Home > categories > Electrical Equipment & Supplies > Fuse Components > Tapping into a fuse in my car's fuse box for an extra cigarette lighter, where should I ground it though? (picture included)?
Question:

Tapping into a fuse in my car's fuse box for an extra cigarette lighter, where should I ground it though? (picture included)?

As stated, I'm going to add an extra CL in my fuse box for an accessory. Would it hurt anything to just add it to the lower gold bolt that already has a ground attached? I'd consider the empty one but I can't get my hand behind it and don't want to not be able to tighten in back up. Thanks for any advice, sorry for the novice question, I'm fairly new to working in my car.

Answer:

Be careful, a cigarette lighter is a very high amperage draw device. The single existing fuse is only designed for one lighter, so you should consider running a dedicated line from the battery, fuse protected, to your new lighter. However, if you only plan on using the lighter socket for small current draw purposes, like a cell phone charger, then you could be okay tapping into an existing line. As for ground, any existing ground should be okay, as well as adding a new ground to a metal frame or body component.

Share to: