Fuse in cigarette lighter cable is blown

[C-ya]

I noticed my Tech 2 would not power up with only the external power cable (car) plugged in. The light was not on on it, but it would come on if I plugged the OBDII port in first. The unit operates and reads, but I figured I'd better find out why it won't power on with the external power cable. I pulled the fuse out and it was blown. Trying to research online and find out if 250 V is correct, or if I should use a 32 V fuse. According to Littelfuse's website/catalog, 250 can be substituted for 32. If it doesn't matter, I may have a fuse to use without having to buy any.

 

[Mooseman]

You talking about the lighter plug adapter? Strange that it would blow at all. I was using the battery clip adapter, no issues but I have found that just using the OBD 2 port works just fine even though instructions say to use an external power source.

For the fuse, I found this from here:

1. You may use a higher voltage rated fuse anywhere a lower voltage fuse is used, as long as the current rating is the same. THUS, the Handbook statement that you can use a 1 Amp. 250 Volt fuse in a low voltage (e.g. 12 Volt) circuit in place of a 1 Amp. 32 volt fuse. You MAY NOT safely use a 1 Amp. 32 Volt fuse in place of a 1 Amp. 250 Volt fuse!

So yeah, if it was a 32V fuse and you find a 250V fuse at the same Amps, then you're fine.

 

[C-ya]

Yes, the lighter plug cord. The one with the battery clips has two of the blade fuses. The lighter plug cord had a 250 V fuse, so since I am only at 12 V, I can use a 32 or 250.