cigaretter lighter , 12v outlet no op

[richaj]

Hello Everyone:
Have stock 1998 ranger 4 x4 98k mi ...really been good truck for me.
So just little things are happening
One issue I want to address is how do I reach the cigarette lighter socket from behind the bezel? I pushed it through while trying a new power adapter, from Duracell. Turns out body too big. Now I can't reach it to pull it back out.
12v outlet dead too, but haven't check fuse for this one.
Thanks in advance
Rich

 

[J_C]

I'm guessing that you've cracked some plastic for it to get pushed backwards. The heat (if the lighter were ever used) is bound to make it brittle. Looking at google and eBay images the socket appears to mount direct to the black bezel around the radio so my guess is you need an entire new bezel, OR some creative use of heat stable, thermal epoxy to fix it in place.

Based on the following pics you can see the rear of the bezel, that it has 4 friction mounts holding it to the dash and you should be able to just pry it off with a soft bladed tool. A junkyard might be a good (cheap) place to find one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/95-04-FORD-...ADIO-BEZEL-WITH-FOG-LITE-SWITCH-/111567590368

Edit: Better pics on this listing - http://www.ebay.com/itm/95-04-FORD-...DIO-TRIM-BEZEL-4X4-W-FOG-SWITCH-/191469466547

 

[richaj]

J_C: Thanks for the quick response. Nothing is cracked as far as I can see. I just pushed the whole socket through the bezel trying to get the FAT body of the cig adapter to plug in. Guess I shouldn't have forced it. Looking at the eBay links you sent, I just have to remove the bezel to put the socket back in. Looks like I can reach it from the bottom if they are held by Phillips or torx. Do you know how to remove the bezel? Thought I had to remove radio/cd/tape unit which I may special tool.

 

[J_C]

I don't know if there are screws but I didn't see any in the pictures. You may not see cracks from the front, it could be screw studs on the inside that are cracked, for screws that hold the lighter outlet in place not the bezel.

I'd try prying the bezel with a soft tool like a plastic putty knife without removing the radio then if it seems to get stuck on the radio, then pull the radio out, but you're probably right that the radio needs to come out first.

Ease out each side a little at a time then get the other side out some before going back to pull the first side out more, so none of the studs holding it on are bent any more than necessary. You can take a stack of credit cards or cardboard to hold the seam open on one side while you work on the other side.

Keep in mind that the plastic is much more brittle in cold temperatures. It would be good to warm up the inside of the vehicle before trying to pull it off as sometimes those plastic studs that friction tabs mount on have a tendency to break off no matter how gently you try to remove the part.

I vaguely recall I had one or two tabs break off of some stud around that area, but don't recall if it was that bezel or not. I sanded the area around the stud, set the friction tab in place, and put some epoxy down around the base of it to secure it. I mean secure the friction tab only, NOT secure the bezel to the dash with epoxy. That must have happened over 8 years ago so it seems to work well to fix it like that.

 

[koda2000]

there are 2 screws just above the heater control panel. remove them and then there are 2 push-in clips in the top upper corners. I don't recall if there are push-in clips on the bottom corners. when the bezel is removed, the radio will come out with the bezel, it slides on a track. if you have the Ford radio removal tools you can just pull the radio out to access the back of the bezel (and the lighter socket) w/out removing the bezel. it is common for the cig lighter hole to break from pushing power adaptors into it which are too tight. if that's happened you'll need to find a replacement at the salvage yard or on eBay.