Auto Parts: Interior Car Neon Lights, car neon lights, conductor of electricity
QuestionHi Mike, I recently went to an auto store and bought some interior neon lights. I bought a $20 neon light that you plug into the cigarette lighter to power it.... And as I was setting it up I smelled a burning plastic smell and noticed an orange glow in my cigarette lighter and so i quickly pulled out the cigarette lighter power cord and noticed that the neon didn't work when i tried to plug it back in..... So my question is, why does my cigarette lighter which is 12v cause the neon light to fry?
Also would buying a new set of neons and attaching it to the fuse box be better and not cause it to fry?
Thanks Very Much- Mark
Answer Something shorted out your cigarette lighter. Although they are on a fuse, it is a very large fuse. Remember, that orange glow and burning smell is actually what the lighter is designed to do. So, one of two things happened: either some sort of debris made its way into your lighter socket, or the plug on the end of the neon's wire is defective. Most of these lights are made in second-tier Asian countries and the quality control is almost non-existent; even more so for the plug itself than the light. You could probably buy a replacement plug in an auto parts store and attach it to the light and have it work fine, or take the defective light back for another one as the odds of two being bad are pretty slim. But, first, check in the socket with a flashlight. You would not believe some of the stuff I have found in lighter sockets. The most common thing is the ordinary penny, which is an excellent conductor of electricity. Paper clips and buttons and all sorts of other things can find there way in there, but they don't cause a problem until someone pushes a plug or lighter down in the hole and forces the connection. So, look in the hole and then do whatever you want; the socket is not the problem, it's what's plugged into it. Oh, and check the fuse for the plug 'cause you may have blown it.
