Date:         Tue, 3 Feb 2004 15:53:37 -0600
Reply-To:     Roy Olynick <rrh@AUTOBAHN.MB.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roy Olynick <rrh@AUTOBAHN.MB.CA>
Subject:      Fwd: Cigarete lighter removal
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Begin forwarded message:
>
> Can anyone tell me how to remove the cigarette lighter in a 1989 
> vanagon GL?
> I'm trying to isolate a short in that system. Are there pages in 
> Bentley?

Here is a posting of mine from a way back, dealing with cigarette 
lighter removal:

Since the archives contain no procedures for removing the cigarette 
lighter from
a Vanagon/Westy dash, I submit the following posting based on my 
experience.

Background:
I have a automotive cup holder which fits into a dash cigarette lighter 

when the
pop-out element insert is removed. Unfortunately, my '87 Westy's 
cigarette lighter
no longer fits tightly in the dash, pulling out a couple of millimetres 

whenever
a cup of my favourite liquid was
placed in the holder. In order to remedy the situation, the lighter had 

to come
out, hence the following procedure.

Procedure:
1. Remove A/C switch panel from dash to facilitate access to lighter 
inside
dash.
2. Remove plug connector from back end of cigarette lighter.
3. Using a flat tip screwdriver, pry off the bulb holder which is 
piggybacking
on
the cigarette lighter housing.
4. The translucent greenish plastic shell surrounding the cigarette 
lighter
housing has two opposing clips or barbs near the front rim which are 
used,
ostensibly, to grip the
backside of the dash and hold the lighter firmly to the dash (yeah, 
right!).
Locate these clips/barbs. Using a screwdriver, apply significant 
pressure on
these barbs while pushing the lighter from inside the dash.

That's all there is to safely remove the cigarette lighter in one piece 

from the
dash.

Once the lighter was out, I cut a piece of thick, semi-rigid plastic 
tubing to
fit around the lighter housing, between the front rim and the bulb 
holder
mounting. I reinstalled the lighter in the dash, reached inside the 
dash through
the A/C switch panel cut-out, slipped the tubing around the lighter 
snugly
against the dash, and clamped the tubing tightly using a hose clamp. The
cigarette lighter is now firmly secured to the dash.

Roy Olynick
'87 Vanagon Westfalia GL (For Sale)	
49° 53' 04" N - 97° 08' 47" W
www.mts.net/~rrh/Westy_Home.htm