12V outlet dead, fuse is okay

Hi,

my wife's Impreza 2.5TS got a flat tire so I went to help her with the
DC/AC converted and a compressor. Was able to fix the flat but at the
end of the process the compressor stopped working. Initially I thought
it was the converted which got overloaded but it turned out the outlet
is not doing its job.

I checked the fuse and it is okay. It also protects remote mirrors which
still work.

Any insight what happened?

--
thx alf

alf wrote:
> Hi,
>
> my wife's Impreza 2.5TS got a flat tire so I went to help her with the
> DC/AC converted and a compressor. Was able to fix the flat but at the
> end of the process the compressor stopped working. Initially I thought
> it was the converted which got overloaded but it turned out the outlet
> is not doing its job.
>
> I checked the fuse and it is okay. It also protects remote mirrors which
> still work.
>
> Any insight what happened?
>

Well, it could be the outlet itself. On my '96 use of the cigarette
lighter has ruined the dash outlet; a test light shows voltage present
but it won't work a 12volt air compressor. Unfortunately, the power
outlets in question are not very robust.

Does the cigarette lighter, if you have one, or any other accessory work
in the outlet? You might buy a 12-volt test light at a auto parts store
or tool store and test it with that. A test light has a light bulb in a
handle with an ice-pick-like probe on one end and a wire with clip
connector on the other. You attach the clip to a ground and probe the
suspected circuit with the probe. For a ground you might try an
unpainted bolt in the door jam, the dome light switch in the door jam,
or even the ignition lock on the steering column. Be careful that the
probe does not touch the side of the power outlet as you probe the hot
terminal inside the outlet.

Ed P