Most cars have built-in cigarette lighters that provide a dual function like powering various other accessories and lighting up the cigarettes while driving. The car cigarette lighter works similarly to other accessories and gets power from the car battery. Therefore, your car’s battery must be strong enough to start and reasonably power the car.
So if you want to know how you can use the car cigarette lighter, keep on reading.
How to Use the Car Cigarette Lighter
The car cigarette lighter consists of a nichrome coil until it lightens up with a solid electrical current or power supply. When the person presses the lighter, it pushes the ruse into the electrical holder, thus permitting the current to warm up the loop.
When the light becomes hot, the metallic strip bends away, and you can light up your cigarette.
To understand the use of cigarette lighters, follow these steps:
Step 1
To start lighting up your cigarette, make sure that your accessory should have a cigarette lighter adapter. The lighter adapter is a circular-shaped unit in bulb form and has a metallic pin on the end. The standard accessories that come with these accessories are radar detectors, MP3 players, GPS devices, and cell phone chargers.
Step 2
Most comes have a burner unit in them; remove the burner unit or cap and plug the adapter of the accessory into the lighter.
Step 3
Now switch on the car’s ignition and process the ignition into fixtures approach. As in other models of cars, there are other sources to send power to the lighter.
Step 4
Connect the accessory and use it according to your need. You should plug one side of the cable into the handheld device if you power the lighter with a cell phone charger.
Keep in mind that when you switch off the car and remove the keys from the ignition, the accessory will also switch off automatically. So it will be a practical way to save the adapter’s settings.
Step 5
Some manufacturers replace the regular cigarette lighter socket with the standard electric socket or USB sockets without an adapter. So in this type of case, the cigarette lighter is still available in many models but is not the regular part of the default package of the car.
Therefore, instead of using the adapter in the car for a cigarette lighter, you can use these alternative accessories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a person do if the cigarette lighter in a car does not work?
Using a cigarette lighter in the car is an easy process. But sometimes, it does not work correctly. If it happens, check the connection of the lighter. It can also happen that the connection of the lighter with the source of power may be lost or completely damaged.
Due to the poor connection, take the socket many turns and try again. Now open the fuse and block and find the location of the fuse. Change the old fuse and replace it with the new option.
To check, use the cigar lighter in another car to whether it is in the correct position. If it is in the proper condition, the strip is not acceptable. Moreover, if the fuse is not working, link the GPS to alternative devices.
Can you use the cigarette lighter to charge other electronic devices or appliances?
Suppose you want to use electronic devices or other appliances with a cigarette lighter. In that case, you can connect the power inverter, which can convert the car’s battery DC 12V, 24V, and 48 V into the household AC for electronic appliances and usual devices.
Some cigarette lighter sockets come with USB ports, so you can also use them to charge mobile and cell phones, iPods, and other mobile devices. Every power inverter contains its current and output power.
The precautionary measure you should take in dealing with these devices is not to overload them when charging the electronic devices.
Can I use the cigarette lighter in a car for a long time?
If you use a lighter in the car, it is not practical. Because if you use it for a longer time, the jump ring inside the lighter may break, and the heater strip will not heat up.
Besides this, some people think that the cigarette light may also stop working when the vehicle stops. The reason is that some cars still come with a built-in power supply, so it is not good to use it for a long time or connect it to external devices and appliances.
So it will be safe that when you need the lighter, you should plug it and when there is no need for a lighter, unplug it.
Can you convert the cigarette lighter to a power outlet?
You cannot convert the cigarette lighter to a power outlet, or you should not plug the cigarette lighter into the accessory socket. In the most extraordinary situation, nothing will occur. But in the poorest situation, the lighter will warm up, but the PowerPoint will not resist the thrilling temperature of the lighter.
Conclusion
To conclude, the use of a cigarette lighter in the car is beneficial in the way that you can use it to charge other devices also. The electrical receptacle is the primary source of small electrical appliances.
You can use the cigarette lighter in the car by connecting it to the adapter or the power source from the battery, but do not use it for a longer time regularly as it has a significant impact on the working of the battery well.
In addition, you can use the cigarette lighter when you start the car but even when you switch off the car, because some cars come with a built-in power supply that offers power to the lighter, and you don’t need the adapters anymore.
To be on the safe side, you need to be careful in any situation, so you should not use a car cigarette lighter.
I am an Automotive specialist. I graduated from Michigan with Bachelor in Automotive Engineering and Management. Also, I hold degrees in Electrical and Automation Engineering (BEng), Automatic and Industrial Electronic Engineering, and Automotive Technology. I have worked at General Motors Company for over five years as the Marketing Operations Production Coordinator. Now, I own my garage in Miami, Florida. I love cars and love to share everything about them with my readers. I am the founder of the Automotiveex blog, where I share everything about automotive, like car news, car mechanical issues, and anything else that comes up in my blog posts.
