Cigarette lighter: everything you need to know
Content
The cigarette lighter is one of the accessories that the car is equipped with. It is directly integrated into the dashboard of your car. Delivering electricity through electric beams, as the name suggests, allows you to light cigars and cigarettes instead of a lighter or matchbox.
💨 How does a cigarette lighter work?
The cigarette lighter is located on the dashboard, most often next to your vehicle's gearbox. Directly connected to battery car, he has resistance... When the cigarette lighter is pressed, resistance crosses current from the battery, and it will heat up significantly.
So when you pull out the cigarette lighter, resistance glows and you can go to what you want to light up.
By the way, when you take out the cigarette lighter, you can use lighter for charging various electronic devices: battery booster, mobile phone, laptop, bottle warmer, air compressor or even a DVD player ...
Currently, this equipment is rather used as Source of power than light a cigarette or cigar. This is why some of the latest car models no longer have a resistance cigarette lighter, but simply nozzles with USB port to provide constant current. The supplied voltage is equivalent to the battery voltage, so it varies within 12 and 14 volts depending on the models.
It should be noted that it is not recommended to connect the multi-outlet to multiple connected devices. This leads to increased fuel consumption as the battery and alternator are more stressed.
🔎 What are the symptoms of HS cigarette lighter?
Nowadays, the cigarette lighter is especially widely used in cell phones, which motorists charge through their tip. If your cigarette lighter is completely out of order, you will be notified of the following symptoms:
- Cigarette lighter no longer warms up : when you press it, the resistance no longer heats up and you cannot use it to illuminate the object;
- The cigarette lighter socket no longer supplies power : if you connect an electronic device and it does not charge, this often means that the cigarette lighter and its socket are damaged;
- There is a burning smell in the cabin. : If you connect too many devices to the cigarette lighter socket, in particular with a multi-socket outlet, it may blow the fuse of the latter and, in the most serious cases, cause a fire in the vehicle interior.
⚡ How to connect the cigarette lighter to the battery?
If you want to connect your cigarette lighter directly to your car's battery, you need very little equipment to make this happen. To do this, you have two different options:
- Connect electrical cables or a meter directly to the cigarette lighter and then use alligator clips to connect it to the battery. If you want to make this connection permanently, use the spare battery clips and place them directly into the cigarette lighter socket. Remember to always connect the fuse to the circuit in order to secure the installation in the event of a short circuit;
- Buy a cigarette lighter adapter that has a plug directly with alligator clips. This way you will have a USB port to connect one end to the cigarette lighter socket, and the clips will be attached to your car's battery.
These methods are often used in place of an inverter, but it is strongly recommended not to use a cigarette lighter as an intermediate link and connect the inverter directly to the battery.
💸 What is the cost of replacing a cigarette lighter?
Cigarette lighter malfunctions are most often caused by problems with the electronics: usually a defective fuse or wiring harness. Thus, replacing a cigarette lighter is not very expensive. 10 € and 15 € to buy new cables.
If you entrust this maneuver to a professional in a car workshop, you will have to add 25 for 50 € to cover the working hours of the labor force according to the hourly rate of the garage.
The cigarette lighter is a convenient device for charging electronic equipment on the road. Like any other accessory, it should be used sparingly so as not to overload the battery andalternator which will increase fuel consumption. If your cigarette lighter doesn't work at all, use our online garage comparator!
