Ford Ka Collection 1.3 2004 12v Cigarette lighter issue

[fabnickyj]

Hi I wonder if anyone can help. My cig lighter in the car keeps blowing, i replaced the fuse and my sat nav worked for about 30 mins then blew, replaced the whole cig lighter unit and same again.....anyone have any idea how i can solve this so i can use the 12v for ipod and sat nav etc.

thanks in advance

 

[Jimmyjaffa]

What is the rating of the fuse that keeps blowing?

 

[fabnickyj]

Its 20 amp i believe, yellow in colour.

 

[Burnerman]

Does the fag lighter fuse hold ok if an accessory isn't being used?
20 amps is a lot of current, much more than a sat nav or ipod would ever draw.
In the past I've found that faults like this have been caused by shoving the accessory plug in too firmly, shorting out the contacts beneath.
Just a thought!
John

 

[mfarrow]

Look for any coins dropped into the socket.

Otherwise, yes, 20A is a lot for a cigarette lighter socket, should be more like 15A (they're not rated at anything more).