Like many people now, the owner of this 2008 VW Touareg 3.0 TDI was a non-smoker, and so had no use for the cigarette lighter in the centre console. The power outlet was used to charge his mobile phone or power the sat-nav when needed, but the lighter element was never needed.

This meant that rather than putting the element in place when the power outlet was not being used for the phone or sat-nav, it was just thrown in the centre console storage area, and eventually was discarded.

The owner’s mobile phone was low on charge and he decided to plug it in, only to discover that the charger did not appear to be working. Hunting down the owner’s handbook he found and checked the fuse for the power outlet, and discovered it had blown. Fitting the new fuse resulted in the new fuse blowing within seconds. The owner decided that it was time for me to have a look to see if I could sort the problem out.

A quick peek into the exposed cigarette lighter socket soon revealed the problem.  With the lighter unit constantly being left out, small bits and items loose in the vehicle, and there was quite a bit, found their way into the lighter socket and had shorted out the terminals in the socket.

After blowing the debris out using an airline, the socket was cleaned using an electrical switch cleaning spray. The fuse could now be replaced without blowing. I also found a plastic cover to fit over the outlet when not in use to prevent a reoccurrence of the problem.

You can download this story as a PDF, as well as other technical tips at TechTips.ie.

There are lots more Tech Tips to view, and they are all searchable, on TechTips.ie.