Beginner Question

[bhelser]

Alright, Last night I bought Sirius Satelite for my car, just a plug and play one so I figured this will be so easy, it'll be great. Well come to find out My cigaretter lighter does not work, so I cannot plug it in I am hoping it is just a bad fuse, so bought the fuse. Now do I just pull the fuse and isert the new?

[Legacy777]

Yup,

 

Look in the fuse box, find the one for the cig lighter, and swap out the old fuse for the new one.

[porcupine73]

Yep, if the fuse looks blown just pop in a new one. If it blows again then of course there are other issues. Make sure there isn't like a staple or paperclip or anything in the lighter socket/outlet.

[montana105]

FWIW-on my 93 Legacy wagon cig lighter socket doesn't work unless key is on. Very annoying when trying to charge cell phone. John

[porcupine73]

Yes that is a good point; on both '96 and '00 suby's i have the lighter socket doesn't work unless key is in acc or run. If the fuse is blown, then hopefully it's from a short or too much load on something that was plugged in there.

[bhelser]

I fear I have much bigger problems:eek: Changed the fuse (even though it didn't appear to be blown), I also changed the Horn fuse as the horn doesn't work, and nothing.......Am I right to assume it is an electrical problem? And correct me if I am wrong, but those are extremely expensive. Please forgive the "beginnerness" :-\

 

Or does anyone have any other ideas of what it could be?

[porcupine73]

Oh boy. Did the horn not work previously or is this a recent thing? I don't know earlier models, does this have a fuse box under the hood and under the dash? Maybe you can try jiggling/shaking some wiring harnesses in the areas to see if that makes a difference? All problems have the potential to be expensive.

[bhelser]

I bought the car in January and It hasn't worked since I have owned it (never though to check the horn when I bough it...... I know my bad!) It has a fuse box both under the hood and under the dash. I'll try jigglin' anyone else have suggestions?

[montana105]

Start with the basics,make sure everything is plugged in, was the horn fuse blown or is the horn just unhooked,if not try wiggling harnesses as mentioned earlier. Do you have more specifics on car? Was it wrecked,recovered in a field with mice,etc.... John

[porcupine73]

Do you hear any relay clicking sound when pressing the horn button? Checking any related fuses wouldn't be a bad idea as well. Do you notice anything else electrical that doesn't work?

[bhelser]

There is absolutely nothing when I push the horn buttons, nothing at all. The horn and the lighter are the only 2 things that don't work in the car. I bought it from a transmission shop (my girlfriend's Dad's friend). He said that a family dropped it off to get a new transmission in it and neve picked it up after he was finished with it, he placed a lien on the title and a year later it was his ( I believe that was the timeline) He sold it to me as he had no use for it. I don't even know how to check if the horn is plugged in, is it just behind/underneath the steering wheel?

[montana105]

Find the horn in the engine compartment and see if there is a wire hooked up to it,wouldn't worry about the horn wires in the steering wheel till later,is it possible that wires were ripped out during previous repairs? Do you have a test light? Or digi meter?

[bhelser]

idon't have a test light or digi meter. I'll cehck it out under the hood. Even with the horn being a saftey hazzard, my main concern is the stinkin' lighter! anyone have any ideas for me on that?

[montana105]

Kind of where I was going with the test light or digi meter,need to test either the fuse socket or lighter socket to see where you do have power.Do you have something else to try in the lighter socket?

[bhelser]

I have tried the ligher (of course) I tried the power adapter for the Sirius Deck, and I tried a power adapter for a disc man, but nothing

 

Being that I don't have a test light or digi meter, would a auto parts store check that for me for free? ( I know, I know I should just do it myself) I thought I have seen ads for free electrical testing, is that what this would mean?

 

And let me say thanks to everyone helping I really appreciate it a lot!

[montana105]

Well you may get lucky and find an outfit who'd do this for free,but most of them are advertising for free battery and alternator checks and possibly free code checks,in the hopes of selling you a new part.This may be beyond your scope and need to either invest in some basic electrical tools or have a person that has them and knows how to use them check things for you. Have you bought a repair manual for your specific vehicle? This may be a wise investment. John

[bhelser]

Well you may get lucky and find an outfit who'd do this for free,but most of them are advertising for free battery and alternator checks and possibly free code checks,in the hopes of selling you a new part.This may be beyond your scope and need to either invest in some basic electrical tools or have a person that has them and knows how to use them check things for you. Have you bought a repair manual for your specific vehicle? This may be a wise investment. John

 

 

I don't have a repair manual, funds are kind of low, but I'll check into them, any suggestions on a good/inexpensive website? I found one on Ebay for $18 dlvd. but don't know if that is a good deal or not. I don't want to sound like a cheap-skate, I was just so excited to get Sirius (Birthday was yesterday, it was a gift) and now I am a little bummed. I am just lloking for that 'quick fix' although I know they rarely exist.

[montana105]

Well I'm not gonna preach,but when you get the funds get a good manual. Can't give you any kind of answer without some more diagnostics on your part,you have to start at the problem and work back to the power source alond the way. Sorry-John

[bhelser]

I'll work on getting a repair manual this weekend, and hopefully can get something figured out. Thanks

[johnceggleston]

I'll work on getting a repair manual this weekend, and hopefully can get something figured out. Thanks

ithink haynes manuals are only 15$ retail at the auto parts store. if they have yours in stock.

 

the quick fix is to buy another lighter socket and wire it to a fused hot wire of suitable amps. amps shouldn't be a big deal if you only use it for radio not lighter. there should be a light that comes on when you open the glove box. disconnect the light and wire in the "radio" socket, maybe..

 

if it were just the lighter i'd check the wiring behind the socket itself. but sunce it 's the horn as well, it may be a bigger problem. double check that the horn under the hood has wires conected to it. i think it's mounted on the passenger side up front near the headlight?

[porcupine73]

Just spring for an alldatadiy subscription. That is the cheapest legal way to get OE Suby repair info.

[Virrdog]

First thing you need to do is pull those fuses back out and see if they are blown or still good. Knowing whether you are blowing the fuses or not is kind of important.

 

And check RadioShack for cheap digital multimeters, they have some good deals, one with auto-range would be your best bet. I don't know how I functioned without one!

[porcupine73]

If you have a Harbor Freight nearby, that would be a great place to get a cheap multimeter, and their vehicle fuse kits are half price right now too.