Aftermarket cigarette lighter, blown fuse/fusible link? Will not crank

[kddestefanis]

Hi everyone,

I have 1983 Chevy C10. I need some help with an electrical issue. I pulled out my stock cigarette lighter unit. The back of the unit only had a red power wire and the ground was the housing. I am assuming this was the stock unit. I purchased another unit off of amazon and it has a hookup for power and a ground. I attached the stock red wire to the unit and did not connect the ground wire provided in the kit. I touched the housing to the mounting hole that it goes in and it worked. When I went to push the unit all the way in something in the back sparked and now my truck will not start. It won't even try to crank. The cab light under the dash stays on when doors are open but the light on the top of the cab by the rear window is not working. I checked the fuses under the driver side in the fuse box and all of them appear to be good. What could I have done? What should I check/test? I do my best to stay away from most electrical work (a big reason why I love this truck) and thought this would be a quick painless deal but now I'm afraid I did something that I can't figure out.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys

[bd]

First figure out what grounded behind the dash and "unground" it.  Then check the two fusible links connected to the 3/8" battery cable stud on the starter solenoid.  The fusible links are 6" long, located at the ends of the 10- and 12-gauge red wires connecting to the starter cable stud.  Inspect the insulation for evidence of swelling or burning and give each a firm tug to see whether they stretch or separate. 

[kddestefanis]

Ok thanks. I will check them out in the morning and report back. Probably wouldn't hurt to replace them either way.

Appreciate it

[bd]

There is a third fusible link connecting to the firewall junction block above the back of the engine.  Check it too.  If one or more links are bad, be sure to use the correct size fusible wire.  For information on replacing a fusible link, see How to make a Fusible Link in the Technical Pages of the Forum.

[Irish_Alley]

also take a look at this post http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=34282.msg291814#msg291814

it can be the replacement lighter is faulty from the factory