Technical Fiat Panda strange Cigarette lighter situation

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Technical Fiat Panda strange Cigarette lighter situation

Oliclark

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Hi all,

i've got a 59 plate 1.1 panda (new to me). i think it's an active - it's the base model with the simple dashboard. I do however have a cigarette lighter in the normal place in front of the hand brake.

Up until a few days ago it was working fine. Then it stopped (i don't think it was connected to my blowing a fuse while installing a radio - doh).

I assumed that fuse F85 had blown - so i checked in the fusebox under the bonnet to discover that I don't have a fuse in F85 socket and I don't have a relay in T31.

Can anyone help me finding out where my cigarette lighter might be fused to. All my other electrics seem to work normally.

Oli
 
Really..?

Our 2004 had it as standard
Our 2007 didnt

So assumed..as per the GUIDE.. that there were many builds.. some more sparse than others

It came, went, and came back again :). I guess the reasoning was that by this time most folks would likely want to be able to power a standalone satnav.

However by 2009 the budget versions didn't have a boot light (easy enough to add one though).

What is even more strange is that by this time, although every model in the range had the power socket, the 100HP, and only the 100HP, had an actual cigarette lighter.

:confused:
 

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When your car was new, the socket would have been a standard fit; the lighter itself was an optional extra.

My 2010 (59 plate that was made in Nov 09) 1.1 Active Eco didn't come with one, just a little storage cubby, so it could be possible it was wired in by someone else. What I did was buy the genuine socket and wired it myself direct to the battery (fused of course!). I then drilled a hole in the new socket housing and added a switch for it. It's only clipped in, so pop it out the centre console bit and see if there's any wiring that doesn't look standard, then see if you can follow it to a fuse.

What I find strange is that the wiring for the genuine socket is there, but it does not work, and the fuse holder for the socket doesn't have any terminals in it!
 
does the led come on with the headlights


they can be wired quite differently correct locations are in the owners manual. Also printed on the underside of the fuse box cover


heres one option

the link can be missing in the passenger footwell. not the case here as it was working


earth is under the bonnet Black box in the centre of the scuttle
 

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I fitted mine myself in my 1.1 ECO Active.
Mine is wired to the battery +ve via a fuse, then a I have fitted a switch next to the socket. The -ve is to the earth point under the center console.

check around the battery for a single wire with an inline fuse.
 
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Hi all,

i've got a 59 plate 1.1 panda (new to me). i think it's an active - it's the base model with the simple dashboard. I do however have a cigarette lighter in the normal place in front of the hand brake.

Up until a few days ago it was working fine. Then it stopped (i don't think it was connected to my blowing a fuse while installing a radio - doh).

I assumed that fuse F85 had blown - so i checked in the fusebox under the bonnet to discover that I don't have a fuse in F85 socket and I don't have a relay in T31.

Can anyone help me finding out where my cigarette lighter might be fused to. All my other electrics seem to work normally.

Oli

Any progress with this?
 
None as yet - I'm going to have to just systematically go though all the fuses one by one once I have a moment...
 
does the outer edge light up when the lights come on

if you lift the little area that the cigarette seats in. You will see if its on the main wiring harness or been added


the correct fuses are listed in the owners manual. If you take the cover off the fuse box under the bonnet and turn it upside down. The locations are imprinted into the plastic. Hard to see but there will be one that looks like a cigarette with smoke from the end of it.


the main fuse should be in the engine Bay and the one for the light on the body computer


normally the fuse only goes when I coin or similar drops down into the socket. Make sure there's nothing down there First. Its not in a great location being flat and near the cup holders.
 
So an update. Started checking the fuses and found that a 7.5amp (f49 I think) in the fuse box under the steering wheel was blown.

I replaced that and the cigarette lighter works, as do the lights behind the buttons above the fan/heater controls.

No idea why that fuse powering the 12v socket, but it is!!!
 
The only thing I need to run from the cigarette lighter is a tyre pump, so I fitted a voltmeter/USB socket in it's place. The tyre pump now has an inline socket with crock clips for use direct to the battery.
If you really need more power to the socket, you would have to run new wires from the battery via larger fuse, etc, etc.
 
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I plan on adding a swap over switch with battery feed for my cigarette socket as when running phone charger it's a real pain when the ignition is switched off the socket gives no power to allow me to power the outlet with the ignition off or have it switched off with the ignition would that be easy to do?, also want to add a 12volt socket in the boot for a small cool box run with a similar switch system
 
The snag with that idea is when you forget the switch, the USB will drain your car's battery.

A better option would be to fit a USB voltmeter, then wire in a new fused power socket direct to the battery. You can continue the wire into the boot for cooler boxes etc.

You still risk a drained battery but how often do you have cooler box in use?
 
I wired mine via a fuse direct from the battery and fitted a low profile switch next to the socket, works fine. I have this feeding into a barrel distribution box that fits into a cup holder it has 2 sockets and 2 usb's, I use it to feed sat nav and dashcam and charge the phone when needed.
Occasional I have left it on a couple of times, ok if just popped into a shop, the car still started when I left it overnight but any longer and I would need a jump start.
Its part of my shutdown routine now a bit like apply handbrake select neutral turn wind up windows turn off ignition turn off socket.
At least you can use the socket when parked up without ignition on, now I just need to sort the radio out to do the same.
 
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