Ugh..I'm melting lighters!

[Brian1045 28]

Ok...

I wired the 1045 which was a pretty easy job. I have the diagram and everything is working fine.

but when I use the cig. lighter is gets very hot very fast. And it is actually melting the coils of the lighter probe.

I wired it the way the book shows. Sitting on the tractor it comes straight off the left side of the regulator directly to the lighter. I tried grounding it and ungrounding it and it makes no difference.

I've went through 2 now and still a no go. The lighter and the receiver are after markets from Autozone...but that shouldn't make a difference. They look just like the ones that come out of a stock WH.

Am I this stupid?..

Any help would be appreciated. :whistle:

[Docwheelhorse 2,740]

HI--check the voltage, I wonder if you are getting unregulated current that is way higher than 12 volts and subsequently are torching the lighter

WAIT A MINUTE---AREN'T THEY SUPPOSE TO BE ON FIRE?????

Tony

[Brian1045 28]

I checked the voltage and it's running around 12-13 volts.

Maybe the lighters are just made to cheap from ****zone to compete with the power of a WH.

I'll keep on trying..thanks for the reply

[Teddy da Bear 11]

Not being a guru of electricity......

Just wondered if you were to try a very heavy gage wire...

Would that tend to retard the voltage some?

[Brian1045 28]

Just wondered if you were to try a very heavy gage wire

I'll give it a shot :thumbs:

[HorseFixer 2,013]

Well a larger wire handles moe current, less voltage drop that wont help in this instance.... Hmmm try hooking it directly to the battery, try it with tractor off then try with tactor on. Measure the DC voltage at the battery while tractor is running and off. lighter on lighter off see what kinda voltage drop you get.

[buckrancher 2,694]

try out a 12 volt ballast resistor. That may stop your burn out

if you install it between power source and lighter

:whistle:

[Sarge 3,465]

I'd bet the whole problem is the cheapo socket/lighter . I tried an aftermarket lighter in my stock socket, burnt it out in 3 uses . Can't get one of theirs to last in my truck, either .

Funny, the original equiment lighters in both '67's and the '66 tractors work like new , despite their age ...

Sarge

[Brian1045 28]

Awesome suggestions guys...I'll give em a try one by one.

I'll let you know the out come! :whistle:

[iicap 1]

A 12 volt system is a 12 volt system be it car, truck, wheel horse tractor and so on. When the the engine is running and Alt or Gen is putting out, the voltage can be anywhere from 13.50 to 15 volts. In a points/condenser type ignition it is preffered to have voltage no higher than 14.20 to alow for long life to the points. I think you have gotten bad run of cigarette lighters. Can you try one from a vehicle that you know works properly and is somewhat seasoned/used.

Also not being familiar with your model tractor and maybe having fresh paint, make sure the lighter receptical is grounded in its mounting hole to bare metal or if it has a ground tang on receptical run a wire to a good known ground source.

Good luck and will be looking to see you solved the problem

Maybie they're selling you lighters for a 6 volt Volkswagon :thumbs:

[linen beige 15]

Iicap Richard got awfully close to what I'm thinking. Take the element from your new lighter and compare it to a known good lighter in a vehicle. See if the new one fits tighter than the good one. You want to do this test without power to the lighter. Most vehicle lighters won't work with the key off.

These work by having just the right spring tension of the socket to the element. As the element heats up it overcomes the resistance of the spring action holding it in the socket and the element pops out. If there is too much spring resistance the element will get hot enough to burn out the heating coil before it pops out.

If it fits right in the vehicle socket try the vehicle element in the new socket on the tractor (without power). Chances are it will fit a bit tighter and would probably also overheat. If this seems to be the case you can "adjust" the spring tension of the socket by slightly bending the holding tab(s) that are in the bore of the socket.

Also, not all "lighter" sockets are actually designed for use with a lighter. There are some on the market that are really designed as accessory power outlets and have much stronger spring tension to hold power plugs in place. Luckily, the springs in most of these can be adjusted (bent out just a bit) as well.

[Brian1045 28]

I bought the lighter and the socket as 1 unit together. I did adjust the tension earlier by bending the prongs. Maybe I need to bend them to make sure it pops out really quickly...yet making sure I don't do make it to loose where the lighter won't stay in the socket without falling out. It may have beeen a little to tight from the factory even.

All very good replies.

Ill go but 1 more and post the result.

:whistle:

[past7971 0]

Sounds like your a victim of "high-quality" made in China replacement parts that have flooded the market. Either that or its a covert conspiracy to try to make us stop smoking.

[Brian1045 28]

Here we go,

I took everyones opinions very seriously. I Think Mr. Linen Beige and iicap may have been on to something.

First all, since I am using vinylguys aftermarket vinyl decal for the dash,

I was concerned on it not making ground like the factory lighter against the metal dash.

I ran an inline 30amp fuse (water proof) to the regulator and I grounded the lighter houing to the engine block.

Then I opened up the 2 little spring flaps so that the lighter would release sooner before it got to hot.

So far...so good!

BTW: I'm still using the cheapo lighters from pep boys and autozone, everything seems fine now. :thumbs:

[iicap 1]

Glad you've got it working. Again I don't know your engine / tractor combo. I'm not so sure of taking your power from the regulator. I would hook the fused line to (1) the BATT terminal of the ignition switch if you want lighter to work all the time. (2) the ACC term of ign switch if you want it to work only when the key is on or when the tractor is running. If lighters were standard on you tractor, maybe the wiring schematic shows where they were hooked up from the factory.

And finally (long winded, I know) there was a recent thread about correct ignition switches for horses. On the BATT term, power to lighter DOES NOT go thru the switch. On ACC term it DOES go thru the switch. I would think going thru the switch shouldn't be a problem. Where ever you hook it up make sure you keep the inline fuse. IF 30 amp was recommended with the lighter combo, fine. If lesser amp fuse was suggested, I'd go to that size fuse.

[linen beige 15]

Glad you got it working!

I don't think an extra ground wire was really needed. If it wasn't grounding it would not have heated up at all. The 30 amp fuse sounds way too large to me. My guess is that the socket can handle up to 30 amps of load from an accessory so the instructions use that figure. The lighter element, however, will probably handle no more than 8-10 amps, maybe 15 max (most auto lighter circuits are fused at 15 amps but also power other loads at the same time.).

I would get an amp load reading as the lighter is heating up and fuse it just above this figure. I'm going to guess you'll need a 10 amp fuse.

[Brian1045 28]

Yeah,

I think I'll lower the fuse size for sure. The wiring diagram does show the lighter coming off of the regulator, but I do like the idea of only being able to use it when the ignition is on. I have a 5 way switch, but only 3 posts are being used.

Thanks again! :thumbs: