Can I fix my cigarette lighter port myself?

CompBunny

Hi,

The other day I pulled my in-car nokia charger out of the port, and the internal bit of the port with the metal ring on it came with it! I've had a little look inside and can see the mount tube connected to the electrics hanging loose.

Can someone advise me if its possible to fix this myself or do I need to take it to a garage? I basically cannot afford to take it to a garage so if its not fixable it will have to stay that way!!

Thanks,
Anna

maninthestreet

What make/model of car?

Wintermute

If you or somebody you know can use a soldering iron (terminal block would probably work too!) I'm sure it would be easy enough to fix, you can get replacement sockets on ebay for a few quid. It should be a simple enough job as it's just connecting two wires.

Disclaimer: I know nothing about cars, just electronics!

catflea

It should be a very simple job to fix with a soldering iron, provided you can actually get at the electrickery behind.

If its a dash out job then I wouldn't bother (I'd use one of the 4 way splitters you find in the pound shop and wire that in permanently)

anewman

I spent ages trying to replace the little light bulb inside mine, wish I hadn't bothered the amount of effort needed to remove the centre console and fiddling in th tiny space to swap the bulb etc, lol.

goldspanners

easily repairable yourself, but remember mos cig lighter /12v outputs are fed from the battery so are always live even with ignition off. best to disconnect battery if you think you might touch both wires together, or if you know which fuse is for the supply pull that out.

as another reply said you can buy these sockets cheap enough from ebay or get one from a local scrappy.

CompBunny

Thanks so much for all replies! Its an N reg Toyota Starlet. The cables are still connected in the plastic box and connected to the round metal tube, which holds the other metal tube which your various peripherals plug into. No problems with fuse or anything.

The problem is i can't figure out how to secure the port as a whole back in place! I know I'm being an idiot new driver girl, but we all have to learn, right? :P

Thanks again!

anewman

Is the cigarette lighter to the right of the ashtray just above the centre console and below the stereo? Sorry not sure if I can help much but I am coming from having seen a later Starlet. If it's the same as the later ones the plug is only turned on with the ignition.

CompBunny

Yes, thats right! So does that mean that in order to put the mount back in I need the ignition on? Do you know how it fits back in? (eg is there a plastic lip or clip that I am missing which secures the port itself into position)

goldspanners

super glue?

ive bought an old honda civic and the lighter socket was hanging loose, i just glued it all back togehter and it holds fine.

CompBunny

goldspanners wrote: »

super glue?

ive bought an old honda civic and the lighter socket was hanging loose, i just glued it all back togehter and it holds fine.

Thats brilliant Definately worth a try! I don't know why I didn't consider it sooner!

That brings up memories of high school years when my friends and I would superglue our hands to the table/to the computer mouse/to each other...:eek: