Why doesn't my Alfa Cigarette lighter work?
My passion is for the late 60's/ early 70's cars. Two of the coolest things about these cars are the spica fuel injection system (USA and Montreal only), and the cigarette lighter.

I've never seen another lighter that you just dropped the cigarette into. A clever safety solution that has amazingly not been adapted by any other make.

Too bad so many are broken. Smoking is less and less acceptable and so many people just look at them and wonder and more amazingly, few it seems have figured out how to fix them.
It's a frigging cigarette lighter. How tough can it be?

Most people "know" how to use a test light, but forget how to think.

They're getting voltage at the spade terminal hot lead. They got a ground...therefore .....????? it's broken but incomprehensible how..... and leave it at that.
 

Try this,
 

Activate the lighter by pushing down on the plasic surround at the mouth of the lighter.
    (it is unlikely a non working lighter would not already be in this position, but possible.)

With your continuity tester, take one of the probes, stick it in where the cigarette goes, to the center of ther coil that gets hot. The other probe to ground of the lighter.
    You should read both continuity and resistance.

Now take the probe from coil and put it to the brass bolt coming out the center bottom.
    You should get the same reading.

If you put it to the spade terminal attached to the brass fitting, you will not.
    The spade terminal only LOOKS like it's a direct connection. It is actually a fused connector.


Or, try this,

Ground the unit,
Take the hot lead and put it to the center brass fitting. Be carefull holding the lighter, it gets warm quickly.
 
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