Where is the plus and minus in the car cigarette lighter: pinout, polarity

This car device is used even by non-smoking car owners. After all, the device has excellent functionality that goes far beyond its name.

The following devices can be connected to the cigarette lighter socket:

charger for a phone, tablet or other electronic device;
compressor for inflating wheels;
navigation complex;
DVR;
12 volt socket.

However, over time, the cigarette lighter may fail or require repair. When connecting a new spare part, you must observe the polarity of the wires, know where the plus is and where the minus is. The article provides information and instructions on how to replace or repair the element.

Pros or cons of multiple cigarette lighters

Old cars, for example, the classic VAZ, have a different device design. There is a long cigarette lighter with its pros and cons. This device has been developed for a long time, so it has a number of technological shortcomings. The disadvantages include:

Inability to connect multiple devices to the cigarette lighter.
Weak contacts. Over time, due to age or frequent driving on rough roads, the antennae of the cigarette lighter itself may become loose. This disrupts the operation of the device and can lead to its failure.
The disadvantages include the appearance of the old cigarette lighter, which is much worse. The light bulb does not shine as brightly or often burns out.

New car models are equipped with a modern European cigarette lighter with a large seat. To install it on a classic, you will need to drill out the socket, purchase a special three-pin connection plug and solder the wires.

But this modification of the cigarette lighter has a number of advantages.

Reliable contacts. The European cigarette lighter holds well in the socket, and the fixing nut does not unscrew.
Plus - the appearance, the backlight is prettier.
A modern car cigarette lighter allows you to connect several devices at the same time.

Therefore, when purchasing a device for a car, it is better to choose the second option.

Why the cigarette lighter in the car does not work - the main malfunctions, causes and methods for eliminating them

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The main malfunctions of car cigarette lighters are:

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burnout of the heating element of the removable part;
burning of the contact areas of the stationary and removable parts;
untimely release of the removable part at low temperatures;
lack of fixation of the removable element;
backlight malfunction;
lack of voltage on the positive central contact of the cigarette lighter;
bad mass.

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Heating element burnout

is currently much less common than other faults. This is also due to the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including, but, to a greater extent, the fact that much more often the cigarette lighter socket powers and charges various gadgets than it serves to directly perform its direct duties.

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The heating element, in principle, can be replaced - they used to do this on Zhiguli cars. But now, with all the variety of car cigarette lighters, it is easier and cheaper to change the design, and, moreover, completely assembled, since it is very difficult to select exactly the elements of the stationary and removable parts.

Car cigarette lighter polarity

Sometimes an element fails. Frequent malfunctions are as follows.

Blown fuse. A special protective element is installed on the electrical circuit, designed for a current of 10 Amps. When a malfunction or short circuit occurs, it burns out to keep the cigarette lighter, wires and instruments working. This element is responsible for several more devices. If the cigarette lighter and the clock do not work, then you should get to the mounting block and replace the fuse.
Oxidized contacts. Over time or from connecting powerful devices to the cigarette lighter (such as a compressor or car charger), the metal connectors can oxidize. Before replacing, it is advisable to remove the cartridge and inspect the antennae for the appearance of oxides. If there are such moments, they should be cleaned and bent for a better connection. Before carrying out the procedure, it is recommended to remove the negative terminal from the car battery. This will prevent a short circuit. You need to know where the plus and minus are.
Waste car cigarette lighter incandescent element. The nichrome spiral located inside the cartridge can also burn out. This will entail installing a new cigarette lighter.
Short circuit or broken wiring. Cables may fray or melt as a result of shortening. You can determine such a malfunction of the car cigarette lighter using a multitester. It is necessary to check the integrity of the wires.

What to do

Fixing cigarette lighter breakdowns does not take much time. However, the car owner needs to get a general idea of the repair and draw up a step-by-step action plan.

The simplest solution is to seek help from specialists. An experienced service center employee will return the product to working order in a short time. However, you will have to pay for such a service.

To do all the work yourself, follow the following instructions:

Make sure that the fuse is in the correct place. According to the diagram, it should be fixed in a common box and indicated by the symbol of a smoking cigarette or the inscription “Cigar”. If a part fails, replace it with a new one. If the product is working properly and continues to conduct current, evaluate the condition of the socket. Pay attention to the interior of the nest. It may be clogged with some debris. To remove a foreign object from the slot, you need to use tweezers

However, the action must be performed with extreme caution.

If there are traces of burning on the cigarette lighter, you will need to buy a new product. If there is a soldered wire, it is enough to solder it.

Required Tools

To repair the cigarette lighter, you should prepare the following tools:

Tweezers.
Screwdriver (phillips or flathead).

Also, a flashlight, a multimeter and a printed wiring diagram may be useful for the upcoming work.

How to remove the cigarette lighter

If you have found the cause of the cigarette lighter failure and prepared the necessary equipment, proceed to disassemble the part. The dismantling process involves the following steps:

First you need to open the hood and remove the negative terminal from the battery.
Next, you need to disassemble the facing panel to gain access to the socket connection connector.
Then you can unscrew the screws and disconnect the block.
The next step is to dismantle the metal cigarette lighter tube using a screwdriver.
After removing the part, you must turn off the backlight.

