Get Shorty

While removing the various radio antenna and power cables from the center console the other day I noticed one wire with obvious thermal damage where it screwed into the terminal block. Today I traced that wire and found it was for one of the two 12V outlets on the passenger side of the center console. Side note: there is a third 12V outlet in the dash panel, which came with the chassis. For some reason, perhaps because this is a work truck to be driven by manly men, the manual calls this a cigar lighter rather than an cigarette lighter.

Back to the shorted wire. Digging down to the bottom of the center console I found the back end of the #2 12V outlet was melted and scorched, including the insulating rubber boot. The positive and negative wires had clearly been extremely hot, as the coating of the wire was discolored for roughly 12″ and splices were badly melted. It was obvious that this had happened sometime in the truck’s past while in service as I would have surely smelled it if it occurred during my drive. Additionally, the copper of the positive wire had started to oxidize and the steel of the 12V outlet was heavily rusted.

Where those positive and negative wires combine into a thicker wiring harness before disappearing into the floor, the wires don’t look damaged or discolored, so the damage seems restricted to the last 12″ of wire. The other 12V outlet, which is wired identically and mounted right next to the burnt one looks perfectly fine, although with the batteries disconnected and dead, I haven’t actually tested it.