What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

I'm reassembling the interior and I'm putting the cigarette light in (there previously wasn't one) and it keeps popping the fuse? What exactly grounds it??? I've painted everything so I'm assuming I've painted the ground, I've tried sanding everywhere it meets the dash....PLS help.
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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Someone please offer any suggestion. I've sanded down all the points of contact, every time I touch the plug to the lighter *POP*!
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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Try another lighter housing. Sounds like the one you have might be bad.

Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Should ground to chassis but your lighter element sound like it's shorted giving you have correct fuses
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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Could be a bad housing or plunger, they are DIRT CHEAP to replace the whole thing.

Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Can the lighter assembly be purchases at an auto part store? I got this one from a junkyard.
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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Popping the fuse wouldn't be a "grounding" issue. A bad ground would add extra resistance, making the total resistance of the circuit higher. Popping the fuse is a result of too-low resistance in the circuit.

I'm thinking rwhit57 is right.

Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Low resistance=short to ground. So if the coils in the plunger short you will lose resistance thus popping a fuse every time you push it in (that's what she said)
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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

You're right, I guess it's shorting out. That would be the correct term right?
It's actually popping before I do anything, I just connect the wire to the back of the lighter and it pops.
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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Just to he technical if it pops when you plug it in without the plunger bad housing, with plunger bad coils. I say technical because they are cheap an replaced as a set
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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

You can purchase a new replacement lighter at Auto Zone, Kragen, etc. that will fit.

Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

My lighter socket had two connection points for wiring. The outer prong was grounded and he inner connection was for power. I mistakenly used the outer connection and it popped the fuse like you're describing. Once I hooked it up to the center connection it worked fine. Also make sure the spring tabs aren't touching rhe main body as that will short it as well.
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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Mine just has 1 plug. Are those little tabs supposed to touch the outer casing?

Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

No

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Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

So I need to try to bend them in a little so they don't touch the outer casing huh? I'm going to get a new lighter assymbly today but I'll try that as well.

Re: What grounds the cigarette lighter?
 

Well figured it out, I'm assuming the old one was bad and shorting out. I replaced with a generic replacement from Pep Boys, this one has 2 prongs, one for power and ground. I hooked it all up and it worked, even though the ground I attached came off.