my mileage...

so i hooked it up, with the spade connector and the little round one, put a fuse in the slot marked "CIG LIGHTER" (15amp just like it says i beleive) and plug up my GPS and.....NOTHING..wtf? lol

the cig lighter came from the junkyard, but i'm assuming the cig lighter itself can't go bad?

would i be able to wire it just straight to the battery for constant 12v power? if so which wire is hot and ground? (i'm guessing the round plug is hot and the spade connector is ground?)

thanks for the help with the simple questions LOL

 

Yeah, you could wire it straight. Mine's wired like that right now so I can run something without having the ignition on. Better fuse it, though.

Yes, the lighter receptacles themselves can break/lose connection with the little jumpers at the back of 'em. I soldered mine up good so I could run my electric blanket all night. Look at the back and I think you'll see what I mean.

 

i'll check it out a little closer, i had it apart just a min ago lol

i'll prolly just run it straight, i can fuse it pretty easily lol

 

check the fusible link on the back of the actual cig lighter

-It is a little tiny wire that could have gotten burned out

 

i took the outlet apart and cleaned all of the rust and such off of it, plugged it all back up..plugged up my GPS and BOOM! it works lol

guess it just took some cleaning lol

 

Lol. Thanks for reminding me, that's one thing that's never worked on my rig either. What guage wire should be used, and what amp fuse....I want it to be able to handle more amps/watts than stock too, so....

 

12 gauge to be safe and 15 amp fuse (whatever is in the fuse box)