JK write up FIX for POWER OUTLET stopped working but fuses not blown
01-05-2015, 10:34 AM
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JK write up FIX for POWER OUTLET stopped working but fuses not blown
This write up is a fix if your POWER OUTLET or 12v outlet stops working for no apparent reason and you HAVE NOT blown any fuses.
Okay, so recently I had my POWER outlet (the one that's always on) stop working. I checked the fuses like 4 times, in fact I checked every fuse in the BOX and even swapped a bunch against logic because all the fuses were good. But why was the outlet NOT working? I read on some forums and got a lot of this and that, decided to start tracing the problem logically. Fuses were good, so I started at the outlet. I used a voltage meter to test both outlets. The accessory driven 12v outlet worked. I put the positive lead in to the center dot and touched the negative lead to the inner circle. Got voltage. On the faulty outlet I got no reading. So I removed the panel to get at the wiring.
I took apart the panel so I could get at the wires, this is done by prying on either side of the little web-net area until it pops out. Then remove two bottom screws of main panel, remove top cover on the dash by prying up the rear and pulling forward then up, set aside as it's wired. Then undo the top two screws of the panel and pry on the sides until the panel pops out. Careful of how you yank on it because there's cables and levers in there you don't want to misalign, it can take some torsion though. Once the panel is off I could easily get at the wiring harnesses. You don't HAVE to take the panel off, you could just unscrew the bottom screws and pull the panel out enough to work on. I wanted it all out because the wiring harnesses were a little tight and I didn't want to create any additional expense from breaking anything.
(VIEW OF THE DASH PANEL REMOVED)
Once I had access I found the tab on the wiring and removed the wiring harnesses from the back of the outlets. I tested the good outlet by sticking my probes into the little slots of the wiring harnesses that mate to the metal tabs on the outlet housing. I got voltage on the good one and I ALSO GOT VOLTAGE ON THE FAULTY OUTLET. So now I had a puzzle. I had already tested the outlets in working configuration so I plugged the harnesses back in and tested both outlets. I got only a reading on the accessory outlet, the POWER OUTLET still would not read. So I unplugged the POWER OUTLET and tested the wiring harness again. It had power. So the next move was to use a screw driver on the front of the POWER OUTLET trim and push from the rear while I pried it out of the panel. I needed a closer look at the outlet itself because clearly IT was faulty.
(HERE IS THE POWER OUTLET WIRING HARNESS PEEKING OUT THE PASSENGER SIDE. I HAD ALREADY REMOVED THE 12V OUTLET FROM THE DASH AT THIS POINT)
After removing and inspecting the outlet, other than some sloppy play it seemed intact. So I did a series of electrical tests on it. I set my meter to measure resistance which I have only a rudimentary understanding of. My dad explained it this way...think of an open pipe. You shine a light down it and see it out the other side. No resistance. You shine a light and see only a little or no light...resistance...something is blocking the flow. It's a backwards way of understanding it because when you measure resistance you actually get a reading of how much reistance is in the conductive surface, and in order to read that you have to have a connection between the two points you are measuring. So you EE's out there please refrain from the temptation to edumacate me as I will...resist. LOL The rest of you, don't take this as eductionally accurate. Resistance is measured on a meter by sending a current through the probes. If you place the probes on a conductive surface you can measure it's resistance to the flow of electricity...which means you should have a reading. If you do not have a reading then there is NO FLOW. At least that's how I grok it. So this is what I did. I set my voltage meter to measure resistance. First, to test my theory I put both probes on the internal metal surface and got a reading. This is the negative inside lining of the outlet that contacts the tabs on the side of the accessory you insert. Then I put one probe on the negative tab which goes straight into the socket from the back and connects to the metal surface lining the inside of the outlet, the other probe I touched to that lining and got a reading. So the negative contact was connecting from the wiring harness to the outlet. Then I touched my probe to the center of the inside of the outlet where the very tip of what you insert touches, and the other probe went to the metal tab where the positive (+) wiring harness touches, this has a long tab that goes down and connects to a flat coppery plate with a press rivet in the center. I GOT NO READING.
It was clear the fault was somewhere between where the wiring harness connects to the positive pin on the outlet and the outlet positive connecting surface itself, the surface that connects to whatever you plug into it. After a bit of inspection I noticed a press rivet and decided to try testing (on a total whim) the resistance between the rivet and the positive connecting tab that mates to the wiring harness. To my surprise I GOT NO READING! Though there clearly seemed to be a physical connection there was NO CONDUCTIVITY from the pin through to the rivet. So I employed a wonderful redneck solution and hammered on it. I took a screwdriver and hammer and set the socket on the ground so I could press down that rivet more flat against the positive contact plate...added liberal amounts of praying with a heaping of confidence in my detective work. IT WORKED! I got a reading from the pin through to the outlet!!!
(THIS IS THE BACK SIDE VIEW OF THE 12V OUTLET AFTER REMOVING FROM THE DASH – YOU CAN SEE WHERE I HAMMERED IT WITH A SCREWDRIVER HEAD)
I connected the wiring harness back to the fixture and got this reading on the voltage meter for voltage (not resistance):
(THIS IS MY VOLTAGE METER AFTER THE MOMENT OF VICTORY!)
So I unplugged it, pressed the outlet back into the dash, reconnected the wiring harness, tested it again, it worked. I reassembled the dash and now I have my CB/phone charging port back in action!!! Here is a view right into the fixture where you can see the silvery internal metal negative (-) surface and the coppery positive (+) conductive surface that was not working because there was a break in the connection to the power coming from the pin through the harness by probably a micron of space.
(THIS IS THE OUTLET MOUNTED IN THE PANEL, YOU CAN SEE THE BLACK TRIM THAT YOU NEED TO PRY AGAINST WHEN YOU REMOVE THE OUTLET FROM THE DASH - YOU CAN ALSO SEE MY PRY MARKS)
So that's how you fix it, folks! Good luck!!!!
Okay, so recently I had my POWER outlet (the one that's always on) stop working. I checked the fuses like 4 times, in fact I checked every fuse in the BOX and even swapped a bunch against logic because all the fuses were good. But why was the outlet NOT working? I read on some forums and got a lot of this and that, decided to start tracing the problem logically. Fuses were good, so I started at the outlet. I used a voltage meter to test both outlets. The accessory driven 12v outlet worked. I put the positive lead in to the center dot and touched the negative lead to the inner circle. Got voltage. On the faulty outlet I got no reading. So I removed the panel to get at the wiring.
I took apart the panel so I could get at the wires, this is done by prying on either side of the little web-net area until it pops out. Then remove two bottom screws of main panel, remove top cover on the dash by prying up the rear and pulling forward then up, set aside as it's wired. Then undo the top two screws of the panel and pry on the sides until the panel pops out. Careful of how you yank on it because there's cables and levers in there you don't want to misalign, it can take some torsion though. Once the panel is off I could easily get at the wiring harnesses. You don't HAVE to take the panel off, you could just unscrew the bottom screws and pull the panel out enough to work on. I wanted it all out because the wiring harnesses were a little tight and I didn't want to create any additional expense from breaking anything.
(VIEW OF THE DASH PANEL REMOVED)
Once I had access I found the tab on the wiring and removed the wiring harnesses from the back of the outlets. I tested the good outlet by sticking my probes into the little slots of the wiring harnesses that mate to the metal tabs on the outlet housing. I got voltage on the good one and I ALSO GOT VOLTAGE ON THE FAULTY OUTLET. So now I had a puzzle. I had already tested the outlets in working configuration so I plugged the harnesses back in and tested both outlets. I got only a reading on the accessory outlet, the POWER OUTLET still would not read. So I unplugged the POWER OUTLET and tested the wiring harness again. It had power. So the next move was to use a screw driver on the front of the POWER OUTLET trim and push from the rear while I pried it out of the panel. I needed a closer look at the outlet itself because clearly IT was faulty.
