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Car gurus, wy DC plug won't work think it was intentionally done, how do i fix it?
Kyzen
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I bought a used car back in December. It was my first time buying a car, and the dealer did a great job covering up some of the issues surrounding the car.
Today, I finally dug my old cell phone car charger out of a box, and tried it in my car. Didn't work. OK, I figure, maybe the charger is dead. Take it to my girlfriends car, and it works like a charm. Try out her FM Transmitter in mine - still nothing.
So, I tried looking at the wiring, with absolutely no luck.
At some point in the cars history, somebody had added a switch and a knob to a little control panel at about knee level on the drivers side. My few friends with any car knowledge at all speculate it was either for a bass in the trunk, or neon lights somewhere on the car. Presently, it doesn't seem to do anything.
I wonder if whatever was done with that used the power going to the DC outlet, or if the outlet is just flat out dead.
Anybody know how/if I could fix this myself? I'd rather not pay some shop stupid amounts of money to do it for me, especially just for the convenience of charging my phone.
The car, for the record, is a 2003 Ford Focus. I can take + post pics in a few hours after work if that would help.
Today, I finally dug my old cell phone car charger out of a box, and tried it in my car. Didn't work. OK, I figure, maybe the charger is dead. Take it to my girlfriends car, and it works like a charm. Try out her FM Transmitter in mine - still nothing.
So, I tried looking at the wiring, with absolutely no luck.
At some point in the cars history, somebody had added a switch and a knob to a little control panel at about knee level on the drivers side. My few friends with any car knowledge at all speculate it was either for a bass in the trunk, or neon lights somewhere on the car. Presently, it doesn't seem to do anything.
I wonder if whatever was done with that used the power going to the DC outlet, or if the outlet is just flat out dead.
Anybody know how/if I could fix this myself? I'd rather not pay some shop stupid amounts of money to do it for me, especially just for the convenience of charging my phone.
The car, for the record, is a 2003 Ford Focus. I can take + post pics in a few hours after work if that would help.
Kyzen on
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Edit: You might also have a block of fuses inside the drivers side, when you open the door and look at the side of the dash where the door would normally cover.
If you figure out which fuse controls the accessory outlet I would try changing it, even if it doesn't look blown.
The 12v outlet is incredibly simple. You can repair it by running a wire directly to the battery's positive terminal and grounding the other wire. The bad thing about this is that it won't turn off when you turn off the car, so you could kill your battery by leaving something plugged in there. The better solution is to run the wire to the fusebox and connect it to the accessory fuse. An inline fuse probably wouldn't be a bad idea, but it's pretty unnecessary if you run to the fusebox.
IIRC, the middle connector is the positive one and the outside is the ground.