vincer77

I plugged in the OE compressor into the cigarette lighter, and when I pulled it out, the whole socket came out. I am trying to put it back in, but the bulb on the connector does not allow it to go through the hole in the dash. Do I need to remove the radio and plug it in after installing the lighter? Or is there another secret way?

911Dave

I'm confused by this phrase: "the bulb on the connector does not allow it to go through the hole in the dash." Can you clarify what bulb and what connector? If it came out that easy, it seems like it ought to go back in the same way.

vincer77

Picture worth 1,000 words. The bulb is part of the plug. Once it is connected to the socket, it is too large to fit through. The plug remained behind the dash when the socket came out.

CalvinC4S

Through the radio hole and it is still a PITA.

x50type

Regretfully you can pull the radio out, the dash top off and remove the glove compartment but you still can't get behind the area where the cigarette cable has been disconnected. i think the 993 is built around the cigarette lighter connection!

vincer77

x50type

vincer77

i did exactly the same as you - when testing the Porsche tyre pump; the lighter pulled completely [the pump plug is a real tight fit into the lighter socket] out and was disconnected from the power cable in the dash.

You have discovered it won't go back in from the front because of the lamp on the side - and the power cables are loose behind the dash and just a push fit onto spades on the lighter [like the speaker cables.]

It does not seem possible to put the lighter into the dash from behind [as must have been done when the car was built] and even if you could fit the lighter back in the dash you can't get behind to connect the spades back on to the lighter [2 hands would be needed].

As the lighter will not go back in the dash with the lamp housing on the side, i sawed off the lamp housing [it's plastic] - only then can it be pushed back in from the front.

This leaves the problem of connecting the power cables back to the lighter.

As i could not find a way to get my hands behind the dash, i managed to fish out the lighter power cable and pull it through the hole in the dash occupied by the lighter.

The cable spades can then be connected to the lighter in your hand.

The power cables are then carefully fed back into the dash and the lighter pushed back into the dash hole.

Test the lighter before putting epoxy behind the lighter bezel and pushing it firmly back in place - thus ensuring the lighter can never be pulled out again.

Even now when pulling my radar detector, trickle charger, etc. plug out of the lighter socket I hold the bezel in place - just in case.

The only down side is there is now no lighter illumination............................!!

The lack of illumination is a small price to pay for the convenience of being able to use my trickle charge to keep my battery healthy via the lighter socket.

Hope this helps.

vincer77

Wow, that's pretty extreme. Thanks for your advice. Will need to work on it this week.

x50type

vincer77
let me know if you find a less extreme method!
tks

CalvinC4S

again,

Through the radio hole, I just did this same thing about 4 months ago.

No need to hack at anything.

pull radio, remove the cage... then work it.

pcarhombre

...what he said. I also did this last year but purchased a new housing because the culprit for me was that two of the tabs that secure it had broken off. GL.

2Many Cars

Once you get it back in, if you can maneuver enough, you might try putting a hefty zip tie around the socket right behind the dash surface. If the locking prongs are gone or weak the tie, if pulled tight, should help the socket stay in.

vincer77

Are you talking about the tabs on the metal socket, or the black plastic bezel ring? If the metal ones, they broke?

pcarhombre

Hi Vince. IIRC, the plastic lip (bezel) slides over the metal part from the back, and then snapped into place around the metal cage. (That was where 2 tabs were snapped off that allowed the whole thing to spin or to easily be pulled out.) I then worked my mitts into the radio cavity and it wasn't hard to get the "plug" back in place.

Michael S.

I'm confused... If the lighter assembly pulled out thru the hole, then there is no way it cannot be pushed back thru the hole, right? What am I missing here?