The cigarette lighter fuse rarely blew in vehicles before the introduction of portable technology. With more modern vehicles, the chamber that once housed the lighter now has a phone or computer adapter plugged into it. Sometimes the blown fuse is caused by a coin that has dropped into the lighter chamber. In other instances, the bad fuse could be attributed to a short in the wiring of a plug-in adapter. Whatever the reason for the short, you can replace the fuse in your 1998 Toyota Camry in your garage at home.
Lift the hood and prop it open. Detach the negative cable from your battery with a socket wrench. Open the driver’s door on your 1998 Camry.
Make sure the ignition is turned off and the key is removed. Locate the fuse box on the driver’s side of your Camry. It sits just under the dashboard and has a square cover on it.
Remove the fuse box cover by popping the tab on the top of it.
Identify the fuse for the cigarette lighter. The back or top of the fuse box cover has a fuse listing, which is basically a map of the fuse cluster. Look for a 15a fuse with “CIG/RADIO” above it.
Locate the fuse in your Camry’s fuse box that corresponds to the listing. Each fuse has the same description, only smaller. Your owner’s manual has a blown-up version of the cluster, listed under fuses. Use a pair of needle-nose pliers to remove and replace the fuse.
