Too much voltage from bedroom 12v cigarette lighter port??

what I mean by smoking is simply it burns up and 12v item I plug into the outlet. I am a computer engineer and quite capable with a multimeter. It should not be producing an overload when connected. It is clear to me that the outlet is getting to much voltage. I plan to rewire the socket which will not be an easy job as I do not know where the wires run. The owners manual came with no wiring schematics.