Cigarette lighter socket fuse

I have a 2006 E350 that has 2 cig jacks or power plugs. The top one works fine. The bottom one keeps blowing fuses. I attribute this to a short in the receptacle itself. Since it is a pain to get to the receptacle I just ordered a 3 in 1 cig jacks/power plugs from eBay and use the top jack. Easy solution.

You should be able to search for a Ford manual for your rig. It lists the fuse amperage and locations within it.

Its possible the fuse is on the back of the socket and is very tiny.

Owner's manual has fuse layout.

A power plug is for power, a cigarette lighter is to light a cigarette and has small a small wire and a small fuse.

K Charles wrote:
A power plug is for power, a cigarette lighter is to light a cigarette and has small a small wire and a small fuse.

Thanks. That's probably why I kept blowing fuses for it. So the 3 in 1 power jack is the best solution.

mikebreeze wrote:

K Charles wrote:
A power plug is for power, a cigarette lighter is to light a cigarette and has small a small wire and a small fuse.

Thanks. That's probably why I kept blowing fuses for it. So the 3 in 1 power jack is the best solution.

Been using the lighter socket in my Class C, Jeep and GMC pickup for my Garmin GPS or charging my flashlight, iPhone or battery pack and haven't blown a fuse yet. I did wear out the socket in my Jeep and needs replacement. I haven't seen a difference. The sockets wear out, my guess that's the problem, it's grounding itself out. Sometimes the cheap charging plugs get wiggled a few too many times to make contact and break the socket.

One thing that I have found is that on many vehicles they have two sockets and one is powered 24/7 and the other is powered only by the key being in the on position. Wiring is the same to both from what I have seen, if they do have a cigarette lighter it is usually in the one that is only powered by the key for safety reasons.

The cig lighter should be a 20 amp. fuse. Power accessory probably smaller.
Brian

Cobra21 wrote:
The cig lighter should be a 20 amp. fuse. Power accessory probably smaller. Brian

A Key Point for those wanting to use Brake Buddy or similar Brakes in Boxes. When we had "Lighters" then we had large fuses 20/25 Amp, and decent wires to feed them. I think they were usually "Hot" even Key Off.

Now that we have "Accessory/Convenience Outlets" we get 10 Amp fuses and wiring better suited for a doorbell.

So... For Brake Buddy, call Tech Support and let them send you a Kit that gives you 20 (maybe 30) Amps full time. Keeps BB's from failing on low voltage.