Car cigarette lighter button repair

Often the device stops working due to damage to the power button.

The repair process does not take much time and is done with your own hands.

Cigarette lighter head repair

In some cases, it is necessary to perform partial repairs of the car cigarette lighter. To do this, the element is dismantled according to simple instructions and checked for defects under the housing. Inside the part there is a miniature mica plate, which acts as a semiconductor and often fails. The product must be removed, repaired, and then put back.

Correct connection of the cigarette lighter

You can repair a car device, dismantle it or install it yourself. To replace the cigarette lighter you will need the following list of tools:

Phillips/minus screwdriver;
blowtorch with solder;
connecting terminals for plus and minus.

Repair is carried out as follows.

We dismantle the car cigarette lighter. It is removed differently in each car. Sometimes you just need to pry the cartridge, and sometimes you have to remove the lining of the central tunnel.
We disassemble the car cigarette lighter. We find the semiconductor wafer at the bottom. This is what often causes breakdowns. Let's delete it.
We cut off the protrusion on the outer casing.
We assemble the cigarette lighter in the reverse order of disassembly.
We strip the connection wires at least 5 mm.
We connect the car cigarette lighter wires, observing the polarity, where is positive and where is minus. You can use a blowtorch or a special terminal block and clamps.
We dismantle the center console for reverse connection.
Disconnect the backlight unit.
We stretch the wires and then connect them to the car cigarette lighter connector.
We carry out the assembly process in reverse order.

Pinout and desoldering information

The cigarette lighter device can be seen in the photo. At the end of the part there is a contact terminal. Inside there are special holders, a heating element and a cup. There are connector tabs and a return spring. And for safety from burns there is a special insulator. All this is protected by a plastic case.

A detailed diagram of the pinout and wiring of the cigarette lighter wires is presented in the video.

Cigarette lighter plug connection diagram

Before installing a new part, you need to understand the polarity. You can understand where the plus and where the minus is on the cigarette lighter by looking at the photo.

There are three different wires going to the device.

Red goes into the battery and is responsible for additional devices such as a watch.
The yellow one, central, also goes to the battery. This is the socket light bulb.
Black side – minus, mass. Located on the body of the part.

When the device needs to be replaced, it should be connected according to the diagram shown in the photo.

How to fix the problem?

Toyota venza 2.7 at 4wd elegance plus (02.2013 - 01.2016) - technical specifications

Some problems with the cigarette lighter can be eliminated on your own using a soldering iron: if the problem is related to burnt out contacts or wires, the presence of foreign objects in the socket, or the blown head of the device and its fuse.

If the reason lies in malfunctions of the entire electrical wiring, it is better to entrust their elimination to specialists.

Thus, the cigarette lighter in a vehicle is an important part, which makes it possible to use many additional electrical devices during the operation of the vehicle. Its active use often leads to malfunctions: this is why you need to know about the most common causes of problems with such an automotive device

That's all, read our AUTOBLOG

Where is the cigarette lighter fuse located?

A burnt-out protective element may be the result of connecting one powerful device or several devices to the socket. Because of this, the current strength in the wires exceeds a critical value, as a result of which the fuse melts. This may happen because the owner has confused where the plus and where the minus is in the cigarette lighter. This malfunction is treated by removing the burnt out element and installing a new one.

Replacing the cigarette lighter fuse

To carry out the procedure, you should have instructions for a specific car. Each machine has its own mounting block location and fuse assignment. You need to know where the plus and minus are.

On most cars, the box is located directly behind the front panel. However, on classics, fuse No. 6 is responsible for the operation of the cigarette lighter, and on some other models - the turn relay. Therefore, when making repairs, you should know which element we plan to change and where it is located. It is necessary to buy a fuse with the resistance recommended by the manufacturer.

Recommendations for use

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Tips for using a car cigarette lighter:

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Do not store the removable part in dirty places; dust and dirt falling on the heating zone can cause a fire;
after purchasing a used car, check whether additional equipment, a radio tape recorder, is connected to the cigarette lighter power supply;
Use only high-quality splitters, tees and other gadgets installed in the cigarette lighter socket; do not leave them turned on while the vehicle is parked.

If the battery icon on the instrument panel lights up, what to do in this case.

How to properly connect the car towbar connector.

Video - how to make a plus in the cigarette lighter from a key:

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Installing a second cigarette lighter

Many drivers lack an additional socket.
There are several ways out of this situation. The simplest one is to install a special splitter that plugs into a standard connector. However, this can put a lot of stress on the circuit and cause the wires and fuse to blow. Therefore, some car owners install an additional car cigarette lighter. The second method is more difficult, but more reliable. The procedure is carried out as follows.

We choose a suitable location for the additional device.
We are purchasing a new spare part. The black wire is the ground that we mount under the bolt on the body. Red is a plus, it goes to the battery, and yellow is responsible for the backlight of the device.
Cut a hole of suitable diameter.
We install a new spare part.
We connect all the wires, remembering where the plus and minus are in the cigarette lighter.
We remove debris and perform final assembly. Now the owner has two nests at his disposal.

