I have a 2002 MPV and my accessory socket died some months back. I didn't think anything of it since I hardly ever use it. But more recently, when inflating my tires with a pump that apparently drew too much through my front cigar lighter, I lost it as well.

Checking the fuses, and even replacing them with known good 25A fuses in the panel under the steering wheel does nothing. The secondary fuse box under the hood, to the right of the battery (who designed that clip? That was enough to put me over the edge...) shows no dead fuses, though I am unclear which I should be looking for.

Any thoughts? A recent long road trip without my satellite radio forced me to acknowledge: it is time to fix this.

 

On the backside of both sockets is a fusible link that is designed to blow if the socket is overheated or too much amperage was drawn thru for an extended period. Fire safety hazard precaution. You can try to replace the link with a piece of normal wire but is just as easy to replace the socket.

 

Thanks for your response! It confirms what I suspected. I began looking at how to extract the socket... without any luck. How do you get the socket out without removing your dashboard or destroying the socket? Are there tabs inside you can push in?

 

Yes there are some tabs to be depressed. Check the diagrams below.
Once the tab is depressed in with the little pic or screwdriver you will want to rotate the socket 45' counterclockwise, pull socket out 3/4 of an inch and then rotate 45' clockwise to get back into original orientation. Should then be able to pull the rest of the way out. The lighted bezel around the socket will not turn or come out, just the metal inner part.
The rear accessory socket needs to have sleeve around the outside, behind the trim panel twisted off. Not able to locate any diagrams of it yet but looking. There is limited access thru the jack storage opening.

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Thank you for your help. This was great advice.