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Cigarette lighter changed, but still won't charge phone


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Changed my cigarette lighter on my 57 plate on my vrs as I thought my old cigarette lighter wasn't working correctly as it wouldnt charge my phone...

but the new cigarette lighter isn't working neither...

Have changed fuse, tried 3 different phones, 2 brand new usb chargers and cables and it's still not working so I think I may have a wiring problem now...

cigarette lighter churning out some strange voltages...

With nothing plugged in it reading 12v but there is only 2 volts coming out of sub charger... very strange !

Anybody got any ideas please !

Thanking you very muchly !!!

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Poundland chargers and cables are sh**e. Mobile smartphones are remarkably fussy about charger and cable combinations, many third party items just don't work. Simply put, it depends on the configuration of the data lines in the cable and charger. Check the charger/cable by supplying 12v directly to the charger before blaming the CIG lighter socket.

Edited by xman
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Poundland chargers and cables are sh**e. Mobile smartphones are remarkably fussy about charger and cable combinations, many third party items just don't work. Simply put, it depends on the configuration of the data lines in the cable and charger. Check the charger/cable by supplying 12v directly to the charger before blaming the CIG lighter socket.

Have tried usb chargers and cables in different vehicles and phone charges with no problems !

So I'm really stuck as what to do next...

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IMG 5596

IMG 5595

 

Seriously fella, do what I did, rip out the cigarette lighter and buy one of these USB chargers from EBAY for 9 quid, use the wires from the lighter and connect them to this thing and its as stable as you like, the ****ty adapters and leads do not work well at all, i can charge 2 devices from this really well, poss one of the best cheap mods ive ever done to a car..

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heres the one i purchased...

 

took less than an hour to fit, you do need to trim a small bit of the plastic from the console but nothing you cant with a decent metal file

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WATERPROOF-PANEL-MOUNT-DUAL-USB-POWER-SOCKET-CHARGER-MARINE-CAR-TRUCK-12V-24V-/171555822040?hash=item27f18619d8:g:pK0AAOSw2XFUc5fy

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heres the one i purchased...

took less than an hour to fit, you do need to trim a small bit of the plastic from the console but nothing you cant with a decent metal file

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WATERPROOF-PANEL-MOUNT-DUAL-USB-POWER-SOCKET-CHARGER-MARINE-CAR-TRUCK-12V-24V-/171555822040?hash=item27f18619d8:g:pK0AAOSw2XFUc5fy

Ok thanks !

Will give it a try !

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Looks great...tempting....the only downside being the occasional "thing" that uses a cigarette lighter socket.

I've noticed my USB chargers don't turn off with the ignition either.  Are the lights on yours permanently on?

 

do what I did, rip out the cigarette lighter and buy one of these USB chargers from EBAY for 9 quid,

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Looks great...tempting....the only downside being the occasional "thing" that uses a cigarette lighter socket.

I've noticed my USB chargers don't turn off with the ignition either.  Are the lights on yours permanently on?

 

Yes the LED stays on, but as its such a low current it wont drain your battery at all.. and if you put the cover on the glow is hidden.. i though about occasional use of cigarette socket but that didnt out weigh using the USB to charge my phone every time im in the car, and daughters ipad etc.. much more useful..

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Seriously fella, do what I did, rip out the cigarette lighter and buy one of these USB chargers from EBAY for 9 quid, use the wires from the lighter and connect them to this thing and its as stable as you like, the ****ty adapters and leads do not work well at all, i can charge 2 devices from this really well, poss one of the best cheap mods ive ever done to a car..

Well I've fitted the USB charger...

And still no joy, not enough umph to charge anything, only 2.8 volts showing...

We have 12 volts supply at the the lighter but as soon as anything is connected, that's when we have a drastic drop in power

The only thing I can narrow it down to is a wiring fault between fuse and cig lighter, as everything else has been replaced with new, eg...new CIG lighter, fuse, USB chargers and cables...

Anyone got any ideas please !

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Yes, back to basics. It'll only take you 5 minutes to do a sanity check with a couple of cables. You'll find some proper earthing points in the footwell if you take off the side trim, but with the fusebox panel open there is a nut attaching the dashboard frame to the bulkhead that should be sufficient just to hold a cable against.

 

Draw off 12V directly from the relevant fuse to power something, tyre inflator etc. Works OK? Wire up a 12V to 5V DC-DC convertor (i.e. one of your USB chargers) instead, test it. All OK? Great, you've proved the problem is the wiring after the fuse, which really makes it simple to solve.