What not to do

Cigarette lighter burnout is a common problem faced by many motorists. To prevent it, you need to follow a few simple rules and recommendations.

Firstly, you cannot clean the contacts with a knife or screwdriver without turning off the power supply. In most cases, the cigarette lighter always conducts power, so contact with a conductive object will cause a short circuit and combustion of the part. The device can only be cleaned after removing it from the socket and turning off the ignition. Contacts can be treated with a hard brush, which is pre-wetted in alcohol, or with a screwdriver and sandpaper.

Problems with the cigarette lighter occur due to wear of the bimetallic plates. This happens when connecting unsuitable electrical appliances and adapters, which violates the geometry of the plates. The parts become deformed and no longer hold the cigarette lighter in the right place. As a result, an untimely release of the device from operating temperature occurs.

The greatest danger is ignition of plastic parts, which occurs when the cigarette lighter is held in place excessively. Therefore, non-smoking drivers remove the part from the socket so as not to accidentally fix it.

Experts also do not recommend using car heaters that are powered from the cigarette lighter. They consume a lot of electrical energy and can damage the removable element. It only takes 1 minute to heat up the device, and the heater can operate for several hours. Even the most powerful cigarette lighters are not able to cope with prolonged exposure to high current.

Donor and recipient

From the outside, lighting a car resembles the procedure of direct transfusion from the “giver” (donor) to the “receiver” (recipient). Here the blood is electric current, the veins are batteries, the needles are crocodile terminals, the tubes are insulated wires. As in medicine, compatibility, the correct choice of equipment and procedure, and maintaining “sterility” to avoid fire are important.

Electrical circuit of the device

To successfully repair an AP, you must have at least basic knowledge of electrical engineering and know how the electrical circuit of the device works: where is the plus and where is the minus.

You can use a multimeter to find plus and minus.

Photo gallery “Cigarette lighter and its circuits”

In a car cigarette lighter, the plus is a handle-button that the user presses. When you press the button, the electrical circuit closes and the coil begins to heat up. The downside is the sides of the metal casing of the AP.

Is it possible to light a cigarette while the car is running?

For modern car donors, this practice is fraught with serious technical problems, since, in addition to the battery, a generator and an electronic control unit are involved in the switching processes. Sudden voltage drops when starting the auto-recipient create an excessive load on controllers and electrical systems, causing instant breakdowns or reducing equipment life. Many people recommend disconnecting the negative terminal of the donor car when lighting a cigarette in order to isolate the electrical circuits from the influence of the recipient car.

Terms of use

All electrical devices connected to the cigarette lighter and the safety rules for working with them must be observed in accordance with the instructions for working with electrical devices. This means not to exceed the load (carefully read the instructions for electrical appliances).

When using a splitter, you need to add up the power of all connected devices.

The main thing to remember is that even when the engine is turned off, electrical appliances plugged into the cigarette lighter continue to work and there is a risk of draining the battery, especially if devices such as a car refrigerator or a DVR are connected.

In the article, we discussed in detail how to connect a cigarette lighter, and also found out what it is needed for. But if one socket is not enough for you, we suggest watching the following video, from which you will learn how to connect an additional cigarette lighter in a car:

The installed cigarette lighter should provide energy for a long time and without unnecessary problems to all consumers connected to its socket through the vehicle’s on-board network.

Number of attempts

Lighting a car from the battery of another car has quantitative limitations. You cannot endlessly load a donor battery without the risk of deep discharge, even if it is a high-quality Austrian Banner car battery or a powerful “American” Exide. The optimal number of unsuccessful launches is 2-3 (the maximum permissible is 4-5).

When the limit is reached, you should:

turn off the ignition of the problem vehicle;
Without disconnecting the wires, start the donor car engine for 15-30 minutes (2000-3000 rpm) to recharge the battery from the generator;
try again to start the engine of the recipient machine.
If the result is unsuccessful again, there may be an additional malfunction or a mismatch in the electrical parameters of the battery.
Which battery can you use to light a car?

It is necessary to follow two simple rules for choosing a donor car for parallel connection to a dead battery. The first condition concerns the same operating voltage and is always feasible, since most batteries for passenger cars and commercial vehicles have a 6-cell design that generates 12V. Exceptions are associated with motorcycles (6V) and heavy trucks, buses, and special equipment (24V).

The second requirement is more significant and often becomes a problem in emergency situations on the highway or in sparsely populated areas. It is unacceptable for the battery capacity of the car being lit to be greater than that of the donor. In such a situation, there is a high probability of rapid discharge of a working battery without achieving sufficient starting currents at the recipient starter.

How to listen to music through the cigarette lighter, how to connect a laptop and other devices

A cigarette lighter is a device whose direct purpose is to light a cigarette while you drive a car. But the cigarette lighter socket, with the development of modern technologies, began to be used to connect a variety of electrical devices to the on-board network in the car, such as a navigator, a video recorder, a mobile phone and laptop charger, a car compressor and many other devices. A modern person can no longer imagine himself without his car and without a means of cellular communication, and the only place to connect various devices in the car is the cigarette lighter.