1961 Cigartette Lighter Ground

[Richard P.]

I installed a new cigarette lighter assembly (socket, wire, element and plug) but it isn't grounded and consequently doesn't heat up. When I touch the housing to the frame, it heats fine. Any ideas?

[Terry D.]

Re: 1961 Cigartette Lighter Ground

Did the old lighter work? Is the back of your instrument panel painted? You solved your own problem by grounding the lighter. I'm not at home so don't have access to my wiring diagram, but that's where I would start. Make sure everything is wired correctly and that you didn't knock anything loose when installing new lighter.
Terry

[Richard T.]

Re: 1961 Cigartette Lighter Ground

There is at least one black ground wire from the main harness that attaches to the instrument pod to the right of the speedometer when looking from the rear. This grounds the entire pod. Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 1961 Cigartette Lighter Ground

I may be wrong, it's late and tired and too lazy to go out to the shop to get my book but I think the pod is grounded via the black/white wire that comes from the engine bay which attaches to the valve cover attach screw.

.....or maybe this white/black wire is in the harness. Either way, the pod definitely needs a ground source.

Rich

[Troy P.]

Re: 1961 Cigartette Lighter Ground

If it is anything like the 53-54 lighter the outer lighter housing has a ground wire that attaches to a small tang at the end of the housing. Did your old lighter have this wire and you happen to replaced the lighter with a non-Corvette passenger car style?

[Jack H.]

Re: 1961 Cigartette Lighter Ground

If it is anything like the 53-54 lighter the outer lighter housing has a ground wire that attaches to a small tang at the end of the housing. Did your old lighter have this wire and you happen to replaced the lighter with a non-Corvette passenger car style.

It's not. The '53-57 cars located the lighter power socket in the dash panel (fiberglass). That required a discrete ground wire to service the cig lighter AND those cars were equipped with power sockets with a wider upper lip to spread the mounting force to avoid fracturing the fiberglass dash panel.

Starting in '58, the cig lighter was relocated to a recessed well in the instrument cluster (pot metal). That eliminated the need to have a discrete ground wire (presuming the instrument cluster was properly grounded) and caused the width of the power socket's upper flange to be reduced in order to fit inside the instrument cluster's recessed well...