low voltage at main lighter receptacle

Hello All,

This is driving me a little nuts.

I have a 2011 Jeep Wrangler with a couple nice "modern" features. One of them being 3 12V cigarette lighter receptacles within the vehicle.

The "main" receptacle on the lower dash is the only one that can accommodate the standard Mopar/Chrysler lighter as the other two are strictly for utility and only will retain charging plugs and such.

That being said, I _have_ utilized a lighter in the front receptacle a few times and it blew the 20A fuse twice, so I said forget it.

Now, when I use the receptacle to power devices like phone chargers and such, the status LED on these items works but the device will not charge citing low voltage. I whipped out the multimeter and sure enough, the voltage at this particular receptacle is like 10.8V when off and 11.6V when running. Other outlets are congruent with voltage at the battery. 12.8V off and around 14.2V running.

Could the low voltage be caused by melted wires of something from that cigarette lighter overload? It wouldn't be the replacement fuse I used, right?

Thanks,
Rob

It wouldn't be the fuse assuming the fuse is not defective.

The easiest thing to do would be to take your volt meter and meter each side of the fuse and see if there is a voltage drop. If there is a voltage drop replace the fuse. If there isn't, and the voltage is "normal" then your issue is either with the receptacle or the ground wire. If the voltage is low on both sides of the fuse then the issue is with the power feed coming in. Divide and conquer.

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Kevin Pierson

Makes me so glad I shoved one in the glove box, one in the centre console and one on the rear load area all separately fused on Woof the Rover.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Woof the Rover ! (I can't Terminate that one... Woofy.)


IMO many cig socket recepticals are substandard and have no hope of taking their supposed full rating of 15A. Some have been known to literally flame at under 10A.

Add to that their paths thru Ign switch circuits...
And poor or shared ground wires.
The voltages lighterbuster measures are not uncommon.
And after a high current (ie, fuse blow) those voltage drops can increase (ie heat damage to contacts etc).

KP and Howard IMO have the are correct solution - divide & conquer - place each on its own fuse (except perhaps those dedicated to guaranteed low current plugins).
If IGN or ACC control is required, use a relay.

Yes I forgot to mention, the only one on ACC is the original factory unit so Woof has 4.
Kevin will be aware of this one, driving 100+ miles to a job and charging cordless equipment through an inverter.
Or charging a 5704/5904 remote on starting the install.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Though I often use a 150W - 600W inverter from my cig socket, they only ever power chargers, shavers, or coffee grinders.
AND I have a reasonably solid cig socket - it will handle cig plug lighter without fear.

But for those using higher power, I have always recommended direct wiring. After all, if a 150W inverter can draw 15A or more, and a cig socket has a max rating of 15A yet often handles only 5A if that, IMO it's asking for trouble.
Plus loss of connection thru knocking or road vibration when powering PCs etc is somewhat annoying, and occasionally damaging.
The newer smaller Merit types are far better, but are limited to 20A.

Thanks for the insight, all.