 

Before you start replacing the cables from the fusebox to the centre console, first pull the socket out and hold one of your test leads between the good earth and the appropriate terminal on the socket. You may find the existing 12V feed is fine but the earth is dodgy - corroded, loose or damaged cable - so it craps out when you put a load across it. It'll be easier just to run a new earth lead to your socket if that is all it needs.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My front 12v socket seems dead also. Is this a common problem? The rear socket works so I know the usb adaptor and cable are good. Are both sockets on same fuse so I cold rule that out? How do you remove the socket our of the centre console? I don't have the £30 tool to hand. I need to test a replacement 12v socket in there and hopefully that's sorted. I don't fancy having to get to the cabling behind the dash...

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My front 12v socket seems dead also. Is this a common problem? The rear socket works so I know the usb adaptor and cable are good. Are both sockets on same fuse so I cold rule that out? How do you remove the socket our of the centre console? I don't have the £30 tool to hand. I need to test a replacement 12v socket in there and hopefully that's sorted. I don't fancy having to get to the cabling behind the dash...

Sorry for quoting myself, I have swapped the front and rear fuse (24 and 26) and the socket works in the rear still. So I'm guessing the fuse is fine (looks good) the front socket still doesn't work. Can damage occur to the socket itself if somebody drops a coin or metal in there?
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Sorry for quoting myself, I have swapped the front and rear fuse (24 and 26) and the socket works in the rear still. So I'm guessing the fuse is fine (looks good) the front socket still doesn't work. Can damage occur to the socket itself if somebody drops a coin or metal in there?

Just a quick question, have you actually tested this with a multimeter?.. In regard to removing the lighter socket I just cut and crushed it out as I knew I was never going to be refitting it anyway..

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  • 1 year later...

Well, I have this same problem with the front and rear cigarette lighters.

The rear works but the front doesn't for ancilleries. I checked the front one, and to my amazement, 12v was present yet it wouldn't power any plug in ancillery. THEN, I looked at the engineering of both and they are totally different inside

I don't think that the front one is designed to receive anything other than the ciggy lighter and therefore, anything else doesn't make full contact.

It may be that someone has already changed the front one and its not standard Skoda but will investigate further.

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I should add that the front cigarette lighter socket , despite having power, doesn't even power the lighter. However, when I look at the lighter, it also, cannot make contact so that reinforces my thoughts that its a non standard socket with perhaps the correct lighter. What I am trying to highlight is that I am thinking that some sockets are designed to just take a matching lighter and nothing else.........then, my brain tells me that is rather weird in modern times. Does anybody know whether this is possible or rubbish. ?

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The lighter near the handbrake in my car works fine with my air compressor, but when I connect my phone (with the correct lead supplied with the phone) it starts to discharge the phone battery as opposed to charging it.

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Glad it's not just me then. My phone charger doesn't work in the cig lighter socket, but my air compressor works fine. I had guessed that the charger had gone faulty, but after reading this I'll be having a good check.

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Ok.....finally found out the fault..... The two tangs that stick up from the bottom of the socket, one either side, had been bent in too far, thus stopping any charging plug centre contact from reaching the bottom.

To correct, Unless you take the fuse out...BEWARE, use a hard nylon / plastic item to bend the centre contacts and NOT metal otherwise you will be bridging plus to minus.

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Curiously, we can't charge 'phones on either the Octavia or Fabia from the front power socket. The test plug shows 12-14v (depending on whether the engine is running obviously) and we can run everything else from the front socket (sat nav, in-car camera, doubler, even an inverter) and we're trying to charge the phone using a high-end USB adaptor, has been a constant source of frustration and defies logic..

Edited by Paulusc
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I've managed to get mine working with my phone charger, in the end I just cleaned out a load of gunk and detritus that had accumulated inside and was preventing good contact.

 

Managed to remove the wrong fuse before I started cleaning it and caused a bit of a spark, didn't blow the fuse though.

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On 3/16/2016 at 12:33, Dread1977 said:

IMG 5596

IMG 5595

 

Seriously fella, do what I did, rip out the cigarette lighter and buy one of these USB chargers from EBAY for 9 quid, use the wires from the lighter and connect them to this thing and its as stable as you like, the ****ty adapters and leads do not work well at all, i can charge 2 devices from this really well, poss one of the best cheap mods ive ever done to a car..

Hows things. Did you have to take apart the console to get the original lighter socket out? Mine is broken and ive bought the same usb socket you have there

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