Dear Tom and Ray:

My wife and I just had our first child, a boy. And yes, you guessed right, the names Tom and Ray were at the very bottom of our list, right below Pius XII and Heidi! In any case, we just bought a '91 Honda Accord wagon and are selling (sniff!) our beloved Mazda Miata. The Honda is great so far, with one exception. The cigarette lighter is on the fritz. It's not that either of us smokes (certainly not with the baby around), it's just that we need the lighter socket to power the on-board bottle warmer we bought for $10. I found the fuse box, but can't find a fuse responsible for the lighter. Plus, all of the fuses seem fine. Do you esteemed gentlemen have any suggestions on how I can fix this?-- Harvey

Tom: Of course we do, Harvey. Go to the "other" fuse box.

Ray: This car has two fuse boxes. One is under the dashboard. That's probably the one you checked. The second box is under the hood. And the number 8 fuse in that box controls the dome light, the courtesy lights and the cigarette lighter.

Tom: Now, if the dome light works, that means the fuse is fine and there's something else wrong with the lighter. The most likely problem _ in my experience _ is that someone unplugged the wire to the lighter while installing a radio and forgot to plug it back in.

Ray: So start by checking the dome light. If it's dead, too, a fuse will fix the problem. If it works, however, you may have to go in for some exploratory work - - or switch to breast-feeding.

In their pamphlet "Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car?" Tom and Ray break down the strategies for buying a car, so you can make the most of your money. To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1998 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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