Cigar lighter socket
Discussion
Have you got the ashtray in the dash? If so, people on here recon you can remove that for access.
I don't have it so when mine fell out, I did the easy fix and got Austec to fix it at its service a couple of days later!
Cheating, I know, but others on here will have done it themselves.
Well done on the car purchase by the way - good choice!
Cheers
Rob
I don't have it so when mine fell out, I did the easy fix and got Austec to fix it at its service a couple of days later!
Cheating, I know, but others on here will have done it themselves. Well done on the car purchase by the way - good choice!
Cheers
Rob
Dave - When you come up on Thursday I'll show you how to. But if you want to try it yourself, heres how you do it.....
Its in 2 bits, the part you plug the lighter in screws into a part that gas the electrical connections and light. Luckily for you you have a son who has skinnier arms then you - He's going to come in useful quite a lot from now on!
Pull the radio out, get him to stick his arm in th hole, feel for the lighter and hold it, from the other side of the car, push your finger through the hole and into the cigarette lighter - you'll need a finger that fits tight - use your finger like a screwdriver and unscrew the lighter, and pull it out. I think the plastic 'washer' thingy may have broken, you will have to try amd make one up, you'll see what I mean when you have it out.
Its in 2 bits, the part you plug the lighter in screws into a part that gas the electrical connections and light. Luckily for you you have a son who has skinnier arms then you - He's going to come in useful quite a lot from now on!
Pull the radio out, get him to stick his arm in th hole, feel for the lighter and hold it, from the other side of the car, push your finger through the hole and into the cigarette lighter - you'll need a finger that fits tight - use your finger like a screwdriver and unscrew the lighter, and pull it out. I think the plastic 'washer' thingy may have broken, you will have to try amd make one up, you'll see what I mean when you have it out.
d your electrics (as I and a few others have found to our cost 
)Do a search because i had this exact same problem a while ago, and when mine came loose it blew a few fuses too! Yoy need to get your hand to it from behind the dash at the drivers side - very tricky, and it helps if you are small of limb! Even trickier plugging the thing back in. Check my previous thread as to the hand/gadget co-ordination method i found best - i can't quite remember what it was now
gbbird said:
Do a search because i had this exact same problem a while ago...
Cheers - Your profile is your friend. You can find old posts by people:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=278915
Ah OK - my first experience of TVR jobs.
The access is easy for my little hands once you've got the radio out, however TVR don't make it that easy as the leads are very short and it's even easier to knock of the light housing.
So having got it all out I've filed down a cromed plastic washer to an appropriate size, then put it all back together, which is when the fuse went.
No problem - I put it all back together then went to open the boot - nope it's on the same circuit.
*** Mental note. Any electrical work in future - open the boot first. ***
A quick panic call to the previous owner and Alan provided the answer as to how to get into the boot.
90 minutes to make and fit a small plastic washer. Still it's all done and looking good.
The access is easy for my little hands once you've got the radio out, however TVR don't make it that easy as the leads are very short and it's even easier to knock of the light housing.
So having got it all out I've filed down a cromed plastic washer to an appropriate size, then put it all back together, which is when the fuse went.
No problem - I put it all back together then went to open the boot - nope it's on the same circuit.
*** Mental note. Any electrical work in future - open the boot first. ***
A quick panic call to the previous owner and Alan provided the answer as to how to get into the boot.
90 minutes to make and fit a small plastic washer. Still it's all done and looking good.
second that!FUBAR said:
gazzab said:
dont try an aftermarket one ! They will screw your electrics !!
And particularly DO NOT but one of those TVR branded cigarette lighters off of eBay. Now they WILL f
d your electrics (as I and a few others have found to our cost 
)I did a search because a 'TVR'cigarette lighter with only 0.2 Ohm resistance instead of millions Ohms (in the case of my Jaguar lighter when switched off)set my wiring on fire. Thankfully I have a battery disconnect switch. So now how do I take off the panel to check the burnt wiring behind it? Any advice please - other than how to jump off a tall building?
I will check the workshop manual CD in case that can help.
Remove the Panel? Make it easy? - This is a Cerbera !
You can't remove the panel, the best way to get to it is to spend a few years training an octopus. But if you are in a rush to do it, take out the radio, and feel down, push your thumb/finger into the lighter socket to stop it turning, and the assembly unscrews from the back. You can also reach up from the dash in the drivers footwell. Another option - if you still dont have enough room - is to remove the whole speedo assemly - 2 wing nuts underneath the dash cowl/pod at the 2 front 'corners' of the intrument pod, remove the dash assembly - 2 high quality B&Q self tappers, ease it out, and reach down from in there.
It's a PITA !
You can't remove the panel, the best way to get to it is to spend a few years training an octopus. But if you are in a rush to do it, take out the radio, and feel down, push your thumb/finger into the lighter socket to stop it turning, and the assembly unscrews from the back. You can also reach up from the dash in the drivers footwell. Another option - if you still dont have enough room - is to remove the whole speedo assemly - 2 wing nuts underneath the dash cowl/pod at the 2 front 'corners' of the intrument pod, remove the dash assembly - 2 high quality B&Q self tappers, ease it out, and reach down from in there.
It's a PITA !
jensena said:
Remove the Panel? Make it easy? - This is a Cerbera !
It's a PITA !
Thanks for the advice. It's a PITA !
I looked through the ashtray aperture and saw the wires had overheated badly. Then at the fuse box in the boot the fuse had NOT blown . It had just got hot enough to melt the plastic! The idea of a fuse is to blow before the wiring melts!!
I spent hours today rewiring the horns to be operated by the steering column button via a relay next to the horns. I already had two wires doing the route from the nose area to the dash because both fans had (my) separate manual overide relays switched from the dash. Now the fans share a common wire to operate the two relays and I used the wire no longer needed for my horn relay. I cut the old wire to the steering wheel two ribbon tapes away where proper wires are to be found and soldered in my relay signal wire. Works great now. Next problem will be to restore the boot light and the cabin courtesy lights. I will take a supply for the boot lamp (via the automatic switch) from a rear light. Then I can open the boot in brilliant sunshine without the lamp coming on as I open the boot (unless I have left my lights on of course) . A big thank you to the PHer who sent me the workshop manual CD some time ago. I was able to confirm which colour cable did what. Moral: think twice before buying from a dealer on *-***!
The relay and horns set up sounds a good idea. I have a Cerb and an 80's Lancia so I am keen to know the best way of lightening the load on electrical circuits. I am hoping to set up the Lancia headlights with a relay, how do you know which relays to get and which wires to put where? Do you use the existing wire from the switch to trip the relay and get a fixed supply to one of the other terminals on the relay?
Thanks
Thanks
My lighter socket came loose due to my Phone Charger. It's a pain as the socket is always powered and hence you are always plugging in and out. My hands are too big and so I ended up getting Fernies to sort it - they said it was a pain in the arse as they couldn't remove the radio (after market Sony).
So my top tip is to buy an extension/multiport cig socket and plug your Phone Charger in and out of this. I found a 4 way one in Halfords for £7 (I think - may have been a tenner). It's great because it actually has an on/off switch on the lighter plug. So I leave my charger plugged in to the extension unit all of the time and simply switch it on and off by the switch. Also useful having more sockets for my Bluetooth GPS Receiver requires one for charging.
So my top tip is to buy an extension/multiport cig socket and plug your Phone Charger in and out of this. I found a 4 way one in Halfords for £7 (I think - may have been a tenner). It's great because it actually has an on/off switch on the lighter plug. So I leave my charger plugged in to the extension unit all of the time and simply switch it on and off by the switch. Also useful having more sockets for my Bluetooth GPS Receiver requires one for charging.
thegreengoblet said:
My lighter socket came loose due to my Phone Charger. It's a pain as the socket is always powered and hence you are always plugging in and out. My hands are too big and so I ended up getting Fernies to sort it - they said it was a pain in the arse as they couldn't remove the radio (after market Sony).
So my top tip is to buy an extension/multiport cig socket and plug your Phone Charger in and out of this. I found a 4 way one in Halfords for £7 (I think - may have been a tenner). It's great because it actually has an on/off switch on the lighter plug. So I leave my charger plugged in to the extension unit all of the time and simply switch it on and off by the switch. Also useful having more sockets for my Bluetooth GPS Receiver requires one for charging.
So my top tip is to buy an extension/multiport cig socket and plug your Phone Charger in and out of this. I found a 4 way one in Halfords for £7 (I think - may have been a tenner). It's great because it actually has an on/off switch on the lighter plug. So I leave my charger plugged in to the extension unit all of the time and simply switch it on and off by the switch. Also useful having more sockets for my Bluetooth GPS Receiver requires one for charging.
Bought one of these form Halfwits, usefull as you say with the on/off switch on it. Stuck the extension part up on the under side of the the radio, so kept the cubby hole free of cables etc. Only down side to it is that it has a small blue neon light, that comes on when you turn the extension part on and illuminates the cubby hole, & looks a bit max power.
WIL35 said:
The relay and horns set up sounds a good idea. , how do you know which relays to get and which wires to put where? Do you use the existing wire from the switch to trip the relay and get a fixed supply to one of the other terminals on the relay?
Thanks
Thanks
Exactly so. Use the existing supply to the horn to trip the relay. The other end of the coil in the relay goes to earth (except for me sending it to earth via my steering wheel button because the main wiring was damaged). The feed should come from the battery and run in a protective sleeve like existing wiring. The relay should cope with the current you expect plus a wide margin and be protected by an inline fuse which will blow before either the relay or the wiring will. Either buy waterproof (marine) relays and inline fuses or protect with something like waxoil and cover well with tape. Finally, use plastic ties to hold the wiring steady so it cannot flop around.
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