I fixed my cigarette lighter!!!

Ever since I got my SVX a year-and-a-half ago, the cig lighter has been broken. I bought a GTech to sort of force myself to fix it, and finally did. Yay!

The process of removing it was waaaay different than what I read about. Most posts said to use 90-degree pliers to grab the screw on the back on the lighter... Well, with the ashtray out, and the stereo cover up, I could fit my right hand behind the lighter assembly. There was a very large circular piece that threaded onto the outside of the cig lighter assembly. I grabbed it, and stuck my thumb into the cig lighter (with the ignition off of course!) and turned while holding onto the circular piece. Once it broke loose, it came right out. The circular piece fell, but had the lighter's positive lead wire going through it. That was great, because otherwise I would have to remove the dash to get to that one little frickin' piece.

The lighter's fusible link was blown, so I just put some copper wire in it's place. I was going to just modify the fusible links terminals so that they touched each other (thus closing the loop), but the back portion of the lighter assembly can't really be taken apart.

So anyway, I'll get some GTech readings up as soon as this fantastic Seattle weather clears up.

[msvx95]

I don't understand why they didn't run a screw sideways from the ashtray to the lighter piece....I ordered another lighter trim piece because the screw thread broke off, so now gravity holds it down. I've got to get my hands in there soon to try and screw that piece down.

[Bob6stringer]

Fixing a dead lighter's on my list, too. Is this a quick job using common sense and normal tools or do I need to take it to a shop? It sounds easy enough. (But I've also got a CD stuck in the player, hemostats couldn't reach it.)

[msvx95]

Well, not sure.....an angled screwdriver is what you need I think to reach the screws holding the lighter trim piece........mine wasn't attached so it popped right out. But my lighter's dead too........and it's brand new, but the old one had a different design to go with the wiring to my car. Not sure how to fix and make the new one work.

[SubaSteevo]

My lighter died on me (evidentally it didn't provide enough juice to run a buffer). I tried to unscrew the lighter, but ended up breaking the whole trim piece off. Replaced it with a generic lighter, and gorilla glued it in place