something stuck in lighter socket?
 

Ok so i'm the noob and i apologize if this has been answered/posted somewhere already. i did a search and didn't find my exact issue, which is...

the front cigarette lighter, i think there is something stuck in it. a couple months ago i had a fm tuner/dock for my iphone (to listen to the ipod thru the radio, you know what i mean). anyway it plugs into the lighter of course for power. well one night i realized that the unit itself had come apart at the part that goes into the socket. the whole end of it came off; the screw, the fuse, etc. i threw it out, but now i think that part of the end of it might be stuck in the lighter. when i try to put something else in there it almost feels like it won't go in all the way and nothing works. i'm not good with the whole electrical thing so i'm afraid to do anything without some advice.

is there a way to tell if there is, indeed something stuck in there, or if the fuse is simply blown? (don't laugh at me for this) are the fuses marked as to which are which? it's been a long time since i've stuck my head in a fuse box and i've never seen the fuses on the monte. (05 MC SS/Tony Stewart Edition).

any insight would be very very helpful! Thanks!

edit: to this same end (sort of..), i wondered if it is possible to get a factory radio from an 06 or 07 monte and have it installed in my 05? only because it has the aux. input jack and mine doesn't. if i had that i wouldn't have had to use the fm tuner in the first place :) someone told me that it is not possible and i don't imagine it is, but i figured i'd put it out there anyway!

RE: something stuck in lighter socket?
 

wiring harnesses are different so an aftermarket one would b ur best bet...as for the cigarette lighter. if u cant c anything in the lighter there most likely isnt anything there. if u do decide to stick ur finger or sumtin in it make sure u disconnect the battery. there is a fuse for the lighter. grab ur owners manual and check it out. it should b in the compartment on the drivers side dash (open the door and look at the side of the dash) as for which number it is ur owners manual will have the number and a diagram. good luck

RE: something stuck in lighter socket?
 

Definitely. You would most likely shock yourself pretty good if you stuck your finger in there with the power on.
When I was a kid I dropped something metal in a lighter socket, and sparks flew out like crazy.

You should be able to see if something is stuck in the socket by shining a flashlight in there.
If there is, disconnect the battery and pull it out.

The fuses are in panels on both sides of the dashboard, right where the door meets the dash. You can open the door and pull the cover, and the cover will have all of the fuses labeled. You can then match the labels up with the descriptions in the owners manual (the labels are not very descriptive).

Any auto parts store also sells fuse testers. I got one that is a fuse puller/tester and came with an assortment of fuses for under $10.
The tester has two prongs that you stick on the metal contacts of the fuse and a light that lights up if the fuse is good.
The nice thing about the fuse tester is that you don't actually have to pull the fuse to see if it is good since the metal contacts on the fuse extend through the plastic fuse body. Makes testing multiple fuses very quick, and saves your fingers from getting sore since you don't have to pull those tiny fuses from their slots to test them.

I remember recently reading where someone had made a simple and cheap aux input using a wiring harness from a malibu that made an aux input selectable via the cd/aux/tape button. Looked like it was stock with that setup too. I'll look around and see if I can come up with that thread as I was planning on doing that myself.

-Riggs.

RE: something stuck in lighter socket?
 

http://www.clubgp.com/newforum/tm.as...=1&smode=1

That's the thread about adding an aux input to a factory radio. It's detailed for a grand prix, but I'm pretty sure that the connections on most of the GM radios are the same for those years.
I was planning on looking at this sometime this summer, but if anyone else gives it a try before then, please share how it went.

-Riggs.

RE: something stuck in lighter socket?
 

i was looking at it today actually, and i really think there is something stuck in there. the fuse is not blown, and when i try to put an adapter in there it feels like it can't go in all the way. i think what is stuck is the metal piece on the end of the adapter that holds the adapter in place

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...tn/adapter.jpg

it looks like both sides are stuck in there, but i can't tell if what i'm seeing is supposed to be in there or not. i've tried pulling on it before with tweezers and it wouldn't move. also i can barely see in there, but the one that faces the back seat looks completely different inside. i thought that might be due to the front one being for a cigarette lighter and the back one is just an accessory outlet, but i'm not sure.

as for the radio, if you or anyone does this i'd be interested to see how it works. i was looking through some threads last night regarding radios and came across one where someone had installed a kenwood 7" touch screen system and it looks so nice. it was an 06/07 (i don't remember who it was) but i think it would look good in mine too. maybe when i get my deductible back from my insurance company i'll buy one. i have no idea where i'd have it installed though. that's way out of my league. anyone interested in a radio project, haha :)

RE: something stuck in lighter socket?
 

There's a Fuse for the Power Tap / Cigarette Lighter in the Fuse Panel.
Pull-out that Fuse.
Look-in to the Lighter and see if there's any parts that don't belong in there.
If there's anything in there ... grab it with some Needle-nosed Pliers and take it out.
When you get down to just the metal cylinder and contact-end at the bottom of the lighter ... put the Fuse back in and try it.
If the Fuse don't Blow ... OK
If the Fuse pops ... you need a Lighter Body.

Putting on a new Lighter Body is only as complicated as it is to get-ahold of the connection at the back-side of the Lighter Body!

RE: something stuck in lighter socket?
 

don't forget, you have one on the back on the arm council too (near the rear ash-tray). in the mean time, you can use that one!