Well, I was wrong. I don't know what the little piece that feels like the end of a broken wire is, but neither wire was broken or disconnected.
Now I have the spade connector loose but can't get the boot one off, nor get the spade back on.

It looks like corrosion in the lighter is the problem - if I knew I could get the spade back on, I'd try sandpapering the rust off.

It would be a whole lot easier if I could get the whole unit out so I can see what I'm doing. There's not enough space between the ashtray and the hump (4-speed manual tranny) to get my head in there, and I don't have a small mirror.

Help! I need to go to town and HAVE to take my dogs, but I can't leave them in the truck without the 12v fan that plugs into the lighter!

How do I get the unit out??? I can't see or feel any screws, except for the whole ashtray assembly. It looks like the lighter housing should just slide out. Does it? Do I just need some WD40?

 

Well, mine didn't have one in place, so I'm not sure how the stock lighter comes out, but it may be the same as the aftermarket unit. If you look at the one I posted, the outer sheath with the ribbing on it unscrews. You can barely see at the back of the lighter that there are threads there. The whole outside unscrews from the assembly. The sheath comes off the back, and the guts of the lighter just slide out the hole. It may be easier to see if you take the ash tray off so you can flip it over and see what you're doing.

 

I don't see an outer sheath, just a black box the inner (I presume) sheath is in. I can get the inner to turn a little, but not much with the boot connector still on. Does it pull off or unscrew?

I think your idea of just taking the whole ashtray out is probably what I'll have to do.

Thanks again. Glad you're here!

 

How many screws are there holding the ashtray in? I found one, actually a nut. It would help to know how many I"m looking for.

 

On mine, I had to take the dash piece off that covers the radio and HVAC controls. There was one screw holding in the ashtray. And then it slid out of place.

 

I don't think I have to take the other stuff off - the one screw/bolt is visible at the top of the ashtray.

Thanks!

 

How does that boot connector attach? Is it a pull-off, or a screw type, or something else? I can't get it to budge.

 

it just pushed on/pulls off.

 

Thanks. Now I'll try pulling harder.

 

SMASHCLASH: How did your installation of the Sirius Radio Dock go? I'm thinking about doing the same thing, but I don't want to blow out my cigar lighter. According to the Sirius Radio literature, the Sirius Radio plug, which plugs into the truck's cigar lighter, is only 1.5 amps. Therefore, I think the use of the truck's cigar lighter should power the Sirius Radio with no problem. But, as I said, I don't want to blow out anything, so I'm a little nervous about actually doing it. Can I get some feed back from you?