Snipped 12v Wires To Lighter

i want to put Pilot neon Lights under my dash by foot area;s so i was gonna use the 12v source from lighter.. so i gave the wire a snip and stripped both ends.. and then snipped off the lighter end on the neon.. and stripped the wires.. twisted them together and got nothing... then i tried twisting my lighter back to the original wires.. and nothing again.. checked all fuses and they are good... any help?

2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT

if you are using two neons, even though one light can work with reverse polarity, two lights have to be wires in parallel in order to work. try messing with the neon wires a little more. switch one set of wires +/- and try again. also, make sure you have the correct power/ground wires from the vehicle, and make sure if the neons have a sensitivity switch to turn the sensitivity option off.Jamie

is there a transformer inline or in the cig. plug itself?