Cigarette lighter fuse keeps blowing
 

I noticed my phone stopped charging in both the cigarette lighter socket and in the socket inside the center console. Fuse #32 (20A) in the right passenger footwell box had clearly blown. I replaced it and it was fine for a week (phone charged, radar detector worked :icon_goofygrin:), now the fuse has blown again. I replaced it again, and actually saw a spark come out of it when I placed the new fuse in (also blew).

Has anyone experienced this issue? The engine was off, but the battery terminals were still connected if that helps.

Appreciate any insight from people who may have experienced yet another of the Jaguar gremlins.

2003 STR, 40K miles.

Never heard of it before but probably aftermarket bad wiring so go looking there. Jag wiring is generally excellent whereas a lot of aftermarket is TERRIBLE.

Fixed
 

I found the perpetrator....after 4 fuses! Two plug in points: one in center console and 1 for cigarette lighter. I keep the lighter out of the latter plug as I do not smoke. A penny had gotten jammed in there, and was intermittently turning (I saw a visible spark coming out of there when I changed the last fuse so I shone a flashlight in). Oops. Hopefully it helps someone else.

On a heavier note, my brother-in-law crashed into the car in my driveway this evening. Same side as where someone hit me two months ago. This will look great on my Car Fax. And....the dreaded gearbox fault light came on after being off for two months. Voltage coincidence?--hard to tell. Bad day for a Jag owner overall.

Well done finding the bad penny! Sucks about the crash.

Yes, might be voltage-related, see if it goes away after a few drives but you could measure battery volts after an overnight stand and before starting the engine.

I have a 2003 S-Type with a cig lighter in the dash and another outlet in the center console. I had a phone charger in the cig lighter and it disintigrated over the years and apparently fell apart leaving metal parts inside -- I think this shorted out the circuit and blew the fuse, but I can't figure out which fuse to check. I looked at the manual and it looks like it's a relay -- could this be true? I've never had a car that only had a relay for the cig lighter and outlets. If anyone can point me in the direction of the correct fuse, I'd appreciate it. Thanks

If I'm reading the right Electrical Guide (free with JTIS), in Fig 01.2 there's F2 20A and in 01.3 there's F32 20A.

I think I identified it as F32 in the passenger compartment. And it was definitely blown. Now I need a new 20A fuse. Easy enough to find at Advance Auto Parts.

FYI - Section E of the engine compartment fuse box contains some spare fuses. Might be a 20A yellow mini fuse there too.

Thanks for the info re spare fuses -- I'll take a look!

I bought a 2-pack of 20A fuses -- good thing since I dropped on into the inside of the kick panel as I tried to install it in the fuse box! LOL

Be careful you don't drop the other pack down in the netherworld between your seat and console. I'm still picking out french fries and indian head nickels from there.