Re: Cigarette lighter not working

Posted by HH56 On 2021/4/11 9:44:32
There is no fuse for the lighter. The lighter socket is connected via a short wire directly to the BAT terminal of the nearby ignition switch. As to the reason lighter is not currently working, it is possible the element in the old lighter is burned out but there could also be a problem with the contact in the old socket.

One caution on using the socket for power is polarity. If your 55 is stock the battery positive terminal is grounded which means the lighter socket will not work for modern devices which need negative ground. The battery polarity would need to be swapped to negative ground which involves at the least re-polarizing the generator and making a change in the coil wiring to maintain best spark efficiency. There is no ammeter in the Clipper to worry about but there may also be an issue with the stock voltage regulator. Anything that might have been replaced in the car that could have some modern solid state components such a radio vibrator or TL switch conversion could also have issues.

Another possible issue is the old lighter sockets were somewhat larger than modern sockets and some of the modern plugs may not be large enough in diameter to fit tightly for a good ground connection of if the plug has a large diameter on the cord end, be long enough to be able to reach the center terminal. You may have to experiment to find a plug that works reliably.

On the turn signal, changing the fuse will not help the cancelling problem as that is purely mechanical. There is a mechanism on the wheel and switch which as the wheel turns back to the straightening direction, catches and releases a spring latch on the switch to let the lever pop back to the off position. On some years the column has slipped down so a large gap develops between the wheel and column and now the wheel is too far away from the switch to trigger the cancel mechanism. There could also be loose or broken parts involved. To resolve either issue will require the wheel be removed -- either to free components so column can be moved upward or to access the switch and inspect it and the wheel for any broken parts.

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