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Very strange electrical problem

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Old June 3rd, 2008, 10:24 PM
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Default Very strange electrical problem

I have a 05' Silverado ext. cab 5.3 Litre 4x4. Both the cigarette lighter socket and the accessory socket no longer work. Neither of them will no longer power my cell phone charger, flashlight charger or anything else that they once was able to charge. The strange part is that both sockets are getting nearly 13v .WhenI plug my cell phone charger in theacc. plugthe cell phone says "unable to charge".I have checked each socket with a digital meter by placing the red meter lead in the center of the socket (the little button in the bottom) and the black lead on the inside wall of the socket. I am getting over 12v. I have tried several different accessories including a rechargeable flashlight and nothing will charge or power up . I plugged in a 2-way radio charger to test the accesory socket and now the charger no longer works in the truck or any other vehicle. To make things even more odd is that my next door neighbors 02' Silverado along with his father's 06' Silverado do the same exact thing. They are unable to use their cigarette lighter and accessory sockets also. My chariot just went out of warranty four weeks ago. Has anybody heard of anything like this? Both of my plugs quit working at the same time. Both the cigarette lighter and accessory plug fuses have been checked and are good. Can anybody offer any help? Thanks
Old June 4th, 2008, 9:09 AM
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Default RE: Very strange electrical problem

Weird. Have you tried the original cigarette lighter that came with it to see if it will glow?If you plug it in and strike it and it glows, then I don't know what totell you.
Old June 4th, 2008, 9:37 AM
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Default RE: Very strange electrical problem

You know what, now that I think about, in my 07 NBS 1500, my phone charger hasn't worked either after the first few months, I just assumed the charger died.. My truck didn't come with the smoking package soI have no lighters, but i can steal one from another car to test. But it kinda sounds like maybe the sockets areoverloading the chargers? And if so, then it can'toverload the lighter since its just a coil turning electricity into heat.
Old June 4th, 2008, 9:55 AM
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Default RE: Very strange electrical problem

My first thought was that the center connector on the backside of the lighter receptacle is being momentarily disconnected by the pressure of the plug when you plug it in. This would give you the symptom of a good voltage reading with a meter....but no voltage with the push-in plug. If this is the case....you could tighten up that connector with some pliers. (Controlled Squeeze adjustment tool)

Or....the receptacles are slightly large, so there's not a good enough fit with the plug of your phone to the receptacleand the plug button in not being depressed enough to engage.....so not passing the voltage through to the phone.

You could strip back just a teeny bit of insulation on your wire and check your voltage through the plug?
Old June 4th, 2008, 5:08 PM
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Default RE: Very strange electrical problem

I have tried the factory cigarette lighter plug and it will no longer heat up. Both sockets are getting juice when I plug my phone charger into them. The charge light on the phone charger comes on but it will not charge the phone. Any accessory that I plug into either socket will not work. Everything worked fine until, of course, the truck went out of warranty. I have checked the grounds behind the dash as best I could and see nothing unusual. The strange thing is that both quit working at the same time which leads me to believe it is an electrical problem. However, how can the problem be pinpointed if I am getting the proper amount of DC voltage.This has me puzzled. There is definately nothing wrong with the accessories I am plugging in because I have checked them in my other truck. I can’t figure it out. I rechecked the voltage in both sockets again and am still getting over 12v. I will try any suggestions anybody has.
Old June 6th, 2008, 9:57 PM
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Default RE: Very strange electrical problem

Has anyone tried checking the fuses under the hood? You may be getting 12 voltsbut not enough amps to run yor stuff.
Old June 7th, 2008, 9:08 PM
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Default RE: Very strange electrical problem

I agree. The voltage is there but it seems as though there is no amperage to push the voltage. The cigarette lighter plug has it's own fuse and so does the accessory plug. I have checked those fuses and they are good. Are there some other fuses that I should check?
Old June 8th, 2008, 7:35 AM
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Default RE: Very strange electrical problem

The problem is probably a poor connection somewhere. either a ground problem, or a chaffed wire, or just some corrosion has gotten in somehwere. You can track down the wires, or just run new wires to the battery. Make sure you fuse the hot wire within 6 inches of the battery
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