Help removing stuck cigarette lighter

[RENEGADE Concept]

Help removing stuck lighter socket/12v outlet

Hello guys - first let me say that I am new to the forum and this is my first post.

I recently bought a 2006 liberty renegade, and I am in the middle of giving it a major makeover into a "concept car". It came with the carbon steal console bezels, which do not match the satin silver trim pieces I have added all over the interior. So I ordered the satin silver bezels to replace the carbon steal ones. Anyways, what should have been a simple swap is now an act of frustration. After removing the original bezel I can not get the cigarette lighter/ 12v outlet to release from the back of the bezel. I've read a couple other posts on the subject but they weren't detailed enough to help I guess. The wires run into a plug at the back end of the outlet that the instructions show just pulls out but I can't budge it. If there is some kind of release i can't find it. And I can't get the lighter socket itself to let go of the bezel. There seem to be a couple of tiny little plastic prong tabs sticking out of the back of the bezel (on either side of the lighter) where the lighter meets it, but they will not budge either. I'm about ready to just cut the wires and dremel cut the thing from the bezel. If anyone can please help me I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you,

Matt

 

[LibertyTC]

Edit: confused has the lighter end itself been removed and only the socket now remains? Is that what you are trying to remove?
If the lighter that should be removable is still there...It is probably rusted into place. I guess it does not want to turn at all.
Have you tried squirting penetrating oil in/around and see if it will break free?

 

[RENEGADE Concept]

Sorry for the confusion. When I say "lighter" I'm talking about what you call the socket part I guess, or the female part, or the 12v power outlet. The part located inside the dash. I just edited my post to try to make it more clear. Thanks.

 

[LibertyTC]

Can you post a photo of the back showing tabs.
Possibly myself (when I get some time) or others may have some input.
I would like to reference any mentions in the FSM.

 

[John3seventeen]

I just had the wires off mine last week. If I remember correctly it's a really small tab at the back of the plug on the side and it barely moves when you push on it. But it will release the plug. It took me a while to figure it out, which is why I remember.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I just had the wires off mine last week. If I remember correctly it's a really small tab at the back of the plug on the side and it barely moves when you push on it. But it will release the plug. It took me a while to figure it out, which is why I remember.

^^^^ That

The tab is hard to see but it's there. The socket doesn't fit quite as tightly when you put it back in the new bezel since that little tab is VERY tight.

Use a small flat blade screwdriver to press the tab down..

Bob

 

[RENEGADE Concept]

Thanks guys for your help. I didn't get a chance to pull it back apart and take a photo, but I do have a couple questions before i try it again -

So john, which side of the gray plug is the button on? Drivers side or passenger side?

And Bob, where exactly is the button or tab connecting the socket with the bezel? All I saw were two black plastic prongs pointing out of the back of the bezel on either side of the metal socket.

 

[John3seventeen]

Thanks guys for your help. I didn't get a chance to pull it back apart and take a photo, but I do have a couple questions before i try it again -

So john, which side of the gray plug is the button on? Drivers side or passenger side?

And Bob, where exactly is the button or tab connecting the socket with the bezel? All I saw were two black plastic prongs pointing out of the back of the bezel on either side of the metal socket.

Couldn't say as on mine the whole thing will turn in the housing

 

[RENEGADE Concept]

Well mine definitely does not turn. And I'm pretty sure I have a whole different socket than you guys. I tried to take photos but my phone is full and won't let me take any more. GRRR...

I did get the gray wiring plug to release from the orange part of the socket. It turns out that there are two tiny clips on either side of the plug that are part of a yellow bracket on the underside of the plug. Once I released these I was able to pull the plug out. Whooo.

With the plug out I could remove the bezel and get a better look at the socket still attached to it. Turns out the socket is attached at three points - by a small clip at the top like what Bob mentioned, but also by two black plastic prongs on each side. The clip pops easy but the prongs can not be pushed in without removing the cilinder of the socket, which in turn seems to be held in check buy two other taps inside the cilinder which will not move. Clearly this thing was designed to never come apart.

So I guess unless somebody has seen one like this before and has a simple solution I have missed, I'm gonna grind the tabs off with a dremel and end my frustration. I figure I will probably never use it anyway, but I can epoxy it to the new bezel just in case I need it in the future.

 

[profdlp]

I did mine last May when I installed a new bezel for a double-din stereo. Got frustrated after a while and sort of...forced the issue... :icon_lol:

Anyway, when I reinstalled it in the new bezel I just wrapped a hose clamp around it to keep it pulled back so it wouldn't fall out (the lip at the front keeps it from sliding back in too far), and that has worked fine for me up to this point.

 

[M38 Bob]

Prof, ya sure ya ain't frum Arkansaw too? Sounds lak hillbilly engineerin at hits finest!

Bob


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[profdlp]

My parents were depression-era kids who thought that fixing something was the only way to keep it going. My mom still re-uses garbage bags... :happy175: