on my 70 chevelle my cigarette lighter just about melted my dash i had to undo the battery while i was hooking up my gauges i guess my son pushed in the lighter well when i noticed it it was red burning hot!! i thought the fuse was suppose to prevent that. its was on a 20 amp when i got my tester out 12v on orange wire to lighter ,grounded properly so why did it do that?

STorm,
The fuse will only protect the wiring from excessive current draw. If the lighter element was working properly, it should not blow the fuse. It may have stuck in the pushed in position and gotten very hot, but it was probably still only drawing the proper amount of current. Sounds like its time for a new lighter !

yea i know i like to replace the whole thing but only found the lighter and retainer anyone know where i can get the whole thing? it even melted the plug a little anybody know where i can get an end also? thanks storm.