Have you checked it with either a test light or multimeter? The reason I ask is that these "outlets" were really designed to heat up cigarette lighters, not provide 12V to accessories. Often I find that the contacts of the accessory don't match up with the contacts of the "outlet" quite right, so it appears that the outlet is shot. Rotating the accessories plug usually brings the contacts together making it all work. You may just need to find the sweet spot for your particular accessory and "outlet". I'm not trying to sound condescending, just gathering and providing a little info. I'll see if I can pull up a circuit diagram.

Adam

edit: Here's the diagram. It looks like there's a relay inline, so perhaps that's your gremlin.

 

alright thankyou very much. and it does help im pretty lost at this point. Ill see if that the prob and if its not then ill try to make sense of this diagram..

 

im having the same problem; my one caveat being that it HAD worked about a month ago...maybe it is that relay...

C01LINS: did you have any luck here?

 

Ya its the same thing with me. And no i haven't had any luck, although i did take it apart again and noticed there was a wire in the back of it that wasn't connected. It was covered like someone purposely did it though so i have no idea what the deal with that is.

 

you took apart the wrapping? that's further than i went. i tore the dash apart and found nothing obvious and didnt have time to delve more into it. im good with mechanics, but not the best with electricity, so i stumble through a lot of that stuff. lemme know if you find anything, im on the edge of my seat here! good luck!

 

so today i tore apart my dash looking for that in-line relay. COULD NOT FIND A THING! its a blue and a black wire coming from the outlet, then that goes into a BIG bunch of wires (that are wrapped...grr...). they then pop into a wiring harness, then that goes into the firewall, outside, to the external fuse-box, then back into the internal fuse box, and terminate there (or that's how i followed them, i think). i COULD NOT find the in-line relay...where is it and wtf does it look like? im lost. we had 4 guys looking for stuff everywhere and just couldnt find a thing... HELP! thanks!

 

Cigar Lighter/
Accessory
Relay

Color BK

Location Bottom of
Instrument
Panel Near
Steering
Column

 

the relay is near the steering column? the wires head the TOTAL opposite direction...am i reading this right? thanks

 

That's what the shop manual says. There are several relays in the area

 

hmm....thats a project for saturday. im gonna fix it this weekend. period. end of story. if the whole dash comes out, it comes out, but its going down. so i'll yank the knee panel and see if i see it. if not...****

 

I changed my power outlet to an on all the time port so I could charge my cell phone with the engine off. There is an avaliable line marked as auxliary unswitched taped to the wiring harness behind the glove box near the fuse panel. I routed it to the outlet and cut and taped off the blue wire and spliced this circuit in. Put fuse in the fuse location for that auxliary circuit and now I am good to go.

 

Here's the diagram for the relay location. I'm sure it made sense in someone's mind to put it there.

Have you gotten in with a multimeter or test light yet? If so, what did you find? Also, don't forget that the key needs to be in and the ignition switch needs to be in either the run or accessory position.

HTH,
Adam

 

dude, you are a GOD! PERFECT! no multimeter test yet, and YES, I KNOW THE JEEP HAS TO BE ON :brickwall lol. thanks. but depending on my wednesday, that might get taken care of; if not, its all about saturday!

 

I was thinking about doing what wtroger did instead of messing with the cigarette lighter wires...Last weekend i got out the volt meter and checked the fuse for the outlet and there was barley any power coming out(which is weird because i expected it to be nothing)...i checked the auxiliary and it was fine so that what im going to go with.

 

so now im mad...i found the relay (thanks again faramir) and swapped it, and the outlet still doesnt work! im gonna look into replacing the outlet itself, and if that doesnt work; hard-wiring it is. i'm really stubborn and want the thing to work like it should, so im not giving up, but its a pain! i hate wiring problems...

 

Not to sound like a jerk, but have you gotten in there with a multimeter or test light yet? It's tempting to just throw parts at a problem, especially a potentially complex one like electrical stuff, but unless you know where the problem lies, you're really just guessing. If you want some help with how to use the multimeter ask here or over in the electrical forum. There are a lot of folks with plenty of experience with this sort of thing, as well as lots of experience explaining it. My internet connection over the next week is sketchy, but I'll try to help when I can.

Hang In There,
Adam

 

god faramir, you are such a jerk! just kidding, lol. i know how to use a multimeter, i just dont have one, and you are right, i should just put the investment toward a meter instead of replacing parts that might not need replacing. i am a little confused about how to find a short using a multimeter, just due to all the connections being sealed; all my other use has been in physics or engineering labs where everything is open. i'll do a quick search over in the electrical forum and go from there. keep ya'll updated! thanks faramir!