(HERE IS THE POWER OUTLET WIRING HARNESS PEEKING OUT THE PASSENGER SIDE. I HAD ALREADY REMOVED THE 12V OUTLET FROM THE DASH AT THIS POINT)
After removing and inspecting the outlet, other than some sloppy play it seemed intact. So I did a series of electrical tests on it. I set my meter to measure resistance which I have only a rudimentary understanding of. My dad explained it this way...think of an open pipe. You shine a light down it and see it out the other side. No resistance. You shine a light and see only a little or no light...resistance...something is blocking the flow. It's a backwards way of understanding it because when you measure resistance you actually get a reading of how much reistance is in the conductive surface, and in order to read that you have to have a connection between the two points you are measuring. So you EE's out there please refrain from the temptation to edumacate me as I will...resist. LOL The rest of you, don't take this as eductionally accurate. Resistance is measured on a meter by sending a current through the probes. If you place the probes on a conductive surface you can measure it's resistance to the flow of electricity...which means you should have a reading. If you do not have a reading then there is NO FLOW. At least that's how I grok it. So this is what I did. I set my voltage meter to measure resistance. First, to test my theory I put both probes on the internal metal surface and got a reading. This is the negative inside lining of the outlet that contacts the tabs on the side of the accessory you insert. Then I put one probe on the negative tab which goes straight into the socket from the back and connects to the metal surface lining the inside of the outlet, the other probe I touched to that lining and got a reading. So the negative contact was connecting from the wiring harness to the outlet. Then I touched my probe to the center of the inside of the outlet where the very tip of what you insert touches, and the other probe went to the metal tab where the positive (+) wiring harness touches, this has a long tab that goes down and connects to a flat coppery plate with a press rivet in the center. I GOT NO READING.
It was clear the fault was somewhere between where the wiring harness connects to the positive pin on the outlet and the outlet positive connecting surface itself, the surface that connects to whatever you plug into it. After a bit of inspection I noticed a press rivet and decided to try testing (on a total whim) the resistance between the rivet and the positive connecting tab that mates to the wiring harness. To my surprise I GOT NO READING! Though there clearly seemed to be a physical connection there was NO CONDUCTIVITY from the pin through to the rivet. So I employed a wonderful redneck solution and hammered on it. I took a screwdriver and hammer and set the socket on the ground so I could press down that rivet more flat against the positive contact plate...added liberal amounts of praying with a heaping of confidence in my detective work. IT WORKED! I got a reading from the pin through to the outlet!!!
(THIS IS THE BACK SIDE VIEW OF THE 12V OUTLET AFTER REMOVING FROM THE DASH – YOU CAN SEE WHERE I HAMMERED IT WITH A SCREWDRIVER HEAD)
I connected the wiring harness back to the fixture and got this reading on the voltage meter for voltage (not resistance):
(THIS IS MY VOLTAGE METER AFTER THE MOMENT OF VICTORY!)
So I unplugged it, pressed the outlet back into the dash, reconnected the wiring harness, tested it again, it worked. I reassembled the dash and now I have my CB/phone charging port back in action!!! Here is a view right into the fixture where you can see the silvery internal metal negative (-) surface and the coppery positive (+) conductive surface that was not working because there was a break in the connection to the power coming from the pin through the harness by probably a micron of space.
(THIS IS THE OUTLET MOUNTED IN THE PANEL, YOU CAN SEE THE BLACK TRIM THAT YOU NEED TO PRY AGAINST WHEN YOU REMOVE THE OUTLET FROM THE DASH - YOU CAN ALSO SEE MY PRY MARKS)
So that's how you fix it, folks! Good luck!!!!
05-24-2023, 12:14 PM
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Join Date: May 2023
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No power to cig lighter fuse
I have a 2015 Rubicon JK and recently lost power to the Fuse for the Cig lighter and Inverter switch, there is no power on either side of the Fuse, I have checked all other fuses and they are all good, is there a fusible link somewhere? Jeep was no help...
07-22-2024, 09:10 AM
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Steve,
This fix worked perfectly for me, 07 JKU, accessory stopped working. After confirming there was in fact power, but it was not making it through the socket, took the socket out from the dash. Used needle nose pliers as an anvil on one side, large phillips head screwdriver on the other side, gave it a few quick raps....tested connectivity and BEEP, the sound of success. Thanks for posting, and thanks JK Forum for still having a 9 year old solution on your site!
Doug
This fix worked perfectly for me, 07 JKU, accessory stopped working. After confirming there was in fact power, but it was not making it through the socket, took the socket out from the dash. Used needle nose pliers as an anvil on one side, large phillips head screwdriver on the other side, gave it a few quick raps....tested connectivity and BEEP, the sound of success. Thanks for posting, and thanks JK Forum for still having a 9 year old solution on your site!
Doug