Cigarette lighter fuse not 23?

[Coxy]

I have a 1997 406 3.0 V6, and my cigarette lighter has died.

A bit of searching shows everyone saying it belongs to a 20a fuse number 23 within the facia under the steering wheel. However in mine this fuse looks different from the rest and has HS or SH written on it, and without it in the car will not start and clocks and stereo all reset. The cigarette lighter did used to work and no fuses have been changed since then.

Is it definitely number 23? From what I have read it should have its own fuse, so why does it effect the car in other ways?

If it turns out the lighter itself is faulty, how on earth do I get it out? I can feel the underside by removing the gear stick gaitor but there's so little room for my small hand that I can't feel how it comes out.

Many thanks!

***UPDATE*** After posting this it dawned on me where my handbook was stashed away! Says fuse number 1 and is 10a. Still any advice on removing the lighter would be great. Cheers.

[gumby6371]

There does appear to be some typical French slap-dashery as far as fuse layouts are concerned over the years however.....
I am fairly sure that all years and models only have two 2-position fuses by the drivers knee, they are for the stereo and the lighter.
No idea which is which or which is the permanant live or the ignition only setting but as there are only 2 it shouldn't take much trial and error to find out.

Removing the lighter is (in theory) very straight forward, remove the lighter bit and twist the housing roughly 90 degrees and it should lift out. In practise they weld themselves in place and you end up lifting the centre console out to remove them.
There is a centre console removal how-to in the knowledge base for that but try the fuses first.

Good luck

Gareth

[ZilogJones]

I had a similar problem with the lighter not working, and being confused by the fuses, but on closer examination it seemed the fuse box was upside-down compared to the diagram in the handbook! Mine's a D9 though so things may be different for you.

[Pootz]

My cigarette lighter doesn't work either and need a quick fix by Monday so I can plug my Sat nav in

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