Cigarette lighter replacement

[rosie]

Just replaced mine and it was a nightmare, so here's what I did. Hopefully this saves you some swearing and despair.

I'd already removed the steering wheel, parcel shelf, and under-dash fascia for access to other wiring issues.

There is one plug on the back. Undo this. The Haynes manual says you unplug it and can then withdraw the lighter from the front through the fascia. This doesn't work as the black bulb holder prevents it from fitting through. You need to remove the bulb holder first

Remove the bulb holder by prising the top section away from the green plastic slightly, then slide it down over the white plastic. You can pull it off by hand or prise it with a screwdriver, but it's really awkward to get to. Mine was being chucked out so I just blindly went at it with a screwdriver until it came off.

cig lighter.jpg

Once that's out the way you can wiggle the lighter out through the front.

I then tried to insert the new lighter and fit the bulb holder from the back once it was in place. This was really fiddly and I couldn't get it on, so decided to remove the fascia instead.

There are two metal clips holding the fascia on - one at the top and one at the bottom. You can see at least one of them from the front once the lighter is out of way. Prise these off and then you can withdraw the fascia. (don't do what I did and only remove one clip, then pull the fascia and snap off one of the tabs - superglue is my friend)

5112F43B-1860-4FD5-A818-4396063AAAD5.jpg

insert the cigarette lighter and fit the bulb holder by sliding it on and then pushing down. The bulb holder needs to sit on the left hand side for clearance.

I then replaced the fascia by pushing it hard into place and replacing the clips from behind - quite fiddly and they don't clip on properly unless you hold the front firmly in place. You can't really see what you're doing so you have to use the force.

Replace the plug.
Done.

I expect it would have been possible to leave the lighter in place initially and undo the fascia clips and withdraw the whole lot at once but I couldn't see the clips until the lighter was out of the way.
Hope this helps someone.

[mark1gls]

Great write up and sure it will come in very handy. Thanks for posting.