hey i had a problem with my cig lighter and power outlet in my truck both fuses were blown, i replaced them and i completly replaced the cig lighter because the trim was messed up ( picked a good one up from the junk yard ) and they still dont work, fuses havent reblown, any suggestions?

 

Is your key in? On mine the key has to be in for the cig lighters to work.

 

What were you using on that outlet? Welcome to the wonderful world of Chrysler manufacturing. They are the world's worst about putting in a really high gauge wire where a smaller one would work better. IE: engineers recommend a 10gauge wire, the factories will use a 14-16 guage to cut costs.

With that being said, pull the dash off, and check to make sure the wires are not shorted out. I did this on my regular power outlet by running a 250W power inverter for my laptop. Ended up having to run all new wire for it.

 

Sounds about right. If your fuses are good, then you have to make sure you are getting power to the location you want. Start from either end testing your wiring and you will find the problem somewhere in the middle.

 

you need to test the wiring, and make sure that the power wire is not shorted to ground.

disconnect battery. remove any appliance from outlet. use multimeter set to ohms. place one probe on the fuse end of the wiring and the other to ground. it should be open. repeat test from outlet end, should also be open. if either is closed, then its shorted out.

i'm going to guess that the previous owner connected a high amp draw inverter in those outlets and powered something big. when he blew the standard fuse, he probably replaced it with a bigger fuse, which then melted the wire insulation somewhere along the way, and its grounded.

you'll likely have to run a new wire direct from the battery, with an inline fuse, to your new power outlets. use a suitable wire size like 12 gauge for 20 amps.

 

i pulled it apart didnt notice anything different they both worked when i got it and had the proper fuses in it. all i ran was a GPS charger and a cell phone charger, the power outlet works without the key, the cig lighter needs the key. ill ring it out tomorrow to see if its a short. thanks for the input

 

key on for cig lighter and always on for aux is normal.
does the fuse blow as soon as you put it in, or only when you connect an appliance ?

 

PDC (power distribution center) fuse #3 (40A) is common to both circuits and feeds Fuse Block fuse #1 (20A) for the power outlet, and ignition (key) switched Fuse Block #5 (20A) for the cigar lighter. A black & orange wire, common to both circuits, serves as ground. [[ per the '96 service manual ]]

 

Would this PDS #3 fuse be the same animal with a 01'?
Is this the square fuse with the window(?) to note if it's
blown (under the hood) on the right side of the panel?

Replaced the #15 15 amp in the dash and got the cigar lighter working.

Post M under the hood IS NOT blown and my power source plug remains dead.

 

You can download service manual in the FAQ/DIY section. The electricl drawings are in there to help run this down.