My car is a 96 TA with a center console out of a 02 TA. My cigarette lighter and the accessory plug next to it aren't powering anything. I had a small air compressor plugged into it earlier today and then it just shut off. Pulled it out of the cig lighter plug and moved it to the other accessory plug and still nothing. Checked the fuses with a multimeter and they are all fine 12.5 volts. Checked the plugs themselves and they are also showing 12.5 volts. Replaced the fuses just to make sure and still nothing. My cell charger wont even work with either of them. My cell charger and my compressor still work fine when I plug them into my truck. What should I do next?

 

When you say "Checked the plugs themselves and they are also showing 12.5 volts", do mean you measured the voltage available at the cig lighter and accessory sockets (the "plug" is attached to the wire for whatever you are trying to plug into the socket) by probing between the center of the socket (12V) and the body of the socket (ground), and had 12.5V?

 

Sorry about that. I meant sockets. I measured the voltage available at both sockets by probing between the center of the socket and the body of the socket. Each showed 12.5V. Actually 12.46V. I just don't understand how they can both have voltage but not work.

 

I bet both of your sockets are fine it's the Compressor Plug that blew a fuse.

Take off the tip of the plug for the compressor.... Most of them have fuses in the actual Plugs.

Also try a different device (Cell Phone Charger or Radar Detector), and I bet that will work, also confirming it's the compressor plug side and not the sockets in the car.

 

I thought that might be the problem too, but that fuse is fine. I tried my cell phone charger and it doesn't work either. Both the compressor and the cell charger work fine when I plug them into my truck.

 

Could be a high resistance open in the +12 volt or the ground leads feeding the lighter and adapter. Since you have a 2002 setup in a '96 maybe the added wiring. To prove this plug in the compressor try to turn it on, when it won't start check for +12 v at the compressor end or on the wires to the compressor. Two straight pins, one in each lead (12 v and ground) and see if the meter still reads +12v. If not it could be the ground or the +12 volts opening up. If no reading on meter then check chassis to +12 wire and then check chassis to ground wire. If both lines to chassis are 0V then +12 line is defective, if both are at +12 then ground line is defective.