Cig Lighter

[4.0B2]

draws moisture to the top? armor-all is petroleum based.

saw a thing on discovery (maybe, some channel) about it.. and it was showing how it made the plastic shine. it said that b/c of how it was made it would pull moisture to the top surface, the moisture combined with the spray and that's why it looks so dang good.. but b/c it pulls the moisture to the top every time you use it, it causes the plastic a premature death from being dried out.

 

[rpaszt93]

mine just kind of screws in or buy an new plastic piece or go to a junk yard.

 

[lil'_big_truck]

I had the same exact thing happen to me months ago. I've never really fixed it. haha. I just put black duck tape over it, because like you said, there are other sockets

 

[YZ250Rider23]

Same thing happened to me, I tried to JB weld it but it didn't hold for long at all...

So if you look at the outlet, you'll see the inner part screws into the outer part, and it then sandwiches itself onto a tiny ring of plastic in the radio bezel. The tiny ring is what snaps off. After my failed JB weld attempt, I decided i was going to give this thing hell, and do something to make sure it would stay put.

I took out the radio so I could bring the whole bezel into the house and work on my bench. I filed off any remaining mounting ridge, and made the back even.

Then I hunted around my basement to find a source for a nice solid piece of plastic. I found a Hummer H2 chrome center cap that I never found a home for. Using a coping saw I cut a rectangular patch that would fit into the area around the outlet. It took a little trial and error to trim it just right to fit it. I peeled the chrome off and sanded the plastic so it would bond well, and I also sanded the back of the bezel. Using a metric sh*t ton of 15 minute epoxy I glued my patch in place, being careful not to ooze it all over the face. Once that was set I found the right size spade drill bit to make my opening. Made sure it was centered, and not too big... only get one shot at this.

So with the hole drilled and the plug fitting nice and tight, I then looked at my assortment of stainless screws and decided it needed some extra support. I removed the outlet again, and I carefully pre-drilled two holes above and below the outlet opening. Put my two screws in and cut the protruding points off the back side with a dremel.

I will say, it doesn't look fantastic, but it looks ok. Glad to have a second functioning socket again though. Total job probably took less than an hour.

 

[RollinWOT]

I'll give it a shot! Thanks Rider for the tip. I'll see what I can do about sourcing up some new plastic.

 

[Scrambler82]

Go to the JY and get another Bezel, don’t use the Cig Lighter and it won’t happen again !

Even new the bezel isn’t that expensive.

 

[RollinWOT]

I just want to have it there if i ever need to fend off a carjacker or starting a campfire. It's not really a necessity, just a convenience. Maybe I'll make a heavy duty bezel?

 

[killj0y]

I fixed mine

ok so i had the same problem and went out and bought a 9 dollar replacment ford cig lighter with a light up rim thinking the rim will keep it from falling back in. Well i needed to grind/sand down the inside of the mount with a file for lack of a dremel, and it squeezed in just barely. The cig replacement part is from autozone and with the tightness, light up rim, and backing light it is not going ANYWHERE! so easy 30 min fix, and the rim covers up any grinding mistakes

 

[killj0y]

no glue required just mount, replacement cig lighter, and file/dremel.

 

[RollinWOT]

I might just have to do that! I never thought of forcing something too big into such a tight hole.

 

[Ronv]

Oh I don't know, I think aboout it occasionally

 

[Mark_88]

I test drove a 97 Ranger the other day...first thing I noticed was the lighter was punched in just like shown here...

Did this get fixed or is it still a WIP? I didn't buy the truck...too many Kilometers on the clock...and it was a regular cab...

 

[Scrambler82]

RollinWOT,

I know it has been a week or so but did you get the Bezel fixed or replaced ?

I was re-reading this thread and thought about it !
Don’t use the Power Port on the right side of the Radio for a Cig Lighter; it is not built the same as the Cig Lighter.
The Cig Lighter has insulation inside of it to keep it together and it has a nut on the back side to disassemble it.
Watch the sequence of disassembly so your will go back together correctly.

 

[RollinWOT]

No I still haven't gotten it back together. It's one of those projects that gets my attention when I get some spare time. I think the left port is for the cig lighter and the right port is for the auxilliary power? And thank you for the little bit of info on disassembly and insulation, that really helps! It's been kinda just hanging there, but I'll get it back on soon enough.

 

[BuiltFordTough12]

I had the same thing happen to my old 98 ranger and I tried a variety of things that failed. After a week I got sick of trying so I bought another stereo surround of a truck at the junkyard. I paid only 25 bucks for it and my only regret was not doing this from the get go.