I have a 91 Z 28 convertible. I have some electrical problems. I have one fuse that keeps blowing. It controls the power side view mirrors, the power door locks, the interior light, and the cigarette lighter. I can replace the fuse and all of them work, until about a week later then the fuse blows. I was wondering if anyone could tell me where i need to look to locate this problem. Also my tonneau switch for my convertible top doesn't work either. Any help would be appreciated. :hail:

 

I'll bet that its the cig. lighter. Replace the fuse and start shaking and jiggling the lighter around, see if it blows then. After a while the lighter starts getting corroded and starts shorting out causing the fuse to blow at even the slightest movement, like a bump in the road. It can leave you puzzled, and sometimes its easy to overlook.

Try that first then we will go from there.

 

You might also see if something is stuck in the bottom of the lighter, such as a coin or something. I had the same problem and found a penny inside the thing, dump out the penny, and now I have a radar detector....

 

I'm with them on the cigarette lighter. Out of the 3 thirdgen's I have owned, 2 of the lighters have gone bad. And I dont smoke

Matt

 

I'm with you all, I bet it's the cig lighter, just unplug it and replace the fuse to see if the other stuff works fine, if so, well, one problem less to care about...
good luck!

 

Hi i know this is an old thread but im having the same problem now. I changed the fuse about 2 or more weeks ago. Then it went out today so i figured since my door locks take a couple times pressing to lock all the way thats what caused it. Then the same day i replaced it it went out again then i noticed its going out when i use the cigarette lighter. How do i fix the lighter or replace it?

 

First, you have to find a replacement that has a long enough screw thread on the pin at the bottom (pos side) that can hold the screw-on terminal for the car's harness (spade plug, hence the adaptor). Second, take out the shift plate, unplug the lighter element, unscrew the silver OUTSIDE (why it has the ridges, so it can be held either by hand or with pliers if necessary), pull the inner section out of the plate, and put the new element in, of course, with the harness adaptor thing at the bottom terminal, and possibly using the outer shell from the old unit, since that also has a spade term on it and the replacement